Greg KnaussMar 29, 2024

Remember a month or so ago when I split my scalp open and got an ambulance ride to the ER and a CT scan and an EKG and some staples whacked into my head? The bill came.

It was $200.

Well, that was my out-of-pocket. The actual bill was $4,598.37.

Well, that’s what the insurance company paid by contract. The actual actual bill was $25,546.25.

It’s like I got a twenty-five grand bonus just because I have a job.

The American medical system is insane.

Still waiting on the ambulance invoice.

Show threadCharlie StrossMar 29, 2024
@gknauss Please note that if that exact thing happened to me here in Scotland I wouldn't get a bill AT ALL. Zero to pay. (Unless I was a visiting American tourist, and even then the bill would be a whole lot smaller than what you got hit for.)
Show threadGreg Knauss

@cstross And to be clear, I only paid $200 out of pocket.

But under different circumstances — circumstances not of my own making — I could easily have been (literally or figuratively) bled dry.

The American system sucks.

Mar 29, 2024 at 8:35pmIvory for iOS