Next time, I'll just shoot smack to kill the pain.
I finally got my bill(S) for my time in the ER last month.
Last week I got got Pointless Bill-- covering the doctor, mainly, the cost to have a doctor speak to me while I was curled up in the fetal position. It was: $294.40
Even though that was harder to swallow than mystery meat school lunches, I wasn't too unhappy. Then today I got Pointless Bill version 2.0, covering the cost of various ER and hospital expenses, and a lab test for $49. This one came to: $315.67
I may be no mathematical prodigy, but I do know that means I owe the hospital $610.07 for the priviledge of 10 minutes with a doctor, a backless hospital gown, a urine test that they gave me to make sure I wasn't a jonesing drug addict, three shots that made me ill given by overworked nurses, and 4 hours of throwing up in a barely-private curtained cubicle next to the poor old man with catheter issues.
I owe them for NOT helping me and making me feel WORSE.
This is supposed to make me feel comfortable with our healthcare system? The worst part is,I have to be relieved that they didn't do anything more to "help" me like they would have if I had had insurance. If they had done blood tests or a CT scan the bill would have easily been two grand or more. So, I have to be relieved that I got shitty service. That's nice.
I recognize that it could be far worse, and that right now I shouldn't be complaining too much because my home is still standing... but I have to be concerned about my financial well-being. Thankfully my mother is going to help me with this, because my bank account can't stretch much further before my checkbook beats me in my sleep.
I asked Peter Griffin what he thought I should do, and he said:
posted by Epiphany Grove @ 12:24 PM
2 Comments:
Good lawd! Six hundred bones for a hospital visit? I best be on my deathbed before I shell that much out to bring me back from the beyond.
It's time to move to Canada, wyndgrove. We pay nothing here but a monthly premium. And if you can endure a Manitoban winter or the ridicule of friends who find out you moved to Saskatchewan, all your health care needs are gratis!
On a serious note, I just don't understand how the system works south of the border. I always imagined that health care should at least be affordable, if not free. It is not a privilege but a basic human right, no? And to answer my own rhetorical question:yes.
Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind. I like Canada, and it's cleaner than where I am. Or at least the parts I've seen are. haha
I'm still blown away by the bill. I want to call and ask why they feel the need to bleed me dry. I feel like if I'm going to pay 600 bucks for something that's only going to make me feel like hell-- I should go on a week-long Cuervo bender. At least then I'd have some interesting memories.
I agree with you completely, and if you're interested you can check out the nice letter that I drafted to my President concerning the health care system last month (prior to my migraine issues, actually.) I'll leave a link on your blog if you want.
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