Saturday, January 15, 2005
A Limit to Tolerance?
Don Shropshire, friend, colleague, and retired CEO of Tucson Medical Center sends along the below paragraph from the January 3, 2005 issue of AzHHA Health-E-News, the daily news service of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association.
Don’s finding it of interest must mean that the tolerance of even a battered old hospital administrator has its limits.
…………………….
“[Arizona] Republic columnist Laurie Roberts writes a sequel to an earlier piece that criticized lack of sufficient scrutiny of hospital bills to insurance companies. An example was given of two “torso socks” (aka T-shirts) that cost $278 apiece, billed to a patient by Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Blue Cross did not dispute the bill. Examples at other hospitals include: a $28 toothbrush; a $61 IV needle; a $19.95 raised toilet seat billed at $96 to Medicare; a $57 paper hospital gown and a $265 gelatin sponge. When John Warnick’s son John broke his leg, the ambulance ride cost him $1,000, even though he simply rode in the ambulance in a seatbelt, with no medical care provided. A $40 sports physical mysteriously became $248 when a clinic discovered Paul Berardi’s son had insurance coverage. Berardi filed a complaint with the Arizona Medical Board, which called it “a miscommunication.” “When you look at it, inflation is less than 3 percent. Why are medical cosdts going up 15 to 18 percent?” Berardi asked. Officials say the cost of technology, lawsuits, uninsured patients and staffing a hospital around the clock lead to these huge markups. Despite that, hospitals around the state are adding beds and more staff. Alan Blumenreich, the father billed for the T-shirts, will pay his bill, but also says he will file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.”
Anyone wishing to read the entire article will find it at http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0101roberts01.html
I looked it up. Roberts concluded her article by saying “Something's fractured all right, and it's far worse than anything Matt Blumenreich did to his back.”
Don Shropshire, friend, colleague, and retired CEO of Tucson Medical Center sends along the below paragraph from the January 3, 2005 issue of AzHHA Health-E-News, the daily news service of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association.
Don’s finding it of interest must mean that the tolerance of even a battered old hospital administrator has its limits.
…………………….
“[Arizona] Republic columnist Laurie Roberts writes a sequel to an earlier piece that criticized lack of sufficient scrutiny of hospital bills to insurance companies. An example was given of two “torso socks” (aka T-shirts) that cost $278 apiece, billed to a patient by Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Blue Cross did not dispute the bill. Examples at other hospitals include: a $28 toothbrush; a $61 IV needle; a $19.95 raised toilet seat billed at $96 to Medicare; a $57 paper hospital gown and a $265 gelatin sponge. When John Warnick’s son John broke his leg, the ambulance ride cost him $1,000, even though he simply rode in the ambulance in a seatbelt, with no medical care provided. A $40 sports physical mysteriously became $248 when a clinic discovered Paul Berardi’s son had insurance coverage. Berardi filed a complaint with the Arizona Medical Board, which called it “a miscommunication.” “When you look at it, inflation is less than 3 percent. Why are medical cosdts going up 15 to 18 percent?” Berardi asked. Officials say the cost of technology, lawsuits, uninsured patients and staffing a hospital around the clock lead to these huge markups. Despite that, hospitals around the state are adding beds and more staff. Alan Blumenreich, the father billed for the T-shirts, will pay his bill, but also says he will file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.”
Anyone wishing to read the entire article will find it at http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0101roberts01.html
I looked it up. Roberts concluded her article by saying “Something's fractured all right, and it's far worse than anything Matt Blumenreich did to his back.”
