Uninsured? Underinsured? Facing an outrageous hospital bill?

Hopefully as a conscientious health care consumer, you request an itemized bill after having to use the Emergency Room, or if you've had to stay overnight in the hospital.

Recently, I asked for an itemized bill after an approximately 3 or 4 hour trip to my local Emergency Room. Though most charges were within range of being "acceptable", the charge for a foley catheter kit similar to the one in the photo below, instantly triggered a "WHAT"??!!! from me.

No way I thought. This is IMPOSSIBLE! How can a sterile, plastic, disposable, catheter kit cost $147.00!! I thought, "This is exactly why you ask for an itemized bill- to look for these kind of way out of the "acceptable" range types of charges!

The $147.00 foley catheter kit
That's right. $147.00.

The Google search engine quickly confirmed that my idea of "way out of the acceptable range", was in fact, on target. I was able to find a complete foley catheter kit from a well known medical supply manufacturer for $14.84. You can see it for yourself at: This Link

I went to the billing office and asked "Who would I discuss this charge with"? Wouldn't you know, nobody in the billing office discusses these things. Wouldn't you think somebody in that department might be able to tell you something?

At this particular hospital, in this particular case, if I wanted to question the catheter kit charge, the whole bill had to be sent to a nurse auditor in the Emergency Room. Evidently, this person never has to deal directly with the customer. I was told it could take a few weeks to get a response, and that it would be in writing. They'll be reviewing the whole bill. We'll see what they say.

As far as I'm concerned, $147.00 is a ridiculous amount of money to pay for this item. I wasn't even offered the opportunity to bring it home with me-not that I'd want to! I like to feel like I've gotten SOMETHING when I pay $147.00 for anything! I paid, (not an insurance company), $147.00 for something that I used for about 3 hrs. which afterwards went into the trash can.

That's not only ridiculous, it's outrageous.

If you have any outrageous hospital bill horror stories that you'd like to pass along, send them to me by clicking on the further information link.

Remember, YOU are your best Advocate. Check your hospital bills even if your insurance company is picking up the tab. Unsubstantiated charges like this add to the already existing national health care crisis.