
By Jeff Somers
Nobody wants to go to the hospital. Finding yourself in one means you’re either sick or injured, or visiting someone who’s sick or injured. There are more than 34 million hospital admissions every year, and those admissions are expensive: The average daily cost is more than $2,800. Considering the average hospital stay is 4.5 days—totaling nearly $13,000—it’s important that you understand every aspect of the care you’re paying for.
The doctors, nurses, and other staff at any hospital undoubtedly want to give you the best care possible—that’s why they chose this profession. But hospitals are more than places of healing—they’re large, sprawling businesses. And like any other large, sprawling business, communication isn’t always perfect, and misunderstandings and miscommunications can result in higher bills and unnecessary costs.
The “necessity” of pre-payments
Increasingly, when you show up to the hospital for a scheduled surgery or procedure, you’ll be asked to pre-pay some or all of the cost. This often comes with a side order of pressure and intimidation—you might be brought into a room with a hospital staffer, who will go through the costs and ask how much you’d like to pay in advance. The implication is that you have to pay something if you want to receive care—but you almost certainly don’t have to pre-pay anything. The hospital may be happy to let you think you do. But it’s a bad idea for one simple reason: Your final bill may be much lower than the estimate, and getting your money back is never easy.
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