Given its election season and my pet issue, health care, is a major concern of many Americans, I thought I would share a recent experience I had at my local hospital.

Let me say for the record that the treatment I received while at the Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver was excellent. But the cost of my brief visit was mind numbing. For a four hour stay, my bill was about $4,500. Thankfully, I have excellent health insurance. In the end, it will cost me a few hundred dollars. But for many people in this county, the emergency room is their only option for medical care.

With more and more people losing their health insurance, what is an individual or family to do? Well, something needs to be done and badly. If the market could find a way to correct this problem, I’d be the first one to support it. But the market seems more interested in maintaining the status quo. We need major reform or health care will be a refuge for the wealthy.

The current system is a drag to companies shelling our huge sums to support health care for their employees. Companies and their employees are paying through the teeth for health insurance.

We need a change, period.

Ha - I found a recent Kitzhaber Health Care presentation I saw in February. Watch the video here:

http://wcdb.us/unfinished-business-of-the-baby-boom-generation-460.html

He's got some good ideas about health care you don't hear much from anyone else in politics.

Andrew

"We need a change, period."

What kind of a change?

4,500 for a 4 hour emergency stay, thats about normal, depending on what was done, remember the emergency room has to charge prople with insurance or other resources more, to make uo for everyone they treat that can't or won't pay.

Gettng rid of insurance companies would go a long way. The reason it's so expensive at the hospital is because insurance companies pay whatever fees they are billed and then pass that along to the end user. Do you really think a hospital could charge $4500 for a 4 hour stay if you were in charge of negotiating? Hell no.

Ya but dang, they sure got good drugs in there! My afternoon stay at Legacy Salmon Creek was pretty much the same. $4,500 for 5 hours and an unnecessary CT scan. I would have argued against it had I not been so doped up! Better safe than sorry though I guess. That hospital is immaculate and the care was outstanding!

They did the CAT scan, because, on the outside chance there was something it could detect, they didn't want to take the chance on getting sued.

Most tests doctors run, are to cya themselves, to protect themselves in lawsuits.

okie sez: "Most"

Most? Really?

So, can you cite a reputable source? Due to the number of fabrications you've posted, we want to see something we can confirm.

http://betsyb.blogspot.com/2007/02/shame-lawsuits.html

What most don't realize and they the hospitals won't tell you is the fact that most hospitals have huge endowments and in most cases will write down and or off all of your hospital expenses if you simply ask when you recieve the bill in the mail and the fact that it even states so in the fine print of the hospital bills.

Not even CT scans can find everything.
A biopsy on my appendix revealed a (very rare,and 99.9% fatal) type of cancer.Luckily my appendix (containing the cancer) was removed from my body anyways.
I got *seriously* lucky -The doctor had good instincts.I would very likely be dead by now if he had just relied on the CT scans.

By the way,I should mention that my surgery was paid for by the fine taxpayers of Oregon,via the Oregon Health Plan.

So Thank You All.

Monkeyboy you're welcome.

This is where my tax dollars are doing a world of good. I wish I could allocate the remainder of my federal taxes too.