A hospital charged a family with a shocking hospital bill worth $1,012 for a hospital room emergency even if the doctor did not show up to check on its toddler patient.
Martand Bhatt burned his hand on the kitchen stove. When the family pediatrician saw the photo of the wound, the doctor directed them to go to the local children's hospital the next day. Mansi Bhatt, the mother, took her son to the hospital. They were directed to the emergency room.
A nurse took Martand's vital signs and checked on the burns. She then told the Bhatts to wait for the surgeon.
After more than an hour of waiting, no doctor showed up. Frustrated, Bhatt decided to take her son home as he seemed to be energetic with no medical concern. She was told to have a follow-up appointment with the doctor, but the wound has healed, making the trip unnecessary.
The shocking hospital bill
The couple got the surprise of their lives when they got the bill amounting to $1,012. United Healthcare Insurance Plan's negotiated rate was $858.92.
The nurse's assessment of Martand amounted to $192. The bulk of toddler Bhatt's bill, $820, was for the facility fee.
According to hospital officials, huge fees are necessary to cover the cost of emergency rooms, which should be open 24 hours a day as a community asset.
In an email, SSM Health spokesperson Stephanie Zoller Mueller asserts that the charges were "appropriate." She added that it was based on the "acuity of condition, discharge instructions, vital sign monitoring, traumatic wound care [and] numerous assessments.
Hospital emergency rooms bill their patients as soon as they check-in in the US.
Across the country, there are several stories involving shocking emergency room services bills despite little medical intervention at the ER.
In Georgia, for instance, a woman spent seven hours waiting at the emergency room for hospital staff to check her head injury. She had to go home with no medical intervention.
"I didn't get my vitals taken, nobody called my name. I wasn't seen at all," Taylor Davis said.
A few weeks later, she got a hospital bill worth around $700. The experience discouraged Davis from seeking medical help.
Hospital emergency room charges not appropriate
Adam Fox, the deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, said, "It's just not appropriate for someone to be charged if they're not provided treatment."
The fee could have been lower in baby Bhatt's case if the hospital had classified Bhatt's case as minor. The hospital, however, classified the toddler at Level 3, a moderate severity problem despite the minor burn and absence of medical care.
Dhaval Bhatt, the father, made several attempts to get the charges reduced. He appealed to UnitedHealthCare when his efforts failed.
Eventually, Bhatt received a call from "patient financial experience" issues of the hospital and was told that they would waive the $820 facility fee. Bhatt agreed to pay the remaining amount.
However, not all patients are as lucky. Patient advocates believe that for now, the best that patients can do is publicize the shocking hospital bills that emergency room services charge.
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