You know that game in which you guess how many jelly beans are in the jar? This is sort of like that except you don’t win anything. Neither do I. The hospital does. But it still might be entertaining and/or enlightening.
Here’s how it works. I’ll list the stuff that was done to Gresham over the last ten days and you guess what the final bill will come to. I, without insurance, will then pay the bill (and then get reimbursed). See how fun this is? Here’s the list:
3 pediatrician visits
2 oral antibiotic prescriptions
2 IV bags of antibiotics
2 emergency room visits
2 CT scans and 2 radiologists
3 IV bags of fluid
1 IV bag of Immune Globulin (antibodies)
1 very nice hospital room for 3 days
2 tooth brushes
2 tiny tubes of toothpaste
1 tube of Vaseline
72 aspirin
2 arm braces (to cover the IV)
1 dnfectious disease doctor
1 pediatrician
1 “fellow”
1 dozen residents
2 dozen nurses
Alrighty. How many jellybeans..I mean, how much is this gonna cost me?
Becky’s guess is $18,652. Very specific. She’s a CPA.
Mine is $12.
What’s yours?






Since it could well be several months before all the bills are in and finalized, this will be my ‘guesstimate’ for now. $28,363.
Beth
Ooh, fun game (only after you have had a child incur such charges as well and survived financially to tell the story). I’m going with $20,394.98. The .98 makes you think it’s less than you know, $20, 395… like Walmart.
Wow. I think those might be a little high.
I am going 17,563.01
$34,000
haha, I’ve never paid a hospital bill ever, so my guess is an arm and a leg… I’m not sure who’ll they’ll send out to acquire them *~_^
I am guessing $22,967…then again, that is probably low considering 1 aspirin is approximately $859 and 23 cents…
3 pediatrician visits —150X3= 450
2 oral antibiotic prescriptions— amoxicillin at publix is free, but at the hospital it would be charged per dose. 2 doses twice a day would be approximately 300
2 IV bags of antibiotics—231.23 X2=462.46
2 emergency room visits—500X2= 1000
2 CT scans and 2 radiologists—3200
3 IV bags of fluid—3X 300= 900
1 IV bag of Immune Globulin (antibodies)– this treatment could cost up to 10,000
1 very nice hospital room for 3 days—plus meals, plus linen service, plus running water and electricity—832 X 3= 2496
2 tooth brushes—5.28X2=10.56
2 tiny tubes of toothpaste– 5.82
1 tube of Vaseline—32
72 aspirin—144 @ $2 each
2 arm braces (to cover the IV)– 63X2= 126
1 pediatrician- 250
1 “fellow”- 250
1 dozen residents 200X12=2400
2 dozen nurses 200X12= 2400
$24426.84… if you haven’t left anything out!
our system is messed up!
glad you have Samaritan Ministries.
but my guess is 2399.95
i have no clue……
here is a random number…$20,345.54
Our son had a $15,000 broken leg 6 years ago, so my guess, factoring in inflation, is $30,000. A total rip off, but worth whatever it takes to fix ‘em.
$48,859.97
Thomas
26,348.33
tween 25000 AND 45000
16,689.42
I am undershooting a little hoping this is like “The Price Is Right,” and you cannot go over. The dozen interns you should not be charged for, they are like free entertainment, and the nurses come with the price of the hospital.
$17046 is my guess.
$7252.16
Wow Keith…ever been to the doctors?
I know it will be unreasonably high.
I’ll go with $36,781.68
$27,530 if there is no self-pay discount and $19,271 with the discount.
Have you ever noticed that the first bill you get from the hospital is almost twice what insurance pays?
Insurance companies get a whopping discount from medical providers. They negotiate these discounts. You can often negotiate these for yourself, but it can be more or less trying based on how bureaucratic your medical provider is. Do many members of Samaritan Ministries attempt this, since it takes so much time and the middle of a crisis is often not the best time? Also, I was unclear as to whether you meant out of pocket expenses or after reimbursement from Samaritan Ministries in your contest question. If you meant the latter, my guess will have no applicability.
My guess: $22,500 with an 85% confidence interval of $15k-$30K.
MB
Wow. I was just thinking about this yesterday when I was praying for ya’ll. I understand medical bills. One thing I did with our church kids group was make toiletries bags for the parents. It’s crazy what hospitals charge for toothpaste!
Shawn,
I went today for the first time in about five years because of my fever, headache, blah-blah-blah. I just put down the first thing that popped into my head.
- keith
$28,000 if he was at Vandy
$26,000 if he was at Baptist
Hang in there!
Well seeing that asprin in those places costs a couple of g’s, and he took 72 of them. We are already at $72,000.
I would guess its more than $50,000 but I hope you have some wiz-bang insurance program and you only pay the co-payment which brings the total for you back down to $20.00.