To: The Florida State House, The Florida State Senate, and Governor Ron DeSantis
Hospital Price Gouging
Think your health insurer is saving you money on hospital bills?
Think again.
One trip to the ER cost us THOUSANDS of dollars more, simply because we carried insurance.
Think again.
One trip to the ER cost us THOUSANDS of dollars more, simply because we carried insurance.
Why is this important?
A knee injury, caused by a bicycling fall, prompted a trip to Sarasota Memorial Hospital's Emergency Room. For their services that afternoon, SMH charged us $19,818.
HealthCareBlueBook.com calculated the FAIR COST of all the services provided by SMH at $6,800.
When I contacted SMH to discuss the FAIR COST, she responded (at first) they would "cut the bill in HALF, down to $9,909."
Then, a correction, "I'm sorry but it shows here you have insurance, which means the charges can only be reduced to $15, 260."
We must pay an additional $5,361 solely because we pay premiums on an insurance policy! That's a 54% increase!
This price gouging/price discounting circus is NOT NEEDS-BASED. No questions were asked about income or assets.
How is this system fair, especially for a taxpayer subsidized hospital?
As a local resident and homeowner, 10% of my yearly property taxes go directly to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Emergency Medical Services.
HealthCareBlueBook.com calculated the FAIR COST of all the services provided by SMH at $6,800.
When I contacted SMH to discuss the FAIR COST, she responded (at first) they would "cut the bill in HALF, down to $9,909."
Then, a correction, "I'm sorry but it shows here you have insurance, which means the charges can only be reduced to $15, 260."
We must pay an additional $5,361 solely because we pay premiums on an insurance policy! That's a 54% increase!
This price gouging/price discounting circus is NOT NEEDS-BASED. No questions were asked about income or assets.
How is this system fair, especially for a taxpayer subsidized hospital?
As a local resident and homeowner, 10% of my yearly property taxes go directly to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Emergency Medical Services.