I just spent an hour and a half in the ER. Nothing too serious, abdominal pain. One blood test, one urine test, one CT scan. Tab? $2,600.
So, you went to the ER for abdominal pain, which COULD have been appendicitis, cholycystitis, an ulcer, an aortic aneurysm or any one of a number of serious or potentially fatal conditions. You saw an Emergency physician and nurses ( who have to be available 24 hours a day seven days a week ).
You had lab work and a CT, a diagnostic tool that allows a pretty good shot an accurate diagnosis, rapidly and without say exploratory surgery or a 2 or three day hospital stay for observation (more lab work, more doctor exams etc).
And lucky for you nothing serious!
And your problem is?
Tell you what, NEXT time, take a tums or a Prilosec, wait a couple days and see if you survive, okay? That will save you a bundle.
I hope everything turned out all right for you.
This reminds me of a situation I had with my son years ago. One evening he complained of stomach pains so strenuously that my husband was certain he was going to die and called the ambulance to take him to the hospital.
I knew my son liked to watch TV shows that always had a disease du jour which starts with an everyday symptom. I was certain it was gas, so I gave him a drink of soda from which he produced a huge belch. His stomach pain was somewhat relieved and the paramedics went away empty handed that night. Of course he lived to belch another day.
Many of these hospital visits are caused by simple events. Over eating, cold or flu, the occasional childhood diseases make up a big portion of the trips to the emergency room for citizens and especially illegals. Both the hospitals and the doctors have to cross their t’s and dot their i’s on everything. They have to make sure their rears are covered because unscrupulous people will be ready to sue them in a heartbeat. That means the emergency room is the most expensive care you can receive and for some it is for the least complex illnesses.
People today associate healthcare with health insurance. They think the responsible payor of healthcare bills is their health insurance and there is very little connection between people’s cost and the actual cost of the services rendered. If more people had to bear the cost directly, they would be more careful about how they accessed healthcare. For example, when I was young, my parents took us to the local clinic. The only time we went to the hospital was when my mother gave birth or someone had a very serious medical event.
As long as people see healthcare as a right and have no concept of the expense, healthcare costs will rise. Now that you have a brand new group of people who feel entitled to healthcare on demand, I believe the costs will increase exponentially.
But abdominal pain CAN BE very serious, so I hope you are feeling beter and that you ARE better.
One hour and a half in the ER? I don’t know *anyone* who is able to get in and out of an ER that fast. They drew your blood and you had a CT scan too?
You must be the governor of your state or a senator.