Don't go to the Emergency Room unless you absolutely have no other choice

[Shotgun Surgery]

I cut my hand pretty deep and bad on Saturday morning, Sept. 11. We drove to the urgent care (Wellstar) to get it taken care of they said that it was too deep and they would need to send me to the emergency room (Wellstar Kennestone). Go to the emergency room, they do an x-ray ($), then i wait two hours, then they $ow me up (5 $titche$), give me tetanu$ booster and get $hoddily bandaged. In and out in 3 hours.

The $titche$ were poorly done and came out the next morning.

The next day, I went to my primary care physician and they stitched me up and sent me out for $300.

I just got the bill for the emergency room and it was $5000. It was my mistake going, but my wife was concerned and I was bleeding quite a bit, although we had it stopped by the time I got the ER.

This is highway robbery and ridiculous. The fact that a person must fear significant financial harm to use a hospital is ridiculous.

Our medical industry is out of control. Not sure how it should be resolved, but $1000/$tich is just insane.

Rant over, unless you want to talk about it.

I went to an ER as a precaution after wrecking my Harely a few years back. Went in for some scans, had nothing else done, and walked out of there. They wanted $11,000 for 3 hours and no surgery.

I wasn't about to pay that ridiculous sum. I asked around for advice and looked online. I kept getting and seeing the same advice: RADIO SILENCE. Don't contact them, and ignore every attempt they make to contact you. Pretend as though you don't exist to them, and they don't exist to you. Eventually they sent the debt to a debt collector, and I've heard (so a grain of salt) that debt collectors can't legally do anything to collect on a debt until they confirm that they're dealing with the appropriate person. This means they'll send letters in the mail and try calling you on the phone trying to get you to admit who you are. I've heard so long as you never confirm your identity to them that eventually they realize there's nothing they can do so they then write the debt as a tax write-off.

Every letter I received in the mail went directly from the mailbox to the trashcan without being opened. Every call I received from a phone number I didn't recognize I let go to voicemail, and if the voicemail was from the debt collector then I deleted it. I changed my voicemail message from "This is (my name)'s phone number blah blah blah" to just "leave a message". I ghosted these people for about a year before they seemed to give up completely. I don't get any more letters in the mail, and I don't get any more phone calls. I got some kind of a hit onto my credit score, but fortunately my credit score was so high that even after this ding it's still near the very top of what it could be.

I don't have anything like a house in my name. I made sure to have my next vehicle in a relative's name instead of my own just as a precaution. I don't have a 401k/IRA/etc and I don't keep my wealth in the banking system. Maybe they didn't bother to pursue me further because they incorrectly though I was flat broke. Who knows.

 

[BIKER13]

My rule of thumb for the ER is if I didn't arrive there by ambulance, I'm in the wrong place.

I started pissing blood one saturday afternoon,filled a 16 ounce cup and decided maybe I better get to ER. Took a pic of the cup and drove to ER. Yep problem from the kidney stone fiasco.

 

[Gunanddoglover]

That was it's original design purpose. You probably knew that but a lot of people don't.

I have heard that, but I don't know if that's fact or urban legend. I do know that it works.

 

[WildMan]

Prices are insane!
I've always paid my debts and kept my word; except for some hospital bills (which technically I didn't give my word on). Honestly tried to pay, and I still have some I'll finally pay off next month. But when I was having problems paying and I was told that the payment was due on the due date or it go s to collections....well, **** you! Then I told the next person that said the same thing to get ****ed and get in line.

I'm serious guys, I was about expecting to get a bill from the company that made the chair I sat in.

Greedy mother****ers.

Not saying I agree with people, and certainly the ones responsible aren't the ones getting the crazy treatment, but I'm more and more seeing folks snapping and thinking; "you know what, I kinda get where their coming from".

 

[Shotgun Surgery]

Prices are insane!
I've always paid my debts and kept my word; except for some hospital bills (which technically I didn't give my word on). Honestly tried to pay, and I still have some I'll finally pay off next month. But when I was having problems paying and I was told that the payment was due on the due date or it go s to collections....well, **** you! Then I told the next person that said the same thing to get ****ed and get in line.

I'm serious guys, I was about expecting to get a bill from the company that made the chair I sat in.

Greedy mother****ers.

Not saying I agree with people, and certainly the ones responsible aren't the ones getting the crazy treatment, but I'm more and more seeing folks snapping and thinking; "you know what, I kinda get where their coming from".

With the prices they charge, I see no moral obligation whatsoever to pay them even a single dime for their services. After all, how can this be a fair and honest business transaction when they don't even tell you the cost of their services until they've already provided them? They want $100 for a band-aid? I'll pay them a whopping $0.00 and sleep easy at night instead.

 

[ColnagoTecnos]

Seeing a number of for sale postings stating they needed to raise money to pay medical bills has sharpened the point for me.

 

[Shotgun Surgery]

Seeing a number of for sale postings stating they needed to raise money to pay medical bills has sharpened the point for me.

They should do what I did: move their wealth into precious metals so it's off the books then tell these extortionists to shove it.

 

[BDR1]

Use super glue… most dr’s will advice against it, because it takes away from their pockets.. I’ve used it many times.. even dropped it into the inside of my tongue to get back together.. I didn’t die.. looks like if I ever need to go to the e. r. .. I’ll tell em I don’t have a job or insurance.. dang if illegals can get free care in America this AMERICAN WILL TOO

 

[HERMET]

Not to sound like I’m on the hospital’s side, but you just explained the cost in your sentence. 9 people there and you’re the only one with insurance. That means, in all likelihood, only you with insurance will pay your bill. That’s why these people use emergency rooms, they know they don‘t have to pay their bills. So, as far as a racket, they ain’t making any money on the others.

Yep. You walk in the door with insurance and they see dollar signs. Every test, every little item they can find to charge the insurance company for goes on the bill usually at elevated prices.
I was going over the bill for our most recent stay and one item jumped out at me, $124 multiple times. Upon inspection it turned out to be insulin injections. I could have just brought insulin from the house cause that's ridiculous. That's just one example on a very large bill.
The insurance companies won't pay all those ridiculous charges and the hospitals know it so they just throw out as much as they can and see what sticks.
You're paying for all those uninsured people. It's a lot like auto insurance, you're paying for other people's bad driving.

 

[rtross]

Without getting into specifics, I worked in the medical field.
I retired early (2 years ago) because I could clearly see where healthcare delivery was headed.
I hate to admit this, but I am ashamed of the current state of American health care.
I place the blame on large healthcare system monopolization and greed of the CEOs that run these companies.
I suppose that I could be wrong, but I don't think that I am.