Health care – Prescription for waste: $1000 toothbrush
Raymond
billion a year, or an average of $1,300 per hospital stay
Never pay the bill before leaving the hospital. You may be told this
is required, but it is not
March 1, 2010
Health care – Prescription for waste: $1000 toothbrush
Posted: 09:00 AM ET
American Morning - amFIX blog
Filed under: Health care - Prescription for waste?
We should all ask for itemized bills from the hospitals . You will be
suprised at what will be on that statement that you did not get but
were charged for.
Editor's Note: All this week, in the American Morning original series
"Health care – Prescription for waste," we're examining more waste in
the health care system – and this time it could involve your money.
Today, a medical billing advocate shows our Elizabeth Cohen some of
the wasteful charges she's seen in bills. And tomorrow on American
Morning, we go shopping for health care to show you how you can save
hundreds when it comes to your own medical bills.
(CNN) – Imagine someone spending a thousand bucks for a toothbrush. It
might be amusing – if it wasn't your money. Consider this: for every
dollar we spend on health care, fifty cents is wasted.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen shows us just how
expensive some medical accessories can be and whether you’re getting
slammed with bogus bills.
http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/01/health-care-prescription-for-waste-1000-toothbrush/
How to Reduce Your Hospital Bills
The medical industry, unlike virtually every other business, loves to
keep their prices secret. They do this, very simply, so they can make
more money. Only by shopping your medical care, demanding price
transparency, negotiating for the best price, and carefully reviewing
your bill can you be assured that you are getting a fair price, and
not being ripped off.
Hospital Overcharges
Anyone who has ever tried to decipher a hospital bill knows that they
can be next to impossible to understand. This conveniently makes it
easy for hospitals to hide improper charges by using mysterious
medical technology and codes. Whether through deliberate overcharges
or honest errors, experts estimate that hospitals overcharge patients
by $10 billion a year, or an average of $1,300 per hospital stay.
Hospitals have been known to charge $129 for a "mucus recovery system"
that was really a $2 box of tissues, $57.50 for a "free" teddy bear,
and even $1,004 for a toothbrush. Most people never see an itemized
statement, and so have no idea what they're being charged for.
Nora Johnson, a medical billing advocate, was quoted in a recent
article saying that over 90% of the hospitals bills that she has
audited have had gross overcharges.
How To Avoid Overcharges
Hospitals often go to extraordinary lengths to discourage you from
delving too much into your bill. Nevertheless, there are some specific
things you can do to make sure you're not getting taken for a ride.
If possible, call the hospital's billing department ahead of time and
ask them what you will be charged for a room and what that charge
includes. If it doesn't include something you might need, such as
tissues, bring your own.
Ask your doctor to estimate your cost of treatment.
Bring your own prescription medications to avoid paying top price for
medications purchased from the hospital.
If possible, keep your own lists of tests, medications, and
treatments. Hospitals have been known to charge men for pregnancy
tests and adults for newborn tests.
Never pay the bill before leaving the hospital. You may be told this
is required, but it is not. Before paying your bill read it carefully,
and compare it to the estimated costs you were given before being
admitted.
Demand an itemized bill, and ask for a detailed explanation for any
items you don't understand. Don't accept generic answers like "lab
fees" or "miscellaneous fees".
Bill Review and Settlement Services
Since very few people actually know what the lowest wholesale price
available from the medical provider actually is, you may want to have
a professional review service check out your bill. HSA for America has
secured for our readers a free membership with Insnet. This is a
company that will provide an independent review of your out-of-pocket
medical bills to ensure that you are paying the lowest wholesale rate
that the medical provider offers.
For any medical bill over $200, Insnet will act as your negotiator, at
no charge to you. Third party administrators, HMOs, and large
companies routinely negotiate with hospitals in order to get the
lowest price available. This company makes that available to the
individual consumer. If they can save you some money, they take 30% of
the savings as their fee - you get the rest. (This special offer is
only available to Maximize Your HSA readers.) If they cannot reduce
your bill, there is no charge.
I used this service last summer when I had my appendix removed. When a
hospital bill is submitted to an insurance company, the bill is
routinely reduced by the insurance company's wholesale reimbursement
contract. After this discount, I had hospital and doctor charges
totaling $3,228.56. Upon giving My Medical Control authorization to
negotiate my bill, they were able to negotiate additional savings,
reducing my bill to $3,027.05. They kept $70.13 of the savings as a
fee for their services, and I was able to save $130.98. (Not a huge
savings, but not bad for something that took about 5 minutes of my
time).
Supply and Demand
The great promise of health savings accounts is that they will re-
inject market competition into the healthcare market. As all of us who
were fortunate enough to take Economics 101 understand, the balance of
supply and demand provides the public with the greatest value at the
lowest possible cost. If company B can produce and distribute the same
quality widgets as company A, but at a lower cost, then the average
price of widgets will fall, more people will be able to afford more
widgets, and the average quality of a widget will increase, as
businesses compete for customers.
This is a wonderful system, and is part of what has made the United
States the wealthiest country in the world. Unfortunately, this system
has not been in play when it comes to healthcare, because the consumer
has not typically been paying the bill. As a result, the consumer
doesn't care what the service costs, and most doctors, hospitals, and
pharmacies are very reluctant to reveal their (high) prices.
Health Savings Accounts are changing all that. By being proactive and
demanding price transparency and billing integrity, you will not only
lower your own medical expenses, but you'll help change the system for
the better.
If you still do not have an HSA plan, you can lower your taxes and
premiums by switching now. Instant quotes and online applications are
available on our website, www.HSAforAmerica.com. Every month you delay
reduces your maximum contribution (and tax deduction) for 2006. If you
would like to consult with us before choosing a plan, you may schedule
a personal consultation.
To your health and wealth,
Wiley Long
President - HSA for America
Tam
news:8f36703d-ddff-412e...@l17g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/01/health-care-prescription-for-waste-1000-toothbrush/
Hospital Overcharges
How To Avoid Overcharges
Supply and Demand
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other tricks used by hospitals is billing you for doctors who had no
significant connection with your case. Andy Rooney told a story of how a
doctor stopped by his room for a minute and said how much he enjoyed his
show. Rooney got a bill of around $250 from him. I've seen this sort of
thing happen several times. Or it's common for you to get a bill from the
doctors for an "initial examination" and be billed again in the hospital
bill. Psychiatrists can actually force you into being admitted if you go to
the emergency room and they decide that you're a danger to yourself. It
takes weeks to get a hearing before a judge, and they'll release you before
that but charge you for all the time, tests, etc. The golden rule of
hospitals seems to be whatever makes money for them is right. And I don't
buy that line that they're just practicing "defensive medicine." They did
tests on me that I just had done the day before; the only reason was to
make money.
Raymond
> "Raymond" <Bluerhy...@aol.com> wrote in message
> reduces your maximum contribution (and tax deduction) for 2006. If you
> would like to consult with us before choosing a plan, you may schedule
> a personal consultation.
>
> To your health and wealth,
>
> Wiley Long
> President - HSA for America
>
> Other tricks used by hospitals is billing you for doctors who had no
> significant connection with your case. Andy Rooney told a story of how a
> doctor stopped by his room for a minute and said how much he enjoyed his
> show. Rooney got a bill of around $250 from him. I've seen this sort of
> thing happen several times. Or it's common for you to get a bill from the
> doctors for an "initial examination" and be billed again in the hospital
> bill. Psychiatrists can actually force you into being admitted if you go to
> the emergency room and they decide that you're a danger to yourself. It
> takes weeks to get a hearing before a judge, and they'll release you before
> that but charge you for all the time, tests, etc. The golden rule of
> hospitals seems to be whatever makes money for them is right. And I don't
> buy that line that they're just practicing "defensive medicine." They did
> tests on me that I just had done the day before; the only reason was to
> make money.
They are not only thieves, they may kill you and charge you extra for
it.
The US has the most expensive, the most corrupt and the most dangerous
health care system in the modern world and, this also corrupt Congress
will
do nothing to protect the American people.
I blame it on the corrupt doctors who have more interest in making
money than
taking the proper care of their patients. Without them participating
in the fraud
and approving of it, they become the cause, in my opinion. Thay will
do anything
to scam the system. This included playing footsies with the
pharmacutical giants
while hustling their poisons.
Doctors have become the pimps and whores in health care. And, this
does not mean that
there are not some great and capable people in health care, including
doctors. However,
most are arrogant liars and spend more time thinking about more ways
to scam the system
and get richer faster than taking proper care of their patients.
Anyone who is not aware of this awful policy has been up in the
Catskills with Rip Van Winkle
for the last 20 years sound asleep. The poor performance of the US was
recently confirmed by a World Health Organization study, which used
different data and ranked the United States as 15th among 25
industrialized countries.
Warning Do not trust a doctor until you know everything there is to
know about him and be sure
to find out about whether his advice is sound. Check with a pharmacist
about the medication
your medicine man writes for you. It may kill you...And the doctor
gets to write the death certificate.
Doctors are not gods and God does not want to be a doctor. HE may be
too honest to qualify.
Although the record of the United States Medical community in the cure
of disease is deplorable, the same cannot be said for its ability to
produce income and profit. For example, for the top fifteen
pharmaceutical companies, including such names as Abbot, Wyeth,
Hoffman-La Roche, Merck and others, the second quarter revenue for
2002 was reported as $63,520.6 million and the corresponding reported
income was 11,731.8 million respectively. This is second only to the
defense industry in the United States.
Another analysis concluded that between 4% and 18% of consecutive
patients experience negative effects in outpatient settings,with:
116 million extra physician visits
77 million extra prescriptions
17 million emergency department visits
8 million hospitalizations
3 million long-term admissions
199,000 additional deaths
$77 billion in extra costs
The high cost of the health care system is considered to be a deficit,
but seems to be tolerated under the assumption that better health
results from more expensive care.
However, evidence from a few studies indicates that as many as 20% to
30% of patients receive inappropriate care
I call my medicine man MY TOUR GUIDE because he always send me to some
other quack in town to see if he can find out what is ailing me. I'm
sure that when he dies he will have to be screwed into the ground
because he is so crooked.
You say , "Change doctors." That is like telling me that I must have a
veneral disease but I have a choice, syphilis or gonnorea. Thanks.
Even the dentists are now in the fraud act.
Dental fraud — Warning Fraud May Reach Into Billions . This could be
something even much larger than could be investigated.
Fraud of the Month Archives
Dentists: 94% Want to Dump Dental Insurance Companies
Story ideas
Here are several prominent insurance schemes and fraud trends. Most
of
these schemes persist year after year, though with some variations.
Others, such as diversion of prescription narcotics, have spread
rapidly in the last several years.
Dishonest dentists will pull teeth, do root canals and drill cavities
for people with perfectly healthy teeth. These dentists hike their
own
insurance billings by charging insurers for painful, unneeded and
invasive surgeries that often are botched and require more surgery to
correct. Sometimes dentists charge insurers and government health
programs for surgery and other treatments they never performed. They
may also inflate bills by disguising routine procedures such as tooth
polishing as more elaborate and expensive work. Dentists also are
increasingly involved in drug diversion schemes.
Newsroom
Coalition against insurance fraud
Doctors are the third leading cause of death in the USA, third behind
cancer and heart disease.
SEE
Doctors Are The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US, Causing
225,000 Deaths Every Year
This article was published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
July 26, 2000
This information is a followup of the Institute of Medicine report
which hit the papers in December of last year, but the data was hard
to reference as it was not in peer-reviewed journal. Now it is
published in JAMA which is the most widely circulated medical
periodical in the world.
The author is Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of
Hygiene and Public Health and she desribes how the US health care
system may contribute to poor health.
ALL THESE ARE DEATHS PER YEAR:
http://www.relfe.com/A06/doctor_medical.html
Also see
GANGSTERS IN MEDICINE or The Medical Mafia
By Thomas Smith
NewsWithViews.com
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently reported that
as many as 106,000 deaths occur annually in US hospitals due to
adverse reactions to prescription drugs that are properly prescribed
by physicians that use them as directed by the drug companies.
Even worse, the National Council for Patient Information and Education
reported that an additional 125,000 deaths occur annually due to
adverse reactions to drugs that the physician never should have
prescribed. In these deaths the doctor did not follow the instructions
on proper administration of the drugs. For example, Glucophage, a
diabetic oral hypoglycemic, should never be prescribed for patients
with Kidney disease or Congestive Heart Failure because it can cause
fatal Lactic Acidosis in these patients. A warning label is
prominently placed on the medication container to warn of this
potential misuse
The annual death toll from synthetic prescription drugs, both from the
correctly prescribed and the incorrectly prescribed, amounts to about
231,000 deaths every year. To put this into perspective, this is the
equivalent of a world trade center disaster every week for over a year
and a half or the crash of two fully loaded 747 aircraft every day of
the year.
No information was reported on the number of outpatient and doctor's
office deaths caused by these very same drugs when prescribed by these
very same doctors. The reported figures alone, however, make drug
deaths caused by physicians the third leading cause of death in the
US. It is far ahead of accidents, drunk driving, homicides, airline
accidents, as well as all other disease with the sole exceptions of
cancer and heart disease.
Many of these drugs responsible for the death statistics cited are
diabetic drugs. None of these drugs cure or even were intended to cure
diabetes. During the time a patient is on the drugs his body is
suffering great damage due to the uncontrolled progress of the
disease. This is in addition to the risk and damage caused by the drug
itself.
Cont'd
http://www.newswithviews.com/health_care/health_care4.htm
"Greed is good."
--- Gordon Gekko
More and more Americans are waking up to the reality of our medical
community. More and more they are finding it to be a fraud and they
are turning to less conventional treatments and modalities.
Even Cuba has a better heath care system than the USA and it is free.
AND, live longer than Americans
Thanks to Castro instead of the US government and the Mafia's choice
of Batista The Cuban health care system is producing a population
that is as healthy as those of the world's wealthiest countries at a
fraction of the cost. ...
Go to alt.health and read some of the articles about this bunch of
arrogant vultures. It will hopefully open your eyes and maybe even
save your life or the life of a loved one.
Best wishes
RAYMOND
Raymond
>
> "Greed is good."
> --- Gordon Gekko
>
> More and more Americans are waking up to the reality of our medical
> community. More and more they are finding it to be a fraud and they
> are turning to less conventional treatments and modalities.
>
> Even Cuba has a better heath care system than the USA and it is free.
> AND, live longer than Americans
> Thanks to Castro instead of the US government and the Mafia's choice
> of Batista The Cuban health care system is producing a population
> that is as healthy as those of the world's wealthiest countries at a
> fraction of the cost. ...
>
> Go to alt.health and read some of the articles about this bunch of
> arrogant vultures. It will hopefully open your eyes and maybe even
> save your life or the life of a loved one.
>
> Best wishes
> RAYMOND
The following are examples of possible Medicare fraud:
•A health care provider bills Medicare for services you never
received.
•A supplier bills Medicare for equipment you never got.
•Someone uses another person’s Medicare card to get medical care,
supplies, or equipment.
•Someone bills Medicare for home medical equipment after it has been
returned.
•A company offers a Medicare drug plan that has not been approved by
Medicare.
•A company uses false information to mislead you into joining a
Medicare plan.
Medicare fraud affects every American. Waste, fraud and abuse take
critical resources out of our health care system, and contribute to
the rising cost of health care for all Americans.
Eliminating fraud will cut costs for families, businesses and the
federal government and increase the quality of services for those who
need care.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) are working together to help eliminate
fraud and investigate fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid operators who
are cheating the system.
Attorney General Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius are
taking the fight against Medicare and Medicaid fraud to a new level.
They have convinced senior officials from HHS and DOJ to work together
on the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team
(HEAT).
Raymond
What to Look For
Fighting fraud is everyone's responsibility: patients, brokers,
employers, and providers. Did you know these are signs of fraud?
Submitting for services that were never performed.
Misrepresenting the actual treatment rendered in an attempt to gain
benefits.
Misrepresenting treatment dates in an attempt to gain benefits.
Misrepresenting the teeth numbers and/or surfaces that work was
performed on in an attempt to gain benefits.
Billing insurance companies more for a service than what is charged on
the patient ledger.
Misrepresenting the diagnosis to justify payment for certain services.
Dental offices that do not charge or collect full co-payment,
deductibles, or extend discounts and fail to disclose it on the
submitted claim.
Falsifying treatment and/or financial records.
Billing for cosmetic services as medically necessary procedures.
Submitting claims for services performed by unlicensed individuals.
Dental offices/patients that conceal other insurance coverage that
would pay for services on the claim form submitted (medical, dental
and/or workman's compensation).
Misrepresenting the identities of patients/subscribers/providers.
Individuals who misrepresent their identity by using another
individual's insurance.
Placing a non-covered person on your policy by misrepresenting their
relationship to you.
http://www.deltadentalnj.com/fraud/what_to_look.shtml
Fraud Information
The purpose of this page is to inform our members, clients and
dentists about dental insurance fraud. This website also provides
another means to communicate suspected fraud to United Concordia.
Protecting our customers - Find out why United Concordia targets
dental fraud
How you can help to detect dental fraud
https://secure.ucci.com/ducdws/home.xhtml?content=General-Fraud
https://secure.ucci
Examples:
Dentist, two others, charged with insurance fraud - Sun Sentinel
Royal Palm Beach dentist charged with insurance fraud
Authorities say the owner of a Royal Palm Beach dental clinic, along
with his business manager and office manager, fraudulently billed
insurers for tens of thousands of dollars in services The three,
residents of suburban West Palm Beach, are charged with 22 fraud
counts each: 10 counts of insurance fraud between $20,000 and
$100,000, 10 counts of grand theft; one count of scheme to defraud,
and one count of aggravated white collar crime.
The three "manipulated clients' payments to benefit themselves," an
affidavit says
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/royal-palm-beach-dentist-charged-with-insurance-fraud-908547.htm
Dentist fined $75,000.00 for insurance fraud.(NEW JERSEY) - .
.http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-167430902.html.
Dentist admits insurance fraud scheme - Topix
A Syosset dentist pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn
Wednesday to insurance fraud and identity theft in a scheme to scam
Hundreds more can be found quilty of dental fraud across country.
> Cont'dhttp://www.newswithviews.com/health_care/health_care4.htm