The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Patient Worthy.
According to a story from Vox, a review of over a thousand emergency room bills is sending strong signals that hospitals are finding every excuse imaginable to charge exorbitant fees for patients who come seeking care. These fees are just another burden for patients in a medical system that is far and away the most expensive in the world, and makes the challenge of rising drug prices even more insurmountable.
Oh Great, The ER
For patients rare and otherwise, a hospital visit can feel pretty intimidating– after all, it usually means you very sick or have suffered a serious injury of some kind, and your life itself could even be on the line. Another factor is that the average person just doesn’t really know how a hospital works. You have to place a lot of trust in the belief that the facility has your best interests in mind and will actually take care of you.
Health as a Commodity?
New evidence is making it readily apparent that hospitals do not have your best interests in mind, at least when it comes to money. Hospitals are even charging people for simply walking through the door to seek treatment. This so called “facility fee” is often several hundreds of dollars at the most, and if you’re really unlucky, you could be owing thousands. There are no laws or standards as to how this fee should be priced and its unclear if it is really necessary at all. This is far from the only problem.
Go To The Pharmacy Instead I Guess
Even medications that could walk into a pharmacy and buy off the shelf yourself magically cost much more at the hospital. When was the last time you paid $60 for a single ibuprofen pill? This is what a hospital could charge you. Maybe they’re making them with gold plating these days. Need some eyedrops because you think your cornea was scratched? $238! All for something you could pay 15 bucks for at CVS.
There are plenty of other examples of this extreme pricing. There is also the fact that even if you go to a hospital that is listed as within your insurance network, you could be treated by an out of network doctor. Then suddenly your insurance doesn’t help at all. You’re stuck paying thousands, and of course, it’s a bit difficult to make sure that you aren’t being swindled or are seeing an in-network doctor when you are about to get surgery, are bleeding out, concussed, or whatever.
So Can We Start Fixing This Already?
Thankfully, there is growing momentum in Congress to enact some laws that could stop hospitals from being this irresponsible. We live in a society where we are expected to rely on experts to help us out when our body, car, or house needs fixing, and these hidden charges simply undermine the trust that is necessary for these relationships.
The Declaration of Independence, that sacred document that is regularly bellowed back at us as a precious piece of American mythology, says that all people have the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. I think most people would agree that this means getting effective medical treatment without having to worry about affordability.
Why is that so hard in this country? How deeply ingrained are our society’s hypocrisies? I’m sick of it.
