Current Events > Hospitals may be going bankrupt

(+) Yeah! (+)

So, a few years back, when my wife was pregnant, I was at work and she slipped in some mud and landed on her ass.

She went to what she thought was an urgent care in Texas that said they accepted my insurance, just to be safe. They examined her and said she was fine. Might have a little bruising.

A month later we got a bill for $1500+. Apparently Texas has what are essentially stand-alone ERs that are practically disguised as Urgent Cares. Difference is, Urgent Cares are generally MUCH more affordable. And while they said they accepted my insurance, they did NOT mean that they were in the same network.

So, I called my insurance to ask for clarification and the agent I spoke with was frank when she told me that they actually received a lot of similar issues from members in Texas recently, because those stand alone Emergency Care Centers were becoming more common.

She asked if I'd like to file an official complaint against the center, which I did. And I refused to pay such a price for that level of treatment.

Not sure how things went, but I never did hear from the ER about that bill again.

Ex-Kefiroth posted...

Man, I have seen SO MANY of these things pop up around the DFW area over the past few years. From the moment I started seeing them, I knew it was some kind of predatory business model.

Seems like I've seen several shut down/change names recently though. Guess the bubble is popping?

I dont know how they would be super successful, when they seem to provide Urgent Care level treatment at Emergency Room prices.

If I want to be financially raped by a medical center, I'll go to the hospital's ER and do it the old fashioned way.

Time for French, German, or U.K. Healthcare?
Or maybe Japan, Israel, or N.Z. Healthcare?
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