Medical procedures for employees hurt on-the-job and hospital retail prices.
Yesterday’s blog post was about a new federal mandate that requires hospitals to have price lists online. It will help improve price transparency but could also discourage people from seeking appropriate medical care.
Many of our clients’ live paycheck-to-paycheck and cannot afford to get medical treatment on their own. Experts have warned patients not to rely upon these online prices. These amounts are just a starting point for insurance companies to negotiate discounts. Even uninsured patients typically pay much less. Fear of cost should never stop a person from getting needed medical care.
Michigan law sets a maximum allowable fee under workers’ compensation. The employer or its insurance company is responsible for payment of this amount. Problems occur when medical bills are not paid because a claim is disputed.
We wanted to illustrate how much an individual without workers’ compensation insurance might get stuck paying. Here are some retail prices from Henry Ford Hospital for items we have seen in our practice. Make sure to contact an experienced attorney to get medical bills covered.
HAND OR WRIST PROC, EXCEPT MAJOR THUMB OR JOINT PROC W/O CC/MCC $21,947.6
SHOULDER, ELBOW OR FOREARM PROC, EXC MAJOR JOINT PROC W/O CC/MCC $34,561.87
MAJOR HIP AND KNEE JOINT REPLACEMENT OR REATTACHMENT OF LOWER EXTREMITY W/O MCC $41,443.51
CERVICAL SPINAL FUSION W/O CC/MCC $57,150.59
Michigan Workers Comp Lawyers never charges a fee to evaluate a potential case. Our law firm has represented injured and disabled workers exclusively for more than 35 years. Call (844) 201-9497 for a free consultation today.
Related information:
Harvard study finds medical bills as reason for 62.1% of bankruptcies
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons, by free pictures of money.
