A hilarious look at health "care"

Laughter is the best medicine.  If you've ever had a nightmarish experience with our health "care" system, this might be an amusing anecdote for you.

Background:  On December XX, 2006, I went to the hospital with a bad case of gastroenteritis (stomach flu).  I had been vomiting for four hours and eventually passed out.  When I came to I was convulsing on the bathroom floor.  Exhausted, dehydrated and with no one to ask for help, I called 911 and was treated with intravenous anti-nausea medication.

Flash forward to early March, 2008.  I get a bill for $XX.XX.  So I call the number on the bill to check the legitimacy of the charge.  This is a paraphrased transcript of the summary of the call.

Me: "I see the charge of $XXX was on 12/XX/06, but I don't have dates for the Blue Cross transactions.  Do you have any information on them?"
Agent: "The were on 2/XX/07."
Me: "OK, so as of 2/XX/07 there was a balance of $XX.XX, right?"
Agent: "Yes."
Me: "So why am I getting the bill now?"
Agent: "The last transaction is they came back with the co-pay amount on 2/XX/08.  That's why you're getting billed."
Me: "OK, so what happened between 2/XX/07 and 2/XX/08?"
Agent: "I can't answer that, sir.  They can do whatever they want.  Usually it takes 60 to 90 days, but I can't explain why they took a year.  There's nothing we can do."
Me: "But you're the billing company, right?"
Agent: "Yes, but they can take as long as they want to pay the bill."
Me: "OK. . . so. . . the insurance company can take as long as they want to pay the bill, but you're giving me a month?"
Agent (annoyed): "I can't answer that, sir.  We can make you pay, but we can't do anything about them.  They can do whatever they want."
Me: "But you're the BILLING COMPANY, right?"