No Insurance Means Higher Hospital Bill

news you may not know

Yeah - They'll Take This Too...

Though it's the ultimate irony, there is nothing the least bit humorous about the situation. If you have health insurance, you're quite familiar with the routine. Here's how it works...

You burn the candle at both ends, running your life out of control, shunning all forms of exercise that involve effort beyond raising your fork to your mouth. Diet? Hmm, you've heard about the concept, but dismissed it as another "vegan conspiracy" aimed at subverting the American culture. As they say - or, someone says - ok, as you say, "Barbeque rules!"

Then, out of the blue, it happens. A sudden rush of pain across your chest, a little shortness of breath and your wife panics, insisting this is really one of those times you go to the hospital. Being the thoughtful husband type, you indulge her and head to the emergency room. Seven hours later you're back home, multiple tests having confirmed your chest pain was nothing more than a bit of gas - probably the deep-dish pepperoni - and you're ready for a midnight snack. Life is good...

Then, the hospital bill arrives in the mail. This returns us to the moral of this story. The charges for your foray to the ER total $6,237 and change. The change you can live with. Now, what do you do about the rest of the bill? Well, if you have insurance, you do absolutely nothing. You toss it in a draw and wait for the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) to arrive. And, when it does...

You find the $6,237 and change has devolved into a manageable $300 deductible and $212 in co-payment, a total of $512. In addition, you note the hospital has reduced its fees by an astounding 57%, agreeing to accept $2,681 - and change - as payment in full. Just like that, over $3,500 has disappeared from the ledger. Wow - this is truly the power of collective bargaining at its best. But, what if you have no insurance? Well, then your health care nightmare is just beginning.

Without insurance, the process starts out in the same manner - you receive the hospital bill. But, you can't just throw it into a drawer and wait. There is no EOB on the way. There is no deductible, no co-payment, no 57% reduction in fees. There is a bill of $6,237 and they want it all - including the change.

The sad truth is the uninsured pay an enormous premium for health care. On average, based on figures from 2004, the uninsured pay over 2.5 times more for services than those with health insurance. In the convoluted sphere of inflated charges and negotiated offsets, the uninsured are the only ones yet to be invited to join the game. They are left on the sidelines to fend for themselves - by themselves.

Data for 2004, from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, show the average hospital stay lasted 4.6 days, resulting in a bill of $20,455. There are more than 45 million uninsured Americans...

45 million...

To read more about the study, see this from Reuters. To read more about health insurance and the uninsured, see this from the Kaiser Family Foundation.