This tell you a lot about a crooked healthcare system. Insurance is just a tiny part in it. Building a just AND efficient healthcare system is something that pretty much all countries struggle with. It either is not just, or way too expensive. And in many cases, it is both. Alas.

In the mid-90's, when I had no insurance, my husband crushed his finger and had to go to the ER. I asked for an itemized invoice, and they charged him $200 for penicillin. I told them I was not going to pay for it and they argued that I had to. I then explained that as he is highly allergic to penicillin, and had not died I was sure that they had not given an antibiotic and they could revise my bill accordingly. They then tried to tell me it was a typo and should be Tylenol. $200 for 2 Tylenol did not fly with me either, so I refused to pay a penny until I received a reasonable invoice. That took about 15 minutes and several other items were removed as "mistakes", like the $30 band-aid. It is a racket, meant to take advantage of us at our most vulnerable.

Not sure about the lab chem part, as it depends a lot on the tests done. About the sterile equipment, sadly it's not as simple as dunking equipment in hot water. Many things are single use, for example scalpel blades. As for equipment which is reused, usually they're transported to a specialised facility to be processed. There, the tools are cleaned, inspected, and sterilised in special machines (for example 120°C/248°F steam 30 minutes). After sterilisation, the tools are packaged and care must be taken so they remain sterile. So many tools are newly made and those that can be sterilised are done in special facilities. Sadly, the rarer the condition or disease, the more things end up costing, since economy of scale no longer applies. If you're wondering about cheaper ways to sterilise, sure they exist, but if the rest already costs 200k, you don't want to skimp on that 10k to save some money but increase the risk of complications by a few %.

Excellent post Sheralyn. This is just part of what Frederic Bastiat meant in his famous essay on the 'Seen' and the 'Unseen'. But there is far more to is all than just that. Who ultimately pays for all of this? Who pays for the added government bureaucracy when we finally wind up with socialized medicine? https://fee.org/articles/what-is-seen-and-what-is-not-seen/

My theory is that hospitals have to charge so much, because the insurance companies do not pay enough. So the overcharge to get as much as they can to cover the costs. I know no good answer. My hospital bills are the same way. They charge so much, but they really get paid very little from the insurance company. The amount received from the insurance companies in that example that she showed....seems wrong. I have seen how little they pay, for what they are billed...they never pay the whole amount the the hospital bills them. They we pay our deductible....and there is usually a lot they have to "eat"....which is what I used to call the difference. It really means how much they have to do without.

I worked in Procurement (purchasing) for an NHS hospital here in the UK and that was EXACTLY the though that crossed my mind. Where on Earth do those figures come from?! Sterile supplies in individual units (once you've broken a bulk pack down) cost pennies, in some cases fractions of pennies. More specialist items, depending on what they are and what they are made from, cost more (such as a sterile titanium surgical screw (£70) or a Stent (£100+) sure, but you can't tell me that child has $10K worth of items in their body or was used during surgery.

that was my thought... is she paying for the supplies for the entire hospital for one surgery? I don't think Trump's Bill is the real problem.

Oh wow, allow me to share the experience of a hospital in Singapore dumping sterile supplies on us and then charging us, WITHOUT USING SAID SUPPLIES AT ALL during the course of the stay. When we disputed the charge, we were told that they couldn't take back any supplies as it might have been contaminated.

Google chargemaster, everything will be clear after that

Saline solution is $500-800. It's salt water.

Bob 2.0 How do you figure Pro-lifers have anything to do with insurance caps? How did you connect those dots because that is wacky. I'm Pro-life and know plenty of others and not a single one of them has ever expressed a desire to see insurance caps. The only people in favor of insurance caps are the shareholders of insurance companies. The only representatives or senators that would vote for ins. caps are the ones that are in those shareholders pockets. Quit trying to lump huge groups of people into one. It's stupid.

they dont care about sending people to war either or the homeless people in America. i just dont get it.

Sadly this seems to be the case in many cases. And I agree: absolute nonsense.

Listen ya Pansy a*s'd liberal buttercup, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about...jackass!

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Really? Check again when it comes to who is 3X more charitable than liberal progressives. We support our causes with money and time, not just a march carrying a sign. I'll tell you what, next time you want to protest, how about volunteering at a charity instead?

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And we're not supposed to care if someone doesn't WANT to find a job too I suppose. We have millions on a FREE system because they're too lazy to look for work & then people like you want to allow illegal aliens to fill those jobs that the lazy won't do. Your attitude is the absolute nonsense.

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I am prolife and I DO CARE. My 2 sons are career military and I have cancer. You do not know what you are talking about.

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I'm sorry, why are men commenting on this? YOU DON'T GET AN OPINION ON THIS

You are billed for your charges and those of the people who don't carry insurance and bilk the system of billions of dollars a year. If you don't know the system, don't point fingers. What you're billed is not what you pay.

Thanks CPD228 instead of jumping to conclusions can you wait until it's on paper and we can see what the new healthcare bill entails!!!! And yes I have health problems so don't even go that route with me!!!!!!!

The uncertainty under the possibility of a new law by the GOP has premiums going up. They are strangling Obamacare. They want it to die.

You know why it costs only 5K in Holland? Because the Dutch government is interfering. They dutch taxpayer pays for part of it and the government set the limits on how much the hospital can charge. By no means Holland, like any other West European countr,y has a free market when it comes to healthcare.

Affrdble Health Care Act enabled my peers to actually GET insurance (middle income to low income). Prems went up AFTER Rep interference.

Jeff Warner you are incorrect the amount you are charged in the market is of great helped. The premiums are high because the insurance giants Anthem, Humana, Aetna and so jacked up the prices because most people can't afford the really good insurances where you have a low deductible and you get more coverage. So people are taking on the high deductible and the very low coverage being these people don't go to the doctor alot and don't use their insurance the insurance company is being paid for none usage. So that money is being invested. Now for those that are paying for the low deductible and the high premium they get caught by having to pay that 20% not covered by the insurances and caught by oh this is not covered and that is not covered.

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And that's only because he was vacationing in Holland. If you live there, you pay up to 72% in income tax every year to get that "5K for everything".

How can you say this? It's the most ridiculous statement on here and that's saying a lot. Since there is no such thing as Trumpcare how do people make these assumptions? You do know what 'assume' really does...makes an a*s of you and me! Never would wish what this lady is going through but seems like her anger is misplaced. The outlandishly high items on her bill are crazy. I would be at that billing department of that hospital in a flash no matter the insurance. I hate Obamacare and her bill reinforces that feeling because under Obamacare we all are allowing hospitals to rip us off. I am a healthy woman nearing retirement age and I have to pay exactly half of my income for insurance. HALF! Each month I have to decide between food and utilities. And that is with a $7500 deductible! I despise Congress for not coming up with a more equitable plan where everyone can survive. Mr. Trump is not our problem. If I starve or freeze to death this winter it be because of Obamacare and Congress!