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                      Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
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                                    PO BOX 1031
                                Mesquite, TX 75150

                                    May 2, 1991

                                    RIPOFF1.ASC
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                     From the April 16, 1991 EXAMINER tabloid.
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                               Hospital Cost Ripoffs

       A stay in  the hospital - even for just a few days - can put a giant
       dent in your wallet.  But there ARE  ways you can beat the confusing
       JARGON on INFLATED   BILLS   and   NAIL  HOSPITALS  for   outrageous
       accounting practices.

       "A disappointingly large   number   of   physicians   and  hospitals
       overcharge for services or bill for  what  they DON'T do," warns Dr.
       Laurens White, president of the California Medical Association.

       "One oncologist (cancer specialist) charged $8,000  to  administer a
       drug that costs  $120  -  and doesn't work well anyway.  I'd like to
       wring his neck."

       But most victims of brazen overbilling only wring their hands at the
       thought of decoding questionable bills that demand :

         1)  $11.10 for a "soft foot cast" (elastic bandage)
         2)  $ 5.10 for a "urinal" (plastic cup)
         3)  $16.00 for a plastic baby pacifier
         4)  $15.00 for throwaway paper slippers
         5)  $ 8.85 for a paper "linen saver"
         6)  $ 6.00 for six aspirin tablets
         7)  $ 4.40 for toothpaste
         8)  $93.00 for simply cleaning an orthopedic bone saw
         9)  $13.98 for three Band-Aid strips  used  to attach wires from a
                    monitor to the patient
        10)  $  4.98  for  a  clip used to connect an oxygen  tube  to  the
                    patient's nose

       Says one investigator;   "A  patient  was  even  charged  $1.81  for
       drinking water."  And don't look for  protection from shocking bills
       through your medical  insuror  or employer, much less  the  hospital
       itself, researchers warn.

       Profit-conscious insurance firms pay 85 percent of all U.S. hospital
       bills, so their  auditors  usually look where the biggest overcharge
       money is; client bills of $10,000 OR MORE.

       And equally profit-oriented hospitals  often hire cutthroat revenue-
       recovery firms to  pinpoint  undercharges  and  ignore   any   gross
       overcharges, according to  a  U.S. Senate subcommittee investigation
       last year.  But  remember,  the  American   Hospital   Association's
       Patient's Bill of Rights insists;

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           "The patient has the RIGHT to examine and receive an explanation
            of his bill, regardless of source of payment."

       Experts say these  actions  are  your  first  line  of  medical-bill
       defense:

          1)  Keep  a  DAILY  RECORD  of services,  medications  and  other
                   supplies as you receive them in the hospital.
          2)  Don't assume that ANYTHING offered is FREE.   ALWAYS  ASK HOW
                   MUCH.
          3)  Make  sure  you  get  an  ITEMIZED  BILL  FOR EACH DEPARTMENT
                   involved.
          4)  Don't pay or sign a pay agreement  until  you  carefully look
                   over the bill, at home if necessary.
          5)  Examine  EVERY  bill.   Some are amendments  with  additional
                   charges.
          6)  Get the hospital to document any questionable charges.  If it
                   refuses, or   threatens   legal  or  private  collection
                   action, contact your  state  consumer  protection agency
                   and/or attorney general's fraud division.
          7)  Ghost Services - Charges for standard services  normally used
                   in a  case  like  yours,  but you didn't receive because
                   they weren't necessary or were never performed.
          8)  Service Duplication - Mistakenly performed services which had
                   already been completed.
          9)  Multiple Billing - Two departments  charge  you  for the same
                   service, or one bills you twice for a single service.
         10)  Inflate  Service  -  Number juggling in which  the  facts  of
                   treatment or a single charge for an operation are broken
                   into a  series  of  charges  - all resulting in a higher
                   fee.
         11)  Human  Error  -  Medical chart  information  is  inaccurately
                   transferred to the bill or a keypunch mistake is made.

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         If you have comments or other information relating  to such topics
         as  this  paper covers,  please  upload to KeelyNet or send to the
           Vangard  Sciences  address  as  listed  on the  first  page.
              Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.

           Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
                             Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet

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