Bill
San Jose,#2Consumer Comment
Wed, December 08, 2004
I was surprised by the angry comment. I had a procedure performed at Los Gatos Spinal Diagnostics by Dr. Tran. The procedure was a success and relieved my pain. However, I was told prior to the procedure what the charge would be. My insurance company paid their contractual obligation, which was considerably less than the billed amount, and I did not have to pay anything. It reminds me of my wife's surgery in the hospital earlier this year. The bill was over $80,000.00 for a three day stay The insurance company paid $8,000.00 and we had to pay only $600.00, our annual deductible. I will surely return to Dr. Tran if my problem re-occurs. Thank you Dr. Tran. Keep up the good work.
Jake
Encino,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, December 04, 2004
I used to work in a billing/collection department for a private hospital in Southern California. Any outpatient surgery accredited by the state of CA is allowed to bill APC hospital codes and is allowed to charge hospital prices. In essense, surgery centers can charge whatever they want, but what they get paid is a fraction of charges. All facilities are contracted with one health plan or the other. They write off the difference of what they don't collect. Hospital charges for epidurals can often exceed the price above. My dad had outpatient foot surgery recently and the hospital bill was more than $30,000. So your $20,000 charge for two spine injections plus the surgeons fees seem reasonable. I am sure they probably get paid a fraction of that, and I am sure that you are not stuck with the bill. Medical care is just bloody expensive. We need to do something about it. Instead of blaming the doctors, we need to write to congress and demand universal health care. Good luck to you in finding a cure for your back.
Jake
Encino,#4Consumer Comment
Sat, December 04, 2004
I used to work in a billing/collection department for a private hospital in Southern California. Any outpatient surgery accredited by the state of CA is allowed to bill APC hospital codes and is allowed to charge hospital prices. In essense, surgery centers can charge whatever they want, but what they get paid is a fraction of charges. All facilities are contracted with one health plan or the other. They write off the difference of what they don't collect. Hospital charges for epidurals can often exceed the price above. My dad had outpatient foot surgery recently and the hospital bill was more than $30,000. So your $20,000 charge for two spine injections plus the surgeons fees seem reasonable. I am sure they probably get paid a fraction of that, and I am sure that you are not stuck with the bill. Medical care is just bloody expensive. We need to do something about it. Instead of blaming the doctors, we need to write to congress and demand universal health care. Good luck to you in finding a cure for your back.
Jake
Encino,#5Consumer Comment
Sat, December 04, 2004
I used to work in a billing/collection department for a private hospital in Southern California. Any outpatient surgery accredited by the state of CA is allowed to bill APC hospital codes and is allowed to charge hospital prices. In essense, surgery centers can charge whatever they want, but what they get paid is a fraction of charges. All facilities are contracted with one health plan or the other. They write off the difference of what they don't collect. Hospital charges for epidurals can often exceed the price above. My dad had outpatient foot surgery recently and the hospital bill was more than $30,000. So your $20,000 charge for two spine injections plus the surgeons fees seem reasonable. I am sure they probably get paid a fraction of that, and I am sure that you are not stuck with the bill. Medical care is just bloody expensive. We need to do something about it. Instead of blaming the doctors, we need to write to congress and demand universal health care. Good luck to you in finding a cure for your back.
Jake
Encino,#6Consumer Comment
Sat, December 04, 2004
I used to work in a billing/collection department for a private hospital in Southern California. Any outpatient surgery accredited by the state of CA is allowed to bill APC hospital codes and is allowed to charge hospital prices. In essense, surgery centers can charge whatever they want, but what they get paid is a fraction of charges. All facilities are contracted with one health plan or the other. They write off the difference of what they don't collect. Hospital charges for epidurals can often exceed the price above. My dad had outpatient foot surgery recently and the hospital bill was more than $30,000. So your $20,000 charge for two spine injections plus the surgeons fees seem reasonable. I am sure they probably get paid a fraction of that, and I am sure that you are not stuck with the bill. Medical care is just bloody expensive. We need to do something about it. Instead of blaming the doctors, we need to write to congress and demand universal health care. Good luck to you in finding a cure for your back.