I made a big mistake. A $600 mistake. When I got cut on my wrist by tile back in February, I went to the emergency room. On the ride over there, I was wondering how much it would cost me, and I was considering if I could suture it myself (just clean it, and sew it, or just glue it). When I got to the ER, the lady at registration looked at my insurance card — I have Aetna’s $5000 high-deductible insurance — and told me it would cost me $100. I figured it was a great price, and it would be good to just get it done, and get it done right. So I waited a couple of hours in the ER, and then got my eight sutures. Easy procedure.
Then I went on my bike tour, and six months later, I returned to find a bunch of medical bills. The ER visit cost almost $1300, and then there was a $400 physician’s fee. I don’t even remember a physician taking care of me — a nurse did. The hospital has some contract with Aetna, so my bill got reduced down to $669, and after that $100 I paid upfront, the balance was $569. When I called up about the physician’s fee, somehow it got dropped, so that was lucky too.
But I still have this $569 bill to pay. It actually got sent to a collections agency; that’s how I first heard about it. I got a call and right off, the lady asked me for my social security number — odd. I told them I was out of the country for six months, and so it got pulled out of collections (collections agencies usually report you to the credit bureaus and that dirty mark stays on your credit history for seven years).
Before talking to the hospital’s billing office, I called around to three urgent care clinics in the area. I asked them how much it would cost to give me eight sutures. It averaged around $150. $150!! Versus $1300 at the ER.
So, the ER experience sucked, but it was a learning experience for (and it still isn’t over — I’m disputing the bill), and I want everyone else to learn from my mistake. NEVER GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM!! The only reason to go is if you’re in such a bad accident that you don’t even have a choice — the ambulance is bringing you there — and you’re unconscious. Go to an urgent care clinic instead. They’ll fix you up for a reasonable price.
I found this list of reasons to go to an urgent care clinic on another website:
Reasons to use a Urgent Care facility:
You have an urgent non life-threatening medical condition or injury
Your primary care doctor’s office is closed
You are not able to schedule a convenient appointment with your primary care doctor
You are away from home
Most Urgent Care facilities offer:
Board Certified physicians
Urgent trauma equipment including cardiac monitors
X-Ray equipment
Minor procedure room (sterile/clean rooms)
Many Urgent Care facilities offer:
CT Scans
Ultrasounds
Other Benefits of Urgent Care facilities:
Shorter wait times to see a doctor
Doctor visit co-pay and not emergency room co-pay (that saved us $225 per visit)
Weekend and after hours availability
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