Why can't hospitals just send you one bill for an ER visit? I had to visit the ER in the middle of the night for a very high fever and had a bunch of tests done. (Diagnosed with pneumonia.) Now I have bills for the doctor, the radiologist, and the hospital itself. I'm not sure if I will get a separate bill for the Xray. Why can't the hospital just send me one bill for the entire visit? They can pay the doctors and radiologist from the money I pay them.
I can't believe the ER doctor billed $850 for probably 20 minutes worth of work. He probably was with me for five to ten minutes, and I doubt he spent more than 10 or 15 minutes looking at Xrays and test results.
I do have insurance, but I still have to pay 20% myself.