Member-only story
Chicanery Is in Healthcare, and It’s in the Charges, Usually
Carefully examining any invoice for services or tests or anything else is a practice everyone needs to engage in, even when it’s in healthcare.
Healthcare is a necessary part of life and the fees paid for it and the health insurance we also need can sometimes be unremarkable or shocking. Should we always assume that any bill, whether for healthcare or fixing our TV, is accurate and pay it? The answer here is probably “no.” Everyone makes mistakes, but some “mistakes” are purposeful, so we must evaluate all bills carefully. Let me provide an example.
I’ve worked in healthcare for many decades and heard some billing charges that shocked patients. A young physician, well-respected at his hospital and involved in research that was bringing millions of dollars in grants to the institution, was enjoying a weekend at a friend’s suburban retreat when he experienced severe chest pain. All the signs pointed to a heart attack. He was rushed to a well-known major hospital.
After days of tests, lying in bed much of the time, it was decided he had strained a chest muscle (he’d been chopping wood), and his heart was fine. A few weeks later, the bill came, and, out of idle curiosity, he read it carefully and discovered tests he had never had at the hospital. When we discussed it, he said, “I’m a physician…
