TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) – Emergency room patients are having more than health problems lately.
The cost of a trip to the ER used to cost patients around $100. Recently, however, prices have skyrocketed.
Health care provided by companies today can cause those needing only an x-ray or a few stitches to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Our Call 11 for Action Alert this week investigated ER sticker shock. One of the recent victims of high healthcare costs, Sue Knox, was interviewed about her experience.
Knox was gardening in her yard when a neighborhood dog attacked her. She was rushed to the hospital to get her injured leg taken care of. When she got there, she says she never saw a doctor, but instead an aide put two small bandages on the wound, and a nurse gave her a tetanus shot.
This trip cost her $900.
"900 and 63 dollars and 70 cents was the bill for the emergency room. What did you think? I thought it was crazy." Knox told us about the ordeal.
Unfortunately, her high deductible health plan causes high ER bills.
These plans produce high bills for a level two hospital visit- which include cuts or broken bones- which can start with a $400 facility fee.
It only goes up from there, with a $200-$1,000 doctor fee, and lab tests and x-rays adding another $400.
"There are professional fees, facility fees, diagnostic fees, etc. So it does become confusing for the average consumer." explains John Rudnick. Rudnick, a former hospital administrator, is now the Chief Financial Officer of an outpatient clinic.
So what could possibly be the reason for such high fees? Rudnick told us that paying ER customers unfortunately are helping to pay the bill for those who cannot.
Rudnick further explains that if it's minor, it's not worth a trip to the ER. He says instead to first call your doctor or insurer's nurse hotline and ask what to do.
If it's a minor injury, he advises to go to an urgent care clinic, which has fees a fraction of the ER:
"Stitches or wounds that may or may not need to be addressed, they can serve a very useful purpose. And those providers are well trained to refer on if the scope of what they are presented with is beyond what they can take care of."
The New York Times says that Urgent Care centers are great for a variety of services, including: sore throats, cuts and sprains, broken toes and minor burns.
The Time also says that you should always ask whether you really need a lab test or shot.
Although most of Knox's bill was picked up by insurance, her husband Tom says that it's still not right:
The bottom line is to go to the hospital if you are seriously injured. Otherwise, it may be worth it to wait and see what the cheaper options are.
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