Little did I think this would be a diary but it’s just so ludicrous, so far beyond comprehension, I just have to post it.
I went to the emergency room the other night with terrible a pain in my stomach. They loaded me up with Dilaudid and had me drink a cocktail of Mylantin and Lidocaine. Really. Then they repeated the process. They called my roommate at 4 a.m. and told him to come get me. When he arrived, I refused to leave. I knew I was only high and my pain only masked. They agreed to keep me overnight on a gurney as there were no available beds.
In the morning, things happened quickly. I got a bed at 5 a.m., a CT scan at 7 and a diagnosis at 9. My gall bladder was loaded with stones. A surgeon who had operated on my previously agreed to do the surgery and I was in the Operating Room at 11. It was laparoscopic surgery which causes little trauma and I was taking deep breaths comfortably the next day.
I begged to go home as I get claustrophobic in hospitals and can even run a fever. They relented and I was gone the next morning for a total stay of one and one half days. The bill is over $80,000. I am insured under COBRA and paid only a $100 Emergency Room fee.
Here’s a breakdown:
The bed was $11,500. I hope this included a discount for staying on the gurney.
IV solutions and "therapy" was $9,500. I’m guessing this was those three bags of saline solution.
"Sterile Supply was $5,600, whatever that is.
Anesthesia was $4,200
Emergency Room cost $5,000 (where they completely fucked up!)
Operating Room was $18,600 for a couple of hours.
Recovery Room was $2,000.
Labs: Chemistry, immunology, hematology, bacteriology/microbiology, urology, pathology: $10,800
Respiratory Services, $5,100. I guess this was for that little plastic breathing toy that teaches you how to take breaths.
There is a charge for drugs ($4,500) and an additional one for pharmacy. I’m assuming this covers the hypertension and cholesterol maintenance drugs I take. But my BP was low for the first day and I only got my three pills on the day I left. Cost: $1,000.
Notable in its absence are the charges for the CT scan and the doctors’ fees. They'll be billed separately.
How can these people do this and keep a straight face? How can anyone not think that we need to reform this insanity?