So, the bills have started to come in for the tune up that I had almost a month ago. The interesting part here is that the parts are much than I would have thought they should be compared to the labor. The bill above wasn’t the only set of charges, just the major ones.
Altogether labor was around $4800 and parts were $6100. Only 44% of the cost was to pay the highly skilled knife wielder and the gas man who was balancing my brain in the here-nor-there for an hour or so? Given that the parts left in me were minor, I have to assume the rest of the costs were to pay other random care-takers & bed rental, etc. Somehow I guess I expected the two individuals who were in charge of the whole operation to get a bit more than 44%. Makes me wish I would have left a tip.
The real brain scratcher is the insurance company’s black magic that allows the surgeon/hospital to charge X, and the insurance company to “adjust” the rate down and pay only 20% of X. I can see now why insurance companies are indispensable… they must have god-like bargaining power. No wonder people are so boned w/o insurance.
You sure that the doctor’s bill isn’t coming separately?
Quite possibly; I’m try’n to hold out my judgement until I see for sure… we shall see.
The insurance company magic IS black magic. I'm not sure how it works either but it surprises me to no end that Jon Doe uninsured would pay, say, $1k but Big Insurance Company pays $300 and you pay $100. Why doesn't Jon Doe get the $400 rate?