The truth is shocking
In 2013, Time Magazine published a story that blew the lid off some of the outrageous medical costs being charged by hospitals. In follow up, Readers Digest did their own investigation and found plenty more. Here are just 10 examples of hospital costs that will boggle your mind.
- $15 for one Tylenol pill
- $8 for a bag that holds your personal stuff when you are admitted to the hospital
- $8 for one box of tissues
- $53 for one pair of non-sterile gloves
- $10 for one little plastic cup that holds your pills
- $6.25 for the nurse who gives you your pills in the little plastic cup
- $20 for a blood pressure cuff
- $93.50 just to use the big bright light that hangs over the operating table during surgery
- $23 for one alcohol swab, which nurses use to sterilize the area before giving you an injection
- $17.50 for one marking pen that doctors use to highlight the area where they will be performing surgery
What's on your medical bill?
The bottom line is that you as a patient have a right to know and question any item on your final medical bill that seems to be out of line. Even if you have medical insurance, everyone has a responsibility to help keep medical costs within reason if we are ever going to reduce medical costs overall.
To read more, visit www.rd.com/slideshows/wildly-overinflated-hospital-costs/#slideshow=slide1