$54,000 hosptital bill

Wow. I never had a bill that was so much. about 1.5 weeks in the hospital with 2 blood transfusions, TCP, some white liquid IV, IV flagyl, IV Zosyn, Entocort, 2 CT Scans, Asacol, Protonix, Flucanozole, 2 chest X-Rays, super pick insertion, and visits with infectious disease doctors, GIs, and colo-rectal surgeons. What a mess. Hopefully the charity helps me. I have no insurance.

absolutely apply to the hospital for charity care - it might be a struggle at the beginning, but they will almost surely give you some kind of relief

Wow........ I'm glad I live in Australia right now!!!

I have applied for the hospital chaity before. They were very good to me and helped me fill out the papers (which weren't that bad). My doctor is great about the free samples as well.   Did your hospital stay help you feel better?

I feel better, but I am going to have a CT scan on Monday to see if the abscesses are gone. If not, then it is surgery. The colo-rectal surgeon said that he would remove the diseased portion of the colon, but I am not sure if he is talking about the part that has the abscesses or the 35cm of the left side of my colon that has Crohn's/UC. This is the thing that is bothering me the most because i have not read too much about living with a sack. I will die of cancer anyway because my testicle would not descend when I was young and had it removed. It might be smart to get the surgery. If not, I could end up like Tony Snow. He had UC, had his colon removed when he was like 56 but died of cancer shortly because it was too late. The first or second doctor who I saw at Cook County Hospital (the free hospital that gives you free meds too) said I should get my colon removed because of the cancer risk. His friend was 30 when he had it removed.

I have sent a bunch of papers for charity help already. I have one more to send out, but tomorrow probably. Last year, they paid around $11K for my hospital visit last year when I was in a better condition. I just had a colonoscopy and a small bowel follow-through. The thing that is really getting to me is that the biopsy I had last summer said I had abscesses, but my GI did not treat them. Now, they are huge: 6.2cm x 2cm and 2 2cm x 2cm. Maybe more. I am not sure. From June 2008 until this last hospital visit, I was in misery, bleeding everyday. Then, in the hospital, the infectious disease doctors put me on IV Zosyn and Fluconozole and after a few days there was no blood. I just get diarrhea from one of these drugs though - probably the Zosyn. I could have been in remission after a few months. Instead, I was in deep depression and suicidal for about 12 of the 15 months. If Obama would fix health care, then maybe I would be in remission because my GI would not call me and then when I saw him was very scared of treating me.

I might post the bill so you guys can see it. I did not want to look at it because I thought I would stress out too much. My brother said the meds cost a lot. We will see tomorrow or the weekend.

Sorry about the med bills pimfram. You are not the only one.

I recently had surgery to repair an abdominal hernia and remove endometriosis and adhesions. I stayed in the hospital one night. The bill was over $46,000.00. This did not include the anesthesiologist, pathology, and some other people. The total was just about $50,000.00

Fortunately, I have insurance so it only cost me $150.00.

Now this is the disgusting part. My insurance company paid the hospital less than $3000.00. They send me statements that show what they were billed and what they actually paid. If I had to pay this myself, the hospital would have never reduced it that much.

Actually Rider federal employees have the same basic health insurance that anyone else does -- most of them Blue Cross. The only elected official who has a government-assigned doctor is the President.

Then why'd you even bring up Tony Snow? Federal employees have great insurance.

OP--check with your hospital. Most have charity programs but you gotta inquire--they sure don't advertise them.

Outrageous! I hope the hospital will be able to help you out with this...

Tom Moore is a football genius.

1 night? Wow. Sorry about that.
Obama better get the Health Care Reform package passed and send these insurance executives to Guantanomo Bay.

Where did the Tom Moore reference come from?

$150 sounds like an extremely good deal to me. Extremely.