The happy medium is to set reasonable costs for services. If you had to pay only $50 for an MRI, would you even bother with insurance?
Think about what you're paying for on a very basic level when you are in the hospital. The average charge for a semi-private room is $4-500. That's for a bed and four walls and utilities, television, telephone, intercom to call the nurse. Much like you would get at a motel, (without the intercom) AND without the privacy.
On top of that, everything you receive is itemized. Every time the nurse visits, every test that is taken, every drug that is administered, every time the doctor visits, the water pitcher, disposable cups, Kleenex, TOILET PAPER -- EVERY THING. If you are given one Tagamet for an upset stomach, it shows up on your bill.
If you are charged for every single item that you recieve, how does a hospital warrant charging over $400 a day for a room, when the Motel 6 can do it, including cleaning costs, laundry, sanitation, advertisement, everything, for under $40 bucks a night?
They can't say it's because you are being monitored 24 hours a day, because you pay for that separately.
The last time I got an emergency room bill I almost had a heart attack. I called and told them that if they would send me a bill commensurate with services rendered, I would pay it. My husband got something in his eye, we waited four hours for the doctor to look in his eye, hand him a little tube of cream and refer him to another doctor. It came to over $1,400 dollars. Uh uh. I never heard back from them.
I applaud you.
