Hospital Bills Woman After 19 Hour Wait, Never Saw Doctor

[Chris_]

Hospital Bills Woman After 19 Hour Wait, Never Saw Doctor

DALLAS —  A woman who never saw a doctor even though she waited 19 hours with an injured leg in Parkland Memorial Hospital's emergency department got a bill from the hospital for $162.

Amber Joy Milbrodt, who said she fractured a bone in her right leg while playing volleyball, received the bill two weeks after her Sept. 24 visit.

"It should have been more like them paying me for having to sit in the emergency room for 19 hours. That's just sad. It's not proper. It's almost not moral, what I went through," she said in a story for Monday's online edition of The Dallas Morning News.

Parkland officials say the bill was appropriate because a nurse spent time assessing Milbrodt for triage.

*snip*

Meanwhile, 29-year-old Milbrodt, who has no insurance, said she does not plan to pay the bill, nor does she intend to go back to Parkland. After leaving the ER, she spent a few days resting at home with her leg up and then put it in a brace, which she still wears. It seems to be healing, she said.

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Just think how long the wait will be when we all have "free" healthcare.   

[MrsSmith]

who has no insurance, said she does not plan to pay the bill

Quite a few already do...which is one of the worst problems with healthcare at this point in time.

[formerlurker]

$162 for a nurse to take your vitals  -- which took all of 3 minutes?   Are they kidding me?

[Chris_]

Quite a few already do...which is one of the worst problems with healthcare at this point in time.

Yep.  I design hospitals.  We've done quite a few Emergency Depts lately that have layouts that make it impossible for a patient to slip out without paying.

[MrsSmith]

$162 for a nurse to take your vitals  -- which took all of 3 minutes?   Are they kidding me?

If she was actually inside the ER, not in the waiting room, they probably billed her for the room.  If she never got past the waiting room, it's a bouncy.

I could be wrong...though that is how every hospital I've ever worked in would handle it...

The assessment, which lasted a few minutes, established her place in line that night.

The hospital says one in five patients who check into Parkland's ER leaves before seeing a doctor. Those who stay long enough to see a triage nurse must pay.

"It's a medical assessment provided by a licensed professional," Mr. Rhine says. "So there's an expense to the organization for providing that care."

[MrsSmith]

Let's be honest, if that's the state of health care, can we do any worse?   

After reading through this article a couple times, I began to notice some things...

Ms. Milbrodt, 29, hurt her lower leg playing volleyball. It still ached the next evening, so she had an X-ray taken at a Dallas chiropractic school where she is a student.

She was told she needed to see a doctor about the fracture. So she checked into Parkland's emergency department...

So, she waits a whole day to get anything looked at, and they tell her to see a doctor.  It looks pretty obvious right away that this was no emergency.  So why did she go to the emergancy room?  Because she didn't want to pay a doctor.  Everyone knows that you can dodge a hospital bill...just as she plans to dodge the bill she got.  Her intention was to get treated for free.  THIS is the problem with emergency rooms...and the reason waits are so long.

Also from the article...

While sitting there she met others, including a man who crashed a motorbike.

"His finger was all bleeding and the nail was completely off," Ms. Milbrodt says. He also waited many hours and before giving up, she says. "He left before me."

Another non-emergency.

When the ER is full of people who've been shot, are having heart attacks, have seriously broken limbs, have been in car wrecks...actual emergencies...those that are there because they are too cheap to pay a doctor can wait, or leave.  The truly ill and possibly dying come first.   

[Thor]

When the ER is full of people who've been shot, are having heart attacks, have seriously broken limbs, have been in car wrecks...actual emergencies...those that are there because they are too cheap to pay a doctor can wait, or leave.  The truly ill and possibly dying come first.   

That's not true. In Sept, I injured my knee. I went to urgent care (non-emergency type office) They wanted to take x-rays and gave me the choice of going to the ER that night or coming back the next day because their x-ray tech had left for the evening. She left at 1700 & the urgent care was open until 1900. Knowing the ER like I do, I opted just to come back the next day. NO F'N WAY was I going to sit around the ER for several hours just for an x-ray. On the converse, my visits to the ER are fully covered by my insurance.  I could have easily opted to go to the local ER at the Dr's insistence.

What we DO need are Urgent Care places that are open until 2200-2300 and which are fully staffed to treat MOST patient needs.

[Lanie]

After reading through this article a couple times, I began to notice some things...

So, she waits a whole day to get anything looked at, and they tell her to see a doctor.  It looks pretty obvious right away that this was no emergency.  So why did she go to the emergancy room?  Because she didn't want to pay a doctor.  Everyone knows that you can dodge a hospital bill...just as she plans to dodge the bill she got.  Her intention was to get treated for free.  THIS is the problem with emergency rooms...and the reason waits are so long.

Also from the article...
Another non-emergency.

When the ER is full of people who've been shot, are having heart attacks, have seriously broken limbs, have been in car wrecks...actual emergencies...those that are there because they are too cheap to pay a doctor can wait, or leave.  The truly ill and possibly dying come first.   

It's not that some people are too cheap to pay the doctor. It's that they may not have the money or money on credit card to spend right now. A doctor's visit costs about a hundred dollars or more where I'm at at most offices. I think some Urgent Care places might be willing to bill though.

I agree that real emergencies should come first. Hopefully, they normally do.

[rich_t]

It's not that some people are too cheap to pay the doctor. It's that they may not have the money or money on credit card to spend right now. A doctor's visit costs about a hundred dollars or more where I'm at at most offices. I think some Urgent Care places might be willing to bill though.

I agree that real emergencies should come first. Hopefully, they normally do.

Huh? 

[formerlurker]

That's not true. In Sept, I injured my knee. I went to urgent care (non-emergency type office) They wanted to take x-rays and gave me the choice of going to the ER that night or coming back the next day because their x-ray tech had left for the evening. She left at 1700 & the urgent care was open until 1900. Knowing the ER like I do, I opted just to come back the next day. NO F'N WAY was I going to sit around the ER for several hours just for an x-ray. On the converse, my visits to the ER are fully covered by my insurance.  I could have easily opted to go to the local ER at the Dr's insistence.

What we DO need are Urgent Care places that are open until 2200-2300 and which are fully staffed to treat MOST patient needs.

I agree - a lot of doctors will send you to the ER if you need films for a suspected break.

[MrsSmith]

That's not true. In Sept, I injured my knee. I went to urgent care (non-emergency type office) They wanted to take x-rays and gave me the choice of going to the ER that night or coming back the next day because their x-ray tech had left for the evening. She left at 1700 & the urgent care was open until 1900. Knowing the ER like I do, I opted just to come back the next day. NO F'N WAY was I going to sit around the ER for several hours just for an x-ray. On the converse, my visits to the ER are fully covered by my insurance.  I could have easily opted to go to the local ER at the Dr's insistence.

What we DO need are Urgent Care places that are open until 2200-2300 and which are fully staffed to treat MOST patient needs.

Urgent care places, yes.  They are great...though in my area, no faster than our ER.  For something that really does need URGENT care.

For someone who has already waited 2 days, an appt with a doctor is appropriate.  Many doctor's clinics have onsite x-ray machines and techs for something as basic as this woman's injury.  From personal experience, the doctor charges a lot less than the ER, also...IF the patient planning on paying his/her own bill...

[MrsSmith]

It's not that some people are too cheap to pay the doctor. It's that they may not have the money or money on credit card to spend right now. A doctor's visit costs about a hundred dollars or more where I'm at at most offices. I think some Urgent Care places might be willing to bill though.

I agree that real emergencies should come first. Hopefully, they normally do.

The problem most certainly is that people don't want to pay.  I work for a hospital, we write off millions every year for uncollectable debt...and we're a small place in a small town with few illegals.  (And no, that is not a racist statement.  The facts are that illegals are more likely to dodge a hospital bill.  This does not change the fact that many, many "legals" do also.)

[Chris_]

Let's be honest, if that's the state of health care, can we do any worse?   

Say what???

[NHSparky]

Sounds like Parkland and King/Drew have the same management.  Their philosophy--if we kill them all, they'll stop bitching.