From: trif@bike.rad.washington.edu (To Run In Fear)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.drugs
Subject: Re: Doctor ripoff, or just reality?
Date: 13 Nov 92 17:37:23 GMT
Article-I.D.: bike.TRIF.92Nov13093723
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle WA

In article <1992Nov12.232224.4546@netcom.com> rcain@netcom.com (Robert Cain) writes:
   strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight) writes:
   : 
   : My complaint is the physician billing $300 for his service. I was separately
   : billed another $300 by Huntington for the facilities, so that's not included.
   : I was separately billed another couple of hundred bucks by the radiologist,
   : so that's not included either.
   : 
   : My orthopedist charges $300 total for his service, X-ray, and his facilities
   : all included, and he is considerably more experienced and renowned than
   : the e.r. physician.
   : 

   David, do you honestly believe that your physician's overhead approaches
   that of a properly equipped ER on a per visit basis?

He did state that the doctor's $300 fee was separate from the hospital
charging for the emergency room.  I suspect you have never had to actually
pay for your medical care, or you would have realized that in most hospitals,
the doctor bills the patient for his/her time, and the hospital bills for
use of facilities.  Those of us who have had to use emergency rooms and then
pay ourselves for the care are painfully aware of this fact.

A few years ago, I had to visit the University of Washington Medical Center
emergency room with an accellerated heartbeat.  I spent a little over an
hour in the emergency room (most of which was observation time), was attended
by 4 different physician's assistants (they seemed to come out of the woodwork
when I was hooked up to the heart monitor---the alarm went off because my
heart was beating so fast), an EKG tech, and a doctor.  They did 2 EKG's
(before and after), and administered a drug to bring my heart rate down (after
trying several non-drug methods).  The bills from the doctor and hospital
together totalled about $450.  If Huntington is in California, I would expect
things to be higher, also if it were a private hospital (UWMC is a teaching
hospital and run on a not-for-profit basis---they even took extra EKG copies
for teaching purposes because I was "such a classic case."), but $300 just
to look at a damned X-ray is highway robbery.  The doctor in my case was with
me for quite some time, was always polite and patient, and just before I was
released, came in to say that she recommended that I see a cardiologist, but
being aware that I had no insurance, she described several things that I 
could do if I had another episode so that I would not have to visit the ER
again.  Even if he had had a broken leg, $1000 would be outrageous.  I suspect
a lot of hospitals really stick it to ER patients, since many of them can't
just up and walk out.

For anybody in the Seattle area, I highly recommend UWMC.  They might not
have the fancy decor, but their care is top rate.  My sister-in-law
negotiated with her insurance company to get them to pay for her to have
her second baby born there because she was so happy with the hospital
when her first baby was born there.