It was this guy, wasn’t it?
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I have literally had the exact same situation with my wife - she had preclampsia and they had to do an emergency C section.
Here in the Socialist States of Europe I paid the equivalent of 20 bucks for the C section and the NICU stay. I also paid the equivalent of 40 bucks for the room upgrade for my wife during the hospital stay.
https://www.uta.edu/faculty/story/2311/Misc/2013,2,26,MedicalCostsDemandAndGreed.pdf
Long read but worth it about ridiculous hospital bills. Really eye opening to how hospitals in general have no idea what the fuck to charge or why. Also why Tylenol is so expensive in a hospital.
I think at the time this was the longest article ever in time magazine. A few years old but really good stuff
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Everyone wants the best free shit possible. Spend time in a Japanese public hospital and you’ll beg to pay American medical costs. Emergency rooms regularly close and ambulances often drive around trying to find an open one. We had that joy when my kid got hurt there. And, when my wife was diagnosed with cancer, her Yale educated Japanese doctor told her to get on the next flight back to the US. Incredible with basic preventative care, not so good when things get hairy.
That said, I’m frustrated at the desire for universal care without getting costs under control. American doctors are held to a very high standard of practice with the corresponding liability and costs for malpractice insurance. Obamacare also added quite the chunk to our deficit. We can’t have it all. Resources are finite. Of course, the standard approach is continued deficit spending. I suppose when we hit a debt 2x GDP (see Japan) we will see our economy come to a screeching halt and our ability to maintain ourselves as a world power also end. But hey, it’s only our kids’ futures. Fuck 'em.
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Me and that guy used to “get our heads right” behind a dumpster in the parking lot before work.
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Do you factor in the mount that you earn but are not paid for that bill, or just the out of pocket?
My wifes prenatal care plus C-section (elective) was about $500.00 out of pocket, but about 15K that never went in. So actually about $15,500.
So what is the ballpark of lifetime earnings that you’ll never get?
Around 20% of my gross earnings go to healthcare via taxes and I have no problem with that.
Here in Europe pretty much no one has a problem with that - it’s just our method of helping those unfortunate to be struck with a serious medical condition. So I’m paying back through taxes for the services provided for free - next time it’s gonna be someone else’s newborn saved with my taxes.
Nah. You see where I’m going with this so you put the socialistic aspect out there front and center.
You stated that it cost you X dollars, period.
Now why does it not cost you what you are still paying and what you paid previously?
Your accounting is botched up.
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Hospital charged 24 dollars for one 500 mg niacin tablet when they are about a nickel a piece
Friggin’ Hooters charged me 89 cents for more Blue Cheese!
You gotta be on your guard in the land of Capitalism.
You wanna see hidden fees? Get arrested some time.
No it’s not. I am paying for the healthcare safety net through my taxes.
Which means that by spreading the costs neither I nor others will go bankrupt over medical bills, something that cannot always be linked to personal responsibility.
Call it socialism, communism of whatever - I know that healthcare costs money and is not “free” and is paid by taxes.
On the other hand, I don’t lose sleep over medical insurance and do not dread a potential medical emergency.
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That’s sort of the point of the article. No one can be on their guard because even hospitals don’t know why they charge what they do. And you aren’t exactly in a good place to shop around when you’re in a hospital. Not to mention turning down tests you may not need because you have no clue what they are and if you really need them
Yes it is.
Do you do lifetime cost/savings analysis on the materials you use to design and construct buildings? Sure you do. (maybe not you personally, but I know that they are done)
Do we do the same with automobiles? Absolutely! Consumer Reports releases their studies every year.
How about Socialized Medicine?
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
I get your point of view though. You see the cost as being justified by what you receive personally and socially.
I don’t blame you, I just disagree.
Must be those special NICU diapers. Half the size (made by huggies iirc) and they only billed me 38ish dollars a piece for em.
Yeah and you don’t get asked for it. You find out when they give you the bill. It truly is like no other industry.
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Not like I’d have a choice. The hospital I was at was the nearest one in about a 2h drive that has a NICU. I guess I could have always opted for a lifeflight to separate my wife from her premie newborn so I could get charged 36 dollars instead 5 cities over.
My wife was pretty sick twice and we didn’t take her to the doctor either time because we were worried about the cost. We had insurance but newly married and money was tight at the time. We gambled that she would be ok because we didn’t want to go for nothing and get charged a butt load for them to say yeah it’s nothing
My doctor grabbed me by the wallet and said cough!
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In my own defense, the causality loop and the alternative universe are two different SF plot devices and I just picked the one I thought more people would get as a joke. 
Cool!
(Just last night, I watched two of my Favorite “STNG” episodes…with my favorites being when we leaned more about Klingon Life…):
“DARMOK” and “The Icarus Factor” (where Worf does through a gauntlet of Klingon Pain Sticks in order to complete his Second Rite of Ascension).