What should it cost to put a cast on a kid's arm?

[No2rdame]

While I said under $500, I can say from recent experience that the cost is much more. After my hand surgery the cost for the X-rays was only $180, but the cost charged to my insurance just for the cast was about $1500. Oh, and if you think $53 is bad for tylenol, my insurance was billed $50 for a warm blanket as part of the pre-op procedure.

 

[CHCRandy]

Before his three-hour neck surgery for herniated disks in December, Peter Drier, 37, signed a pile of consent forms. A bank technology manager who had researched his insurance coverage, Mr. Drier was prepared when the bills started arriving: $56,000 from Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, $4,300 from the anesthesiologist and even $133,000 from his orthopedist, who he knew would accept a fraction of that fee............

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/us/drive-by-doctoring-surprise-medical-bills.html?_r=0


So I guess we should tell them we don't have insurance, then when they bill us send it to insurance....obviously insurane companies like getting screwed......thus we all must get screwed.

 

[vitamink]

I would have done the X-ray, made a duct tape cast, and given her a robotic arm on a harness to use while her arm repairs itself all for free if you'd stipple another M&P for me.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Duct tape FTW. Seriously, you tell them you have no insurance and/or are paying cash, and you get a serious discount. Been there, done that. Our immediate care has an Xray machine, and if they can set the bone I'll plaster the thing up myself. There's no magic to it. I think what they use now is more like fiberglass, but I can do that, too. Anything more than a thousand is insurance bureaucracy.

 

[femurphy77]

Obamacare, out of pocket or real insurance?

 

[phylodog]

Obamacare, out of pocket or real insurance?

Reasonable cost for service

 

[PapaScout]

I do not work in the medical field, but what I think the services are worth :
$200 - Xrays taken, materials used, images logged.
$100 - Someone to read it to determine severity of break and if growth plate affected.
$75 - Someone to wrap the arm, materials used.
$10 - Discharge and file with insurance

 

[radar8756]

I recently had my shoulder X-rayed ... ( no cast ) and my 15 % co-pay came out ~ $ 115
X-ray 82 - Ins discount 63 = 19 co-pay
Radiology 293 - Ins discount 253 = 40 co-pay
Imaging service 827 - Ins discount 771 = 56 co-pay

 

[Que]

I just took my son to the doctor for a burn on his hand. They washed it and wrapped it, gave him an aspirin and we went home. The deductible was $150 and I guessed the entire process would cost maybe $50. I am curious to see the bill.

 

[Rookie]

In the future, demand a prescription for Silvadene. It is great for burns.

 

[g00n24]

Dem fancy xray machines ain't cheap. Hospitals have to pay them off, pay for upkeep, pay for the nurse to take the radiograph, pay for the doctor to diagnose (and in case you didn't know doctors ain't cheap either, with their extensive training/education AND malpractice insurance...), pay for another doctor and nurse to do the casting.....AND THEN pay for all the staff hours during the visit(s). AND THEN you have to pay for whatever the value of the service provided is...so what should it cost? As much as it does is my answer.

ETA: xray technology isn't new but the technology used today is new. You know those little digital xray sensors your dentist uses nowadays? Wanna guess how much those can cost....like $10,000. I have no idea how expensive sensors for other body parts would cost. That stuff has to get paid off somehow

 

[bradmedic04]

The poll is broken. There's no option to choose "bacon."

$800 range for an xray is what I'd guess, $500 for the cast and such, so $1300.

 

[phylodog]

AND THEN pay for all the staff hours during the visit(s).

Soooo, paying the salary of the people who stand around doing little to nothing as I sit in a room for an hour after my appointment time waiting to be seen by a doctor seems legit to some people? Strangely it doesn't to me. I am not exaggerating when I say there were five employees of the doctor's office who stood outside of the exam room talking about what they were going to do over the weekend while I sat in the room with my daughter waiting to see the Dr.

No one has come up with any other industries where you don't get the benefit of knowing what it will cost for a service until after you've received it? Sounds similar to the statement that our elected officials needed to sign a bill into law so they could have the opportunity to see what was in it. Coincidence?

 

[bwframe]

There is no accurate way to guess. There are too many numbers that are not known. Too many people that pay nothing. Too many that abuse the system. Pricing is so cryptic and drawn out that there is virtually no competition. This is all before Obamacare even comes into play.

 

[patience0830]

Caveat Emptor.

Setting and casting a non-compound arm fracture should realistically cost (IMHO) about $350. The problem is the system doesn't work as fee(directly from patient) for service (paid directly to MD.) Government employees and insurance companies have their hands in the cookie jar and the consumer has so little actual immediate skin in the game that he doesn't shop for the best deal. Even on non emergency stuff.

It's our fault. We let it happen.



How do we change it?

CAN we change it?

 

[g00n24]

Soooo, paying the salary of the people who stand around doing little to nothing as I sit in a room for an hour after my appointment time waiting to be seen by a doctor seems legit to some people? Strangely it doesn't to me. I am not exaggerating when I say there were five employees of the doctor's office who stood outside of the exam room talking about what they were going to do over the weekend while I sat in the room with my daughter waiting to see the Dr.

No one has come up with any other industries where you don't get the benefit of knowing what it will cost for a service until after you've received it? Sounds similar to the statement that our elected officials needed to sign a bill into law so they could have the opportunity to see what was in it. Coincidence?

Hey I'm not saying they shouldn't be more efficient, but some of that cost is going to the staff, like it or not. You would know the fees, or at least an estimate, if medical insurance wasn't the way it is. Insurance will pay for it so they don't have to show you the fees, I'm not saying that's right.

Still. What would you do if you saw an itemized estimate before your treatment? Refuse that triple bypass because the sterilization fee is a few hundred? I doubt it.
Get rid of third party payers and you would see fees drop dramatically since no one could afford treatment. However hospitals could save money since they wouldn't have to deal with insurance BS.

 

[g00n24]

Caveat Emptor.

Setting and casting a non-compound arm fracture should realistically cost (IMHO) about $350. The problem is the system doesn't work as fee(directly from patient) for service (paid directly to MD.) Government employees and insurance companies have their hands in the cookie jar and the consumer has so little actual immediate skin in the game that he doesn't shop for the best deal. Even on non emergency stuff.

It's our fault. We let it happen.



How do we change it?

CAN we change it?

I think you said what I was trying to say much betterer

 

[ModernGunner]

Shouldn't cost more than $500 to slap some plaster on an arm.

 

[GunSlinger]

It's at times like this that I miss the wit and wisdom of Hoosierdoc.

 

[g00n24]

It's at times like this that I miss the wit and wisdom of Hoosierdoc.

Is hoosierdoc no longer with us?