Britney’s Medical Bill

OK, I had to do it.  Three days into my blog and I have to write something about a celebrity.  Anyways,  I woke up this morning and the first thing I heard on the radio was Britney Spears being admitted to a hopsital after being rushed from her home by ambulance and escorted to Cedars Sinai by nine police cars.  That’s right folks, nine police cars!  While it did make for some interesting morning news with my Starbucks, the work-a-holic in me said…“Yikes…Who is paying the bill for this one?” .

If I was responsible for Ms. Spears’s personal health insurance policy, I would have been fired long ago.  Of course, if she is financing this personally, the cost must be obscene!  I did some research, and here is what this could have cost using some basic fee guidelines in California and advice from a doctor in Palo Alto…

Getting There…

• Cost for ambulance transportation varies by distance, typically $800-$1000
• Cost for police escort if available, no charge unless asked for and contracted as a special service in advance.

At the Hospital…

• For urgent, comprehensive evaluation by emergency physician: $500
• Hospital charges for nurse evaluation, use of the room: $500
• If an IV is needed: +$250
• Drugs vary widely and depend on whether the doctor orders a tradename drug or a generic preparation: $20 - $200 for drugs
• Observation time in the emergency department : $250/hour
• Evaluation by Psychiatrist in the ED: $300
• Costs for Psychiatric evaluation and counseling for 2-3 days…If an inpatient, then $250 per session for the psychiatrist
• Costs for private hospital room for 2-3 days, varies widely by hospital — $1,000-$3,000/day for the facility charges
• Average inpatient hospital stay in ICU ~ $8,000-10,000/day

Now, listen clearly.  I am not saying that this is what she will experience over the next few days.  However, if this was your typical visit to the hospital and you underwent what the media is reporting over a period of 2 days, then you would be looking at a bill somewhere between $29,000 and $32,000 USD!!!

My point here is that healthcare in the US is expensive, even for a celebrity.  The second thing I would like to remind Canadians about is that not all of the bogus bill outlined above would be covered by medicare here in Canada.  Many of these items, including private hospital rooms and even ambulance transport, would have been billed to your private insurance (if you had any).  And if this was claimed through your insurance, you can be certain that by renewal time, you would receive some form of premium increase.

What would be more sensible?  An HSA using tax-free dollars of course.  All of the items listed above (excluding the police car envoy) would be covered as eligible expenses through an HSA in Canada (and the US).  Even if the funds in the HSA did not cover the total amount, the claim could be rolled over to the next year and future funds used to reimburse Ms. Spears as they became available.  But hopefully, this will be the last time she needs to endure such an expense. 

In all seriousness, I certainly hope this is the last time I wake up to such a sad story about something so preventable.