To: The California Hospital Association
California Hospitals: Stop Overcharging Patients!
Stop charging patients an average of 300% above the cost of care! Use real-world prices that allow patients to get the care they need without fear of bankruptcy.
Why is this important?
Two years ago, I was hit by a car, and ended up in a coma at Cedars-Sinai. I was there for two weeks before they sent me home, still unable to walk, without physical therapy or pain medication because I didn't have insurance.
Then the bills started. $235,000 for those two weeks. I just started crying. And the bills just kept coming. I'm working and feel better now, but the bills are still there. I can never pay this.
And my story is just one of thousands. People across California are suffering from outrageous hospital bills. Bills with prices like $21 for a single aspirin tablet, $18 for two Alka-Seltzer, or $35 for a tube of hydrocortisone cream.
Hospitals in California charge prices like these every day--overcharging by an average of 300% or more above their actual costs. And these kinds of prices keep many Californians from getting the care they need, and leave others--like me--under a growing mountain of healthcare debt. Meanwhile, the hospital industry in California made more than $4 billion in profits in 2012.
We can’t afford it. California’s healthcare providers must bring costs down to reasonable, affordable rates.
Then the bills started. $235,000 for those two weeks. I just started crying. And the bills just kept coming. I'm working and feel better now, but the bills are still there. I can never pay this.
And my story is just one of thousands. People across California are suffering from outrageous hospital bills. Bills with prices like $21 for a single aspirin tablet, $18 for two Alka-Seltzer, or $35 for a tube of hydrocortisone cream.
Hospitals in California charge prices like these every day--overcharging by an average of 300% or more above their actual costs. And these kinds of prices keep many Californians from getting the care they need, and leave others--like me--under a growing mountain of healthcare debt. Meanwhile, the hospital industry in California made more than $4 billion in profits in 2012.
We can’t afford it. California’s healthcare providers must bring costs down to reasonable, affordable rates.