Over the past 17 days, I’ve suffered from a badly lacerated left hand that I injured in a freak kitchen accident. After a long trail run with Debbie on the Quinnipiac Trail in Prospect, Connecticut; I decided to carbo load with a beer. I decided I would go high class and pour it into a glass. Two glasses were stacked in the cabinet, and when I tried to separate them, they shattered, fell out of the cabinet, and I caught them. The result was an ugly gash.
Unfortunately, the cut is in a bad spot. Fortunately, it is my left hand and I can still type. Well, the accident has taught me several things, especially about the current medical model in our country. I harp a lot about the cost of medical care. I can’t comment on quality of medical care, but I know that the insurance premiums that our business pays are outrageous.
The sutures were installed at a local hospital’s emergency department. Since we have an HDIP/HSA insurance plan, I was looking for the lowest cost solution. I still haven’t seen the bill, but I’m assuming that the ED option was not cheap. I did my best to help the nurse practitioner who stitched me up, minimize the expenses. It was a vain attempt to save the hospital a few bucks so that they could pass the savings on to my insurance company. I gather that it was a fruitless effort. You wouldn’t believe how many supplies were consumed in the stitching process. It was crazy. Everything, including the stainless steel scissors and tweezers was disposable. It was all thrown out. No wonder it cost so much! Yeah, I know, infection and cleaning costs are issues, but isn’t this just another form of environmental waste?
When it came time to remove the sutures. I opted for a cheaper method. I’ve got video, but haven’t figured out how to upload it yet. The cut is healing, but very slowly. I expect the bill any day now and will report back on the real cost.
Life Adventures 