McCain Healthcare Plan At Work: Woman Is Billed For 19 Hour Wait In ER. Never Sees Doctor

[Median Democrat]

I saw this article, and it reminded me of how millions of Americans, who cannnot afford health insurance, rely on emergency rooms for their health care needs, and are then billed at an inflated amount.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27299090/wid/11915773?GT1=31037

/snip

DALLAS - A woman says she waited 19 hours at Parkland Memorial Hospital’s emergency department for treatment of a broken leg and never did get to see a doctor — but still got a bill for $162.

Amber Joy Milbrodt, who said she broke a bone in her leg while playing volleyball, received the bill two weeks after her Sept. 24 visit.

/snip

Of course, according to the architect of McCain's healthcare plan, this is a sign that the system is working, and that no one is really uninsured:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-Uninsured_27bus.ART.State.Edition2.4dce428.html

/snip

McCain adviser

But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

Mr. Goodman's analysis drew a sharp response from the Center for Public Policy Priorities, an Austin-based think tank focusing on poverty issues. "That is not the same thing as having health insurance," said Eva Deluna, a budget analyst for the center. People without insurance are less likely to seek care, and when they do, the cost to the health system is greater, she said.

/snip

[K Gardner]

1. Yes, if you get "triaged" in the ER - even if you leave without being seen - you are

charged for an ER visit. Most nurses in ERs have to fill out the charge sheet check box on patients as part of discharging/breaking a chart down. It astounds me to see what we charge, and for what. And how much of it is left up to the discretion of the nurse doing the charging.

[iceman66]

2. This is the free market at work!

What are you, some kind of socialist?
:sarcasm:

[uponit7771]

3. McCain: "....no regulation dammit!!!..."

[iamahaingttta]

4. I had a similar experience once...

Although not nearly as bad as a broken leg.

The hearing in my left ear is bad.
I went to the doctor for a hearing test.
I waited about two hours.
I was in the room waiting for the doctor, and a nurse wheeled in the hearing test machine.
When the doctor came in, it turned out that the headphones for the machine were missing.
They spent about another 20 minutes searching for the headphones.
Nobody could find them.
The doctor said they would order new headphones and call me when they came in, so I could come back.

Afterwards, the nurse at the desk asked me for $15 for the copay.
I said, no way!
I did not get the test done that I was there for almost 3 hours to get, and I was not going to pay the copay.
If they wanted to bill my insurance company, there was nothing I could do about that, but I was not going to pay for service I did not get.
She looked at me incredulously and said "But... but..."
I said "Forget it!"

They never called me back saying they got new headphones...