During her ER visit, all [Pell] received was the ice pack and the bandage. That’s it. She wasn’t treated in any other way. Doctors made no diagnosis. And she made sure that no one touched her before she knew if they were in network or not.
Pell received a bill for $5,751.
This illustrates the tip of the iceberg involving the funding of hospital infrastructure and how most are dealing with reduced utilization of surgical suites as procedures move to free-standing, and much cheaper outpatient sites. Prices for everything under their control, including the ED skyrocket while they increasingly admit a frail cohort for low-value, often futile care.