I went to the ER last fall without health insurance.
I had an itching problem. But I don't remember what it was called. It wasn't just a minor itch. I was itching all over my body, on my head, under my feet, there wasn't one spot where I didn't itch. It's strange that I can't remember the name of it, considering the price I paid.
Anyways, AHA it's the hives. Now I remember.
Anyways, I went to the ER. The doctor immediately identified the problem. He injected the liquid form of Benadryl into me. I felt a lot better, almost immediately.
But then he gave me 3 different other drugs, and I don't know why, but he was the doctor so I took them.
When I later got the bill, which amounted to roughly the same amount in the OP's case, about $1,400 something, I saw that for each different pill they gave me they charged at least $100 each. I could understand paying for the Benadryl because it cured me, but I felt like I was being price gouged for the other 3 drugs I didn't need. What could I have done though but take them? I'm not a doctor. I don't know what's good for me. And these weren't bottles of pills they gave me, I was paying $100 for each single pill they fed me at the ER! For the same price at the pharmacy, I could have been getting at least 30 or 40 of them for $20 or so.
In fact, I later found out Benadryl is quite cheap and could be found for about $10 a pack. I'm sure the stuff they sell at the pharmacy is not the cool liquid form they injected into my veins at the ER, but it would have probably worked the same.
That's not to mention the separate, additional $270 bill I got in the mail to charge for the doctor's fee (because apparently the doctor himself needs to charge his own fee even though the hospital already charges one).
I was barely at the hospital 3 or 4 hours.
After doing a lot of research, I was afraid of getting bad credit if I didn't pay the bill off....and they did threaten sending my bill to the collection agency.
The best I did was negotiate the bill into portions so that I was paying $279 a month for 5 months. No they didn't lower the amount, but it was better than paying it all up front, since I didn't have the $1,400.