And I recognize that at some point fighting this is more expensive in time and effort than just paying it, but dammit, up with this I will not put.

I'm standing on principle here, and that principle is that medicine should not be an extractive force in society. People shouldn't be left sick or untreated because some board member needs a third yacht.

When I got my doctorate in bioethics, I naively believed that the field of medicine was filled with people who wanted to help people. And for a large percentage of actual caregivers that's true. But they have been vampire-squidded by the vulture capitalists, and I don't know how to rescue them. (For the record, I ended up in tech because at the time, it was more ethical than hospitals...oh the 80s...we were all so innocent.)

Alright, this is absolutely first world problems, but holy mother of healthcare, am I furious.

So, I saw a doctor in the #Baylor system (who have purchased most medical practices in the area), a few weeks ago. I paid the doctor at the time of the visit. ($165 after insurance). I knew there was a facility fee, but refused to pay it, because it's egregious.

I got an email this morning from Baylor saying I owed another $300 for facility fees. (I was waiting for the bill, so I could talk to someone about it.)

So I called and said "Hey, this charge is unreasonable, and well outside usual and customary fees."

And their response, as Bob is my witless was, "Our fees are defensible." Which means they had lawyers sitting up figuring out to the last penny what they think they can get away with.

Those lawyers never met me.

#medicalDebt #USHeathcare #profiteering