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10
“$12,000 To Change Sheets?”: Woman’s Extremely High Hospital Bill Leaves Folks Baffled
Interview With Expert
Everyone should have access to affordable healthcare, especially when dealing with serious illnesses or emergencies. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case, and in places like the U.S., hospital bills often skyrocket after a simple checkup.
A woman who had to be hospitalized for leg surgery couldn’t believe the amount she had to pay after her stay. She shared the exact breakdown of the costs online, and folks were left reeling after seeing the steep bill.
More info: TikTok
RELATED:
Some people fear going to hospitals or getting checked because they don’t know what kind of bill they’ll be stuck with
Image credits: sara_janell
“I just got my hospital bill, I was in there for three days for a leg surgery, and I’m gonna read you the itemized charge list”
Sara Janell was shocked when she received a bill of $41,288 after being hospitalized for three days following her leg operation. She was charged for bed changes, a recovery room, medicines, surgical supplies, laboratory changes, operating room work, and even physical therapy.
The most surprising thing was that she didn’t even receive any physical therapy services. The only thing it could possibly be referring to was when she held the nurse’s hand when walking after the surgery. It’s unimaginable that she would be charged $874 for just that!
Image credits: sara_janell
Sara’s extreme bill left her feeling shocked because many of the charges mentioned didn’t seem appropriate for the services provided
The TikToker told netizens that even though she was charged $12,487 for room and bed changes, she had to deal with bedbugs every single night that she spent in the hospital. People asked her if she had insurance. She mentioned that she did and that her provider was going to cover a good amount of her bill but that she wouldn’t be paying the rest of it.
According to a survey, around 41% of people have healthcare debt, mainly due to such costly bills and expenses. Folks with this kind of debt sometimes try to cut their basic expenses for food, clothing, and household items just to pay off what they owe the hospital.
Image credits: sara_janell
You can find Sara’s video here
@sara_janell America has a problem… #healthcare #fyp #relatable #freehealthcare #health #medical #bills ♬ original sound – ✨𝙎𝙅✨
Basic healthcare shouldn’t be so costly that people struggle to afford to take care of themselves
It can be extremely daunting to receive a huge bill, especially after a routine surgery. That’s also why a lot of Americans try their best to avoid going to medical centers or getting the proper care; they simply can’t afford to!
To learn more about these kinds of absurd hospital charges, Bored Panda interviewed Dr. Anthony Youn, who is known as America’s Holistic Plastic Surgeon. He is also an award-winning author and expert on anti-aging.
Dr. Youn said that “hospitals charge whatever they want for services, hence the sky-high prices. They do this because no matter what they charge, insurance companies will pay whatever is contracted between the hospital and the insurance company.”
“So if they’ve contracted to pay, for example, $10,000 for an appendectomy, that is the payment from insurance, no matter if the hospital bills $10,000 or $40,000.” Even though 92% of Americans have health insurance, their firm might still refuse to cover certain costs based on their company’s guidelines.
The 8% of people without insurance coverage face an even tougher time, and many get into debt to try and pay off their bills. Luckily, Sara didn’t have to cover the entire cost herself, but it was still a shock to be charged such a high sum.
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Another surprising thing that came to light due to Sara’s post was the errors that showed up in her hospital bill. She was wrongly charged for physical therapy despite never asking for or getting the service. Even simple things like bed and room changes led to exorbitant charges.
According to studies, anywhere from 49% to 80% of hospital bills can have errors. Patients might not even realize the mistakes until they see the itemized bill. Dr. Anthony told us that “there is also no requirement for hospitals to post their prices publicly or online, which is the main problem here. People without insurance then get billed the prices that hospitals decide they want to charge.”
We asked Dr. Anthony if there was any way for people to get their medical bills lowered. He told us that “there are attorneys who can help negotiate these prices down, or the patient can try to do this on their own. This type of price gouging of patients who don’t have insurance is a major problem that I believe needs to be addressed by the federal government.”
In case someone is not able to appeal the bill amount, many folks also request payment plans that they can steadily pay off without compromising on their essential needs.
All in all, it truly shows how difficult it is for normal people to afford medical care. Do you think there’s any way around this kind of system?
People couldn’t believe the shocking charges on Sara’s bill, and many expressed gratitude for living in places with free healthcare
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
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What do you think ?
Karl der Große 3 weeks ago
The saddest part is that these high costs don't equal high incomes for people doing the hard work. It is mostly for executives and investors.
Xenia Harley 2 weeks ago
You are correct! My friend is a nurse and the hospital decides that if there aren't enough patients on a floor, someone needs to go home. They want at least 6 patients per nurse, more like 8, and there is usually someone she needs to supervise as well. It is all for profit! Healthcare should NOT be for profit!
Load More Replies...
Big Chungus 3 weeks ago
If you have the option, go to a surgical center instead of the hospital for specific operations. I went to a surgical center for my foot reconstruction and paid maybe 200 bucks compared to what could have been 70k+. This doesn't work for everything and can still be super expensive, but at least you can save a little bit from the hospital charges.
George D 3 weeks ago
Agreed. Facility costs that are imbedded in those fees vary wildly. Needed an MRI, got quotes. $2500 at the hospital or $700 at an MOB where the machine was in a semi in the back parking lot. Fully fitted up and with the exact same Siemens 1.5 Tesla MRI machine.
Load More Replies...
Uncle Schmickle 3 weeks ago
I started to read this, but couldn't stand another American rip off medical story.
Bookworm 3 weeks ago
She needs to contact her insurance company and report them for fraud. When the insurance company investigates the hospital will have to go back and justify all of the charges. Like what specific physical therapy was done, not just saying it was done. Believe me it gets very specific when it comes to filing a claim. She also needs to report the hospital for unsanitary conditions. Most likely to her state's department of health or whoever oversees the hospitals. This is why you need to insist on a detailed bill. So you can find the bs charges and question them.
Linda Lee 3 weeks ago (edited)
How much time does it take to do all that, and recover from surgery, and hold down a job, and care for herself and any family she has? It can The system isn't broken. It's working as intended.
Load More Replies...
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 3 weeks ago
My dear Mum had a cardiac arrest during a routine angiogram in 2019 which led to an emergency double bypass, then three months in hospital due to infections etc. Her bill came to ovr $100,000. She paid $0 out of pocket because her health cover paid it all. Why can't they do that in the USA?
Nizumi 3 weeks ago
WTF?!??!? I went private for my hip replacement in Canada (I'm young enough to rebuild my retirement savings.) Went in to the clinic on Friday, out first thing Sunday morning. Surgeon ($5650 + $450 for the pre-op consultation), anesthetist ($300 - dirt cheap considering they help keep you alive during the procedure), And about $15,5000 for everything else: resident doctor, at least three nurses, anesthetics, sedative, IVs, beds, food, post op follow up with PT, in house visits arranged, PT arranged, ...EVERYTHING, including bandages. Total for private treatment: Just under $22,000. Where the hell does a hospital get off with these charges?!?
Steve Sharpe 3 weeks ago (edited)
My wonderful darling wife had an accident about six years back. Tripped over a kiddies toy in the garden, fell backwards, broke her wrist trying to catch herself, banged her head on the lawn, had a seizure, and lost consciousness for a few seconds. A doctor in a rapid response vehicle arrived in less than ten minutes, followed by a paramedic in another rapid response car, a paramedic ambulance with two crew, then another with a senior paramedic and two students. Within 30 mins she was strapped to a stretcher being loaded in to a helicopter in the field behind our back garden and life-flighted to the best equipped and staffed hospital in the country for her condition. Five days inpatient treatment, half a dozen CT scans, one fMRI, x-rays of her arm, two plaster casts, blood tests, endless meds, rehab when the cast came off, a little bit of plastic surgery to hide the cut on her head (she shaves parts of her hair sometimes, so it's visible), ongoing care. You know what the biggest cost of the whole seven months experience was? About £250 on pay & display carparking (including £70 parking ticket because I didn't pay at the machine after following the helo there), and the extortionate price of scabby old dried out sandwiches from the M&S shop.
Silberwolf 2 weeks ago
The more horror stories I hear about US healthcare the more I wonder how Americans even survive til old age (at least those who are not millionaires).
Me 2 weeks ago
I had a robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery a few months ago. I was in and out of the hospital same day. Surgery was 1.5 hours, recovery 4 hours, total bill was just over $53,000.
pebs 2 weeks ago (edited)
In 2013 I had a completely free laparoscopic cholecystectomy in an Italian hospital. Although I didn't have to pay anything, the hospital informed me of the cost of my surgery + hospitalization, which was paid by the national health service, which paid the hospital back: it was exactly 3200 euros for a hospital stay of less than 4 days. I would say that, even though more than 10 years have passed, the cost of your day-hospital surgery is a pure and simple scam.
Load More Replies...
Liszt 2 weeks ago
The Health system in the US give millions of people a simple choice: die from the disease, or die starving to pay medical bills. When a matter of social relevance as healthcare becomes a business, you're no more a human being, you become simply a cost that must be contained...in any possible way.
Sonja Klasson 3 weeks ago (edited)
That’s why I live here in Sweden. I have Loeys-Dietz Syndromet, IBS, Chrones, an extra vertebra in my lower back, have pain 24/7, goes in and out of hospital allmost every month, have to take a dripp for my Chrones every seventh week, have to take pain meds every day. If I lived outside Europe, it would be so much more expensive for me. (Sorry for my bad english, it’s my third language.)
XenoMurph 3 weeks ago
Well, one did.... Murder is wrong, but the anger is understandable.
Load More Replies...
Charoltte Mike 6 days ago
I never believed initially that it'll be so successful investing bitcoin and stocks with Mr Harold Kendrick, despite the fact I invested a little amount as a beginner, I'm so glad I withdraw my $31,000 profit successfully. Contact him directly ᴏɴ Watsap+ 44 7407600166.
Ruth Kilpatrick 2 weeks ago
My son had an outpatient appendectomy and the hospital bill was over $40K.
Rick Seiden 2 weeks ago
If you challenge some of the items on the bill, like $12,000 to change sheets, or $20 for a band aid, they will remove them from the bill (in some cases). The US healthcare system isn't a joke, it's one of the best in the world. The billing department for US healthcare is a joke. People say they don't want government run health insurance because they don't want to pay for other people's healthcare, but they don't realize that if they are paying more for insurance than the insurance company is paying for their healthcare, they already are paying for other people's healthcare. (If you pay $1000 a year for your insurance, but the insurance company only pays $500 in medical bills for you, the other $500 you pay them goes to cover people who's bills are more than the $1000 they pay.)
Bernd Herbert 3 weeks ago
There have been so many articles about the US healthcare now that this should not be a surprise zo anyone. But, the fact is also, that the majority of of the people in the US obviously do not care. The last election showed that clearly. They’d rather vote for the orange clown with his non-existent policies instead for a real change.
Jessica SpeLangm 2 weeks ago
And you, Bernd, obviously don't live in the USA or use common sense to not believe everything you read on social media.
Load More Replies...
Nils Skirnir 3 weeks ago
Once private equity gets involved, the only incentive is to maximize shareholder equity and consolidate capital in as few hands as possible. There is no incentive to improve quality or reduce cost to consumer.
J Adams 2 weeks ago
In most of the world you can write anything you want on an invoice/bill BUT the ‘customer’ has the right to question it and should the grievance end up in court the company has to be able to justify the costs or the judge will reduce the costs to what is reasonable, ie a private hospital in Europe wouldn’t be able to charge thousands for changing bed sheets as the cost to them is far far less
Jessica SpeLangm 2 weeks ago
Oh YAY....another USA healthcare is f****d post. Yes, it's utterly ridiculous. Can you get better content, BP? It's annoying to have the same 5 types of posts regurgitated every week (celebrity c**p, aita c**p, lists about TV shows or movies c**p, bash the USA c**p, bash other countries c**p, etc).
Lady of the Loft 2 weeks ago
My mother was diagnosed with “not a good stage but we can fix it” cancer. They put her and all of us through hell with chemo and d***s for her to die 3 months later. Her bill was $1.3 million and thankfully she and my dad “worked” the healthcare system before they died (dad died because his nurse decided he didn’t need his medication…also another few hundred thousand dollars) and we “only” had to pay $80K for mom and $30K for dad. For a system that killed but wanted money.
Manana Man 3 weeks ago
TLDR I assume she has no insurance. So agree to pay what the insurance would pay and no more - and with a payment plan. Otherwise they get nothing. What are they going to do, take her leg back?
Shane S 2 weeks ago
Turn her into a collection agency who will harass her for 7 years for the full cost of the bill.
Load More Replies...
Shane S 2 weeks ago
How is he related to this? This is about the high bill the hospital charged, not about insurance. He didn’t unalive a hospital ceo. I think you’re putting him on a pedestal for every grievance you have with the healthcare system.
Load More Replies... 
Jennifer Clayton 3 weeks ago
The insurance companies are murdering people, and there is no legal recourse. I would not pull the trigger, but my life was ruined by this system. I pulled myself out of poverty, made a very good living and built up savings. US healthcare took it all. Lost my career, house, marriage, am not even healthier. Now I'm barely surviving on social security with ruined credit. What would you have us do, Carl. And all the people in countries where this does not happen rub it in our faces. Now I'm too poor and disabled to move to one of those countries.
Load More Replies... Karl der Große 3 weeks ago
The saddest part is that these high costs don't equal high incomes for people doing the hard work. It is mostly for executives and investors.
Xenia Harley 2 weeks ago
You are correct! My friend is a nurse and the hospital decides that if there aren't enough patients on a floor, someone needs to go home. They want at least 6 patients per nurse, more like 8, and there is usually someone she needs to supervise as well. It is all for profit! Healthcare should NOT be for profit!
Load More Replies... Big Chungus 3 weeks ago
If you have the option, go to a surgical center instead of the hospital for specific operations. I went to a surgical center for my foot reconstruction and paid maybe 200 bucks compared to what could have been 70k+. This doesn't work for everything and can still be super expensive, but at least you can save a little bit from the hospital charges.
George D 3 weeks ago
Agreed. Facility costs that are imbedded in those fees vary wildly. Needed an MRI, got quotes. $2500 at the hospital or $700 at an MOB where the machine was in a semi in the back parking lot. Fully fitted up and with the exact same Siemens 1.5 Tesla MRI machine.
Load More Replies... Uncle Schmickle 3 weeks ago
I started to read this, but couldn't stand another American rip off medical story.
Bookworm 3 weeks ago
She needs to contact her insurance company and report them for fraud. When the insurance company investigates the hospital will have to go back and justify all of the charges. Like what specific physical therapy was done, not just saying it was done. Believe me it gets very specific when it comes to filing a claim. She also needs to report the hospital for unsanitary conditions. Most likely to her state's department of health or whoever oversees the hospitals. This is why you need to insist on a detailed bill. So you can find the bs charges and question them.
Linda Lee 3 weeks ago (edited)
How much time does it take to do all that, and recover from surgery, and hold down a job, and care for herself and any family she has? It can The system isn't broken. It's working as intended.
Load More Replies... Smeghead Tribble Down Under 3 weeks ago
My dear Mum had a cardiac arrest during a routine angiogram in 2019 which led to an emergency double bypass, then three months in hospital due to infections etc. Her bill came to ovr $100,000. She paid $0 out of pocket because her health cover paid it all. Why can't they do that in the USA?
Nizumi 3 weeks ago
WTF?!??!? I went private for my hip replacement in Canada (I'm young enough to rebuild my retirement savings.) Went in to the clinic on Friday, out first thing Sunday morning. Surgeon ($5650 + $450 for the pre-op consultation), anesthetist ($300 - dirt cheap considering they help keep you alive during the procedure), And about $15,5000 for everything else: resident doctor, at least three nurses, anesthetics, sedative, IVs, beds, food, post op follow up with PT, in house visits arranged, PT arranged, ...EVERYTHING, including bandages. Total for private treatment: Just under $22,000. Where the hell does a hospital get off with these charges?!?
Steve Sharpe 3 weeks ago (edited)
My wonderful darling wife had an accident about six years back. Tripped over a kiddies toy in the garden, fell backwards, broke her wrist trying to catch herself, banged her head on the lawn, had a seizure, and lost consciousness for a few seconds. A doctor in a rapid response vehicle arrived in less than ten minutes, followed by a paramedic in another rapid response car, a paramedic ambulance with two crew, then another with a senior paramedic and two students. Within 30 mins she was strapped to a stretcher being loaded in to a helicopter in the field behind our back garden and life-flighted to the best equipped and staffed hospital in the country for her condition. Five days inpatient treatment, half a dozen CT scans, one fMRI, x-rays of her arm, two plaster casts, blood tests, endless meds, rehab when the cast came off, a little bit of plastic surgery to hide the cut on her head (she shaves parts of her hair sometimes, so it's visible), ongoing care. You know what the biggest cost of the whole seven months experience was? About £250 on pay & display carparking (including £70 parking ticket because I didn't pay at the machine after following the helo there), and the extortionate price of scabby old dried out sandwiches from the M&S shop.
Silberwolf 2 weeks ago
The more horror stories I hear about US healthcare the more I wonder how Americans even survive til old age (at least those who are not millionaires).
Me 2 weeks ago
I had a robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery a few months ago. I was in and out of the hospital same day. Surgery was 1.5 hours, recovery 4 hours, total bill was just over $53,000.
pebs 2 weeks ago (edited)
In 2013 I had a completely free laparoscopic cholecystectomy in an Italian hospital. Although I didn't have to pay anything, the hospital informed me of the cost of my surgery + hospitalization, which was paid by the national health service, which paid the hospital back: it was exactly 3200 euros for a hospital stay of less than 4 days. I would say that, even though more than 10 years have passed, the cost of your day-hospital surgery is a pure and simple scam.
Load More Replies... Liszt 2 weeks ago
The Health system in the US give millions of people a simple choice: die from the disease, or die starving to pay medical bills. When a matter of social relevance as healthcare becomes a business, you're no more a human being, you become simply a cost that must be contained...in any possible way.
Sonja Klasson 3 weeks ago (edited)
That’s why I live here in Sweden. I have Loeys-Dietz Syndromet, IBS, Chrones, an extra vertebra in my lower back, have pain 24/7, goes in and out of hospital allmost every month, have to take a dripp for my Chrones every seventh week, have to take pain meds every day. If I lived outside Europe, it would be so much more expensive for me. (Sorry for my bad english, it’s my third language.)
XenoMurph 3 weeks ago
Well, one did.... Murder is wrong, but the anger is understandable.
Load More Replies... Charoltte Mike 6 days ago
I never believed initially that it'll be so successful investing bitcoin and stocks with Mr Harold Kendrick, despite the fact I invested a little amount as a beginner, I'm so glad I withdraw my $31,000 profit successfully. Contact him directly ᴏɴ Watsap+ 44 7407600166.
Ruth Kilpatrick 2 weeks ago
My son had an outpatient appendectomy and the hospital bill was over $40K.
Rick Seiden 2 weeks ago
If you challenge some of the items on the bill, like $12,000 to change sheets, or $20 for a band aid, they will remove them from the bill (in some cases). The US healthcare system isn't a joke, it's one of the best in the world. The billing department for US healthcare is a joke. People say they don't want government run health insurance because they don't want to pay for other people's healthcare, but they don't realize that if they are paying more for insurance than the insurance company is paying for their healthcare, they already are paying for other people's healthcare. (If you pay $1000 a year for your insurance, but the insurance company only pays $500 in medical bills for you, the other $500 you pay them goes to cover people who's bills are more than the $1000 they pay.)
Bernd Herbert 3 weeks ago
There have been so many articles about the US healthcare now that this should not be a surprise zo anyone. But, the fact is also, that the majority of of the people in the US obviously do not care. The last election showed that clearly. They’d rather vote for the orange clown with his non-existent policies instead for a real change.
Jessica SpeLangm 2 weeks ago
And you, Bernd, obviously don't live in the USA or use common sense to not believe everything you read on social media.
Load More Replies... Nils Skirnir 3 weeks ago
Once private equity gets involved, the only incentive is to maximize shareholder equity and consolidate capital in as few hands as possible. There is no incentive to improve quality or reduce cost to consumer.
J Adams 2 weeks ago
In most of the world you can write anything you want on an invoice/bill BUT the ‘customer’ has the right to question it and should the grievance end up in court the company has to be able to justify the costs or the judge will reduce the costs to what is reasonable, ie a private hospital in Europe wouldn’t be able to charge thousands for changing bed sheets as the cost to them is far far less
Jessica SpeLangm 2 weeks ago
Oh YAY....another USA healthcare is f****d post. Yes, it's utterly ridiculous. Can you get better content, BP? It's annoying to have the same 5 types of posts regurgitated every week (celebrity c**p, aita c**p, lists about TV shows or movies c**p, bash the USA c**p, bash other countries c**p, etc).
Lady of the Loft 2 weeks ago
My mother was diagnosed with “not a good stage but we can fix it” cancer. They put her and all of us through hell with chemo and d***s for her to die 3 months later. Her bill was $1.3 million and thankfully she and my dad “worked” the healthcare system before they died (dad died because his nurse decided he didn’t need his medication…also another few hundred thousand dollars) and we “only” had to pay $80K for mom and $30K for dad. For a system that killed but wanted money.
Manana Man 3 weeks ago
TLDR I assume she has no insurance. So agree to pay what the insurance would pay and no more - and with a payment plan. Otherwise they get nothing. What are they going to do, take her leg back?
Shane S 2 weeks ago
Turn her into a collection agency who will harass her for 7 years for the full cost of the bill.
Load More Replies... Shane S 2 weeks ago
How is he related to this? This is about the high bill the hospital charged, not about insurance. He didn’t unalive a hospital ceo. I think you’re putting him on a pedestal for every grievance you have with the healthcare system.
Load More Replies... Jennifer Clayton 3 weeks ago
The insurance companies are murdering people, and there is no legal recourse. I would not pull the trigger, but my life was ruined by this system. I pulled myself out of poverty, made a very good living and built up savings. US healthcare took it all. Lost my career, house, marriage, am not even healthier. Now I'm barely surviving on social security with ruined credit. What would you have us do, Carl. And all the people in countries where this does not happen rub it in our faces. Now I'm too poor and disabled to move to one of those countries.
Load More Replies...
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