Can You Reduce Your Medical Bills by Leaving the Hospital Early?
There’s an old Jack Benny joke where the comic is held up by a mugger who demands “Your money or your life.” After a long pause, Benny replies “I’m thinking.”
Unfortunately, this old joke has turned into tough decisions for people across the country. In 2007, there were more than 368,000 hospital stays that were ended by a patient leaving against doctors advice. In many of these cases, patient concerns about paying for the medical bills played a part in the decision.
From a US News article on the report, conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:
As might be expected, the medical bill for those who checked themselves out early was cheaper ($5,300) than those who stayed for the advised length of time ($10,400), according to the AHRQ report. People who lived in poorer communities were more likely to leave the hospital early than those who lived in wealthier communities, the report states.
These are very real costs to the patients. Stay longer and receive additional care and treatment and higher medical bills will undoubtedly follow.
However, the same survey also found that patients who leave a hospital early against a doctor’s orders face a higher risk of rehospitalization and more adverse health problems.
And here’s where patients face a dreadful catch-22. If a patient leaves the hospital early over medical bill concerns they are more likely to face higher medical bills for more and more intensive treatment in the future.
So what’s a patient to do? Pay more now or later? Give their money or their life? For tens of thousands of people, it’s no laughing matter.