Got a EOB for the hospital bill for my back surgery today. The bill was $326,456!! Haven't received the bill from surgeon yet. Earlier bill for all the imaging was over $25,000 and the back brace was $2600. Thank goodness for insurance. With all my other surgeries, I have over $800,000 in my back. I'm almost a million dollar man. Lol

It is unreal the fraud that is committed daily by medical providers and insurance companies. I throw away the EOB as soon as they come because of the sickening fraudulent games that both the medical providers and insurance companies play. It is a sad shame and indicator of the times we live in.
Have you ever seen an EOB where any insurance agrees to pay 100% of the billed charges by a medical provider - never - but yet they always agree to pay some lesser charge.........

X2

And no one cares as long as a third party pays it

Yup and as long as we think $300 monthly premiums are a deal

The insurance company contract with your provider and they negotiate a rate table. If the provider exceeds the contract amount, there is a write down. Medicare has an agreed rate as well.

Patients without any insurance are billed the full amount.

Uninsured receive a discount typically. Just shows how much a scam Healthcare is right now.

It's rediculous the amounts they charge. Hospital settled for $40,000 less than billed. I was only in the hospital for 3 days, although the surgery was 8 hours. They will continue to charge as long as someone is willing to pay.

A hefty discount to.

You fellows could get filthy rich. Start own insurance company, then sell your stock to other trappers who need to get rich also.

When I retired in 2002, there were over two thousand insurance companies. They had to bid for business and answer to 50 state insurance commissions. Many were unprofitable. In 2002, the average claim for a premature birth with iCU was $400,000. That was 20 years ago.

As long as your feeling good that’s what counts, but on another note the health care system is messed up, but I don’t know how to fix it so I don’t say much about it.

I want to give a BIG shout out to OBAMA -- He deserves at least half the credit for this fiasco. And yes the fraud is huge -- but if you are illegal or homeless its all free (necessary and unnecessary) YEAH OBAMA --ALL HAIL OBAMA.

Yep, going to take someone a lot smarter than me to fix this.

Absolutely that was my career. I've seen thousands of bills lots paid at 100%.

The eob is just an Explanation of Benefits. 1 example I always told my members is the contacted dr can charge whatever they want (like $1m) but if their contract says they get paid $5.00 that's all they get they can't charge the "you" the difference and the rest is usually written off by the dr.


$300k is a lot but think about how complex the back is especially when the vertebra is worked on. That's your entire central nervous system being tinkered with. One slip and it's you being paralyzed, organs not functioning properly etc...

When my daughters cancerous tumor in her eye ruptured time was of the essence because the tumor travels with the optic nerve and then throughout the entire body in a short amount of time.

You should just go Full-bionic!!!

The health system is all about money. I think 50-60 yrs ago it was more about trying to help people out. Sad part is the hospital here was started by donations from successful bussness men in the community in the early 60s.

Yep, big ticket medical crap is off the charts crazy isn't it?
About fell off my chair when my cancer treatment bills started rolling in.
Jist the chemo medicine alone is $180,000 each year. EACH YEAR! And I have to take it every day for rest of my life. Like buying a nice home each year on a 12-month note for rest of your life. And that was just the chemo. The testing, bone marrow biopsy, all of that...sheesh it was staggering.

Its no wonder people go bankrupt from medical issues and events.

Jim

This is why I recommended to Coonman to get a supplement when he goes on Medicare. A normal person couldn't afford the 20% Medicare doesn't cover.

Exactly. I find many times I end up paying the entire charge the insurance company has negotiated. Effectively I have paid the insurance company to negotiate a reasonable charge for service, not to cover the cost of service. It's a racket.

I'd like to see a requirement that providers have to have one charge applicable to everyone for a given service, and it must be published.