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On October 16, 2016, Jessica Pell went to the ER for a deep cut in her ear.
She got an ice pack and bandage but left when she learned her doctor would be out of network.
Her bill? $5,751. (1/9)https://www.vox.com/2018/5/1/17261488/er-expensive-medical-bill …
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Do ER nurses and doctors deserve a fee for triaging those patients? Absolutely. Should it be $5,751, like Jessica was charged? Absolutely not. (4/9)
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One ER doc I talked to in Kentucky said that Medicaid typically pays $50 for this service. Medicare usually pays $129. He thought this bill was “excessive and unrealistic.” (5/9)
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Because of the ER Database, I’ve been able to write all sorts of story about ER billing. I’ve looked at the very high cost of rabies treatments (TL;DR an encounter with a bat can cost more than $10k)… (6/9)https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/7/16851134/rabies-treament-expensive-emergency-room …
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….and I've investigate insurance plans that are denying coverage for visits they say aren’t emergencies. That left one woman I talked to with a $12,000 bill. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/29/16906558/anthem-emergency-room-coverage-denials-inappropriate … (7/9)
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I want to keep writing more stories like this, and I need your help! The bigger the database we have, the more we can identify trends in medical billing. (8/9)
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Have an ER bill from the past 5 years? Share it with us at http://erbills.vox.com . Don’t have a bill? Share the project with others who might. It’s a huge help to bringing a bit more transparency to a very untransparent health care system. (9/9)
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Bills like that are simply crazy & reprehensible. They represent a terrible response to pt’s and tgere is no excuse.
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Great story. Have similar one with happy ending. Southern Ocean Medical Center charged my family more than $3,000 for a doctor to spend 2 minutes in the ER waiting room (did not enter ER at all) resetting preschool daughter's arm due to nursemaid elbow. Thankfully insurance paid
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