. . .into America’s health care cafeteria. You may not be able to write a check and your insurance company might not be willing to — but somebody will get stuck with the bill.
So sayeth Carl Hiaasen:
A close member of my family recently had an accident in which she suffered multiple bone fractures and a partially collapsed lung. . .
I called the insurance company and said that, while we greatly appreciated the bill being paid, it was difficult to comprehend how those particular 24 hours of medical care could cost more than 11 grand.
The woman taking my call patiently checked over the bill on her computer. She said the hospital room itself was “only” $750. The bulk of the charge was for two CAT scans, totaling more than $6,000.
We love Hiaasen here in Florida. If you haven’t discovered him yet, here’s a good Salon interview.
Over LUNCH! 😀
He started in UF’s college of journalism just as I was finishing, in the early 1970s. We both had Professor Jean Chance in our corner. Plus we both “covered” the state legislature from our different perspectives throughout the 1980s. Our personal impact on folks sounds similar too. 🙂
This line about his children’s books is pretty funny, and true on both counts:
Matt Taibbi has (deservedly!) been blogged here before, for writing such as The Great Derangement:
His latest piece well worth a thoughtful read is “Sick and Wrong: How Washington is Screwing Up Health Care Reform.