He went in for a colonoscopy. The bill was $19,000.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

He went in for a colonoscopy. The bill was $19,000.
“I told Northwestern, ‘I’m not paying that, and I don’t care if you send me to collections,’” Tom Contos said of his share.

December 20, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. EST Today at 7:00 a.m. EST
5 min


In June, at his doctor’s recommendation, Tom Contos of Chicago underwent a colonoscopy. The hospital charged nearly three times what it had estimated. (Taylor Glascock for KFF Health News)

By Harris Meyer
Tom Contos is an avid runner. When he started experiencing rectal bleeding in March, he thought exercise could be the cause and tried to ignore it. But he became worried when the bleeding continued for weeks.

The Chicago health-care consultant contacted his physician at Northwestern Medicine, who referred Contos, 45, for a colonoscopy, citing in part a family history of colon issues. “My primary-care physician said, ‘Given your family history, let’s get you in.’”

{snip}

[Historic NY]

1. Going to the hospital for an out patient service was his first mistake

WTF would he have done that.

[Probatim]

2. Some people, those with sleep apnea, are directed to have these performed at a hospital.

[slightlv]

5. Hea... I live in a city now

that seeing even what was left of an "emergency" hospital close its doors. If we need to go to a hospital for *anything* ... even ER treatment... it's a 45 minute drive.

Healthcare? Hah! Access to healthcare? There isn't any... it's all been bought up by conglomerates and hedge funds and are being shut down everywhere except maybe in big cities. The rest of us, well... we're on our own. CVS Minute Clinics or back to the ways our ancestors made out with first aid knowledge and herbs.

[lostnfound]

6. Same reason as here, maybe -- the regular places said there was a six month wait, even though major bleeding

Bill was $5,000 for a family friend.

[Silent Type]

3. Yet, we wonder why health insurers want to review medical records in cases like this where if anyone is at fault it's

the physician/provider group and hospital.

[snot]

4. Our system is so f--ked, & seems to be getting worse all the time.

Earlier this week, I was told I had to have an appointment and come in for a shot of the type that's injected into fat. I've had to administer other such shots to myself more times than I can count – it's easy to do – but this time they won't let me just pick the medicine up and administer it, presumably because then they wouldn't be able to charge a fee for administering it.

This a.m. I went for a medical appointment only to be told (after much back-and-forth) that it had been cancelled but (as they admitted) no one had notified me. The appointment was with an instructor, not a doctor who might have been called away to help with an emergency.

Trivial examples compared to the many other, much worse horror stories that pretty much anyone middle-aged or above can tell.

[Jacson6]

7. This is a click bait title. Here is what he was really charged after insurance payments.

The final bill

The hospital charged $19,206 for the procedure, including physician fees. After the insurer negotiated discounts and paid $1,979, Contos was on the hook for $4,047. With the $1,000 he paid upfront, plus $1,381 after the procedure, he still owed $1,666.

[FakeNoose]

8. Since WaPo won't allow me to read the story (paywall)

... I'll take your word for it. The way these stories are presented by the publication, the first several paragraphs give only the "story" setup. Readers are suckered in, click on the link, and then we find out that we need to subscribe to read the rest.