SACRAMENTO, CA - The parents of a Sacramento State student beaten to death in his dorm room received a bill from the UC Davis Medical Center -- a bill for nearly $30,000...
The hospital says the bill is correct and reflects the services the staff provided to Hawkins after he was beaten by his roommate.Scott Seamons with the California Hospital Council said the critical response to Hawkins is what cost the most. He said UC Davis is a Level 1 Trauma Center, which means the best and most expensive doctors were waiting for Scott.
"Whether it was five minutes or 55 minutes doesn't really matter in the initial review and assessment of the patient," he said.
Trauma surgeons, nurses, technicians and others had to treat Scott before they realized they couldn't help, according to Seamons...
More details at the link.
Shouldn't the roommate who put him in the hospital pay the bill?!
ReplyDeletegeez... that's disgusting on several levels.
ReplyDeleteIn keeping with the comment above (which I actually think is...od to say the least) shouldn't there be a "no live, no pay" clause?
Depending on the state and the particular circumstances of the attack, the victim may be eligible for aid from the government for medical expenses. When I had to go to the trauma ER after being assaulted in a robbery, I was (after a drawn out process) able to get everything paid for by the state of New York. Paperwork indicated that the state would also provide money for funeral expenses in case the victim dies.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the hospital will write off the charge and not put the poor family through any more grief.
I think you guys are missing the point. The problem isn't "who should pay the bill." It's "why is the bill so high?"
ReplyDeletePaying any less would socialist and unpatriotic. God bless the USA: salute's $30,000 medical bill, tears up.
ReplyDeletePeople forget that there is a body and bodily fluids to take care of. Even for five minutes of care, there are multiple people who have to be called out and taken from other duties. A requisite number of sterilized packages have to be opened and are no longer usable. Equipment is used that will need to be sterilized again and reset for the next patient.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's high, but it has to be. People like to complain about high prices, but they also like to sue doctors. The answer to Health Care Reform is to focus on tort laws that make the lawsuits happen less often. Every healthcare professional who got near that boy or his paperwork is liable to be sued and has to have $5000 worth of paperwork trail to cover their ass. Some people die... period. Unfortunately, people feel so entitled in this country that they think they are above mortality and that they should get a million-dollar settlement every time a doctor fails to perform miracles on cue.
@Minnesotastan - I wasn't missing the point, but I thought the point was obvious and was taking the piss out of the first comment.
ReplyDelete@Purr - Needing to clean up bodily fluids does not validate a hospital bill, no matter how high or low. At the end of the day, in a "civilised" society, citizens have a basic right to fair treatment and good health.
I am still baffled as to why Americans seem to have such a problem with that concept and why they are more than happy to continue to defend the practices of manipulative companies who have vested interests in keeping you poorly and needing to pay or over priced hospital procedures.
http://tinyurl.com/lt6qvb
This sort of stuff really upsets me. I have a friend who has recently contracted a spinal infection fortunately we are in the UK and while there have been a few trip ups along the way, after 3 weeks in hospital all that has had to have been paid out is £1k for an MRI scan, she has also had 2 weeks of home care 2-3 times a day.
She has been out of work for 2 months, will continue to be for another 6-8 months, so lost income, but at least it doesn't include a properly crippling hospital bill or refusal of treatment.
The state of the US health "care" system is revolting.
No apologies.
I have personal experience with that as well.
@ Purr: Tort reform is just another way for Republicans to imply that it's people scamming the system (like Reagan's fictional welfare queen)driving up the costs. The numbers don't add up, I'm not saying it's not a problem, but fixing it is a very minor part of the solution. Read for yourself from a neutral source.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/49xx/doc4968/01-08-MedicalMalpractice.pdf
My response to people who, usually loudly, proclaim that we have the best health care system in the world is that Washington State is the richest state in the US. Bill Gates lives there, he's the richest man in the country therefore it must be true. Having the best care and having the best care available are two very different things.
Wow,you americans are all missing the point. Do you really think it actually costs that much for 5 minutes of time? Maybe some travelling to other countries with much better medicare systems will make you understand that the people of The United States are being scammed.
ReplyDeleteM
It's unfortunate to know that the person didn't survive and it's outrageous that they would bill them 30,000 dollars.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me wish I was born in another country,this is just not fair.
Just got the bill for my sister, who died in the ER, after being treated there for about 2.5 hours.
ReplyDeleteThis is in Germany, btw., and goes along the lines of what I posted in the health care graphs article.
There is a set amount of money the hospital can charge for treatment in Germany, in this case (she crashed with her bike and basically caved her head in) the hospital is billing for a 'complex craniotomy or spinal surgery without radio therapy and without complications' which comes to 10.334,30 Euro.
The surgery above is associated with 4 days in hospital, so there is a discount of 4 x 1.601.61 Euro and the final bill comes to 4.081.48 Euro.
Which will be covered by her health insurance, of course.