Another Hospital User Fee
So Michael James and Larry MacDonald both commented last week about Hospital and Medical clinics and their User Fees, and I was exposed to those and a few other interesting charges as well.
This past weekend I hung out in the Emergency room at CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario), due to my daughter assuming that her knee can bend sideways (I guess I should be happy she didn’t try to bend it like a dog’s back leg like Napoleon MacCallum did in the NFL). The visit was long and I believe I have been exposed to most of the respiratory illnesses out there, however there was another interesting charge that came up.
Yes, I had to pay for parking which wasn’t cheap ($13 for 5 hours), however, the interesting charge that came up was the cost of having to buy crutches for my daughter (whether we really need these crutches remains to be seen). The crutches cost $30, and I had to pay with direct withdrawal or cash (no credit cards). The no credit cards part seemed quite odd, given not many people I know wander around with $30 cash in their wallets, but the fact that the Crutches only cost $30 was interesting.
The last time I got crutches, it wasn’t that much either (it was for me, I decided running fast and then placing my foot in a gopher hole and almost shattering my ankle might be fun), so are these aluminum crutches somehow subsidized? I think I can claim them on my insurance so I am not that worried, but I was more curious about whether these were somehow subsidized, or are crutches just that cheap? Anyone know?
Whether any of the odd bacteria/viruses I was exposed to take hold in my body, remains to be seen.
Related Articles
- Interest Rates Going Nowhere For Now...
- Case Study: Credit Crunch...
- The High Cost of Active Kids...
- Is Costco Worth It?...
- New Credit Card Rules Good, but…...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
January 18th, 2010 at 2:32 AM
I have an old set of aluminum crutches that seem more valuable than the $25 I paid for them several years ago.
January 18th, 2010 at 6:10 AM
I suspect this set may get used a lot if only by my son, for fun pole vaulting simulations!
January 18th, 2010 at 3:35 PM
Yip… they get you every which way. It’s almost criminal in our time of need.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:45 AM
I happened to be at the local SuperGrocery store yesterday, having read this blog in the morning. Their aluminum crutches were priced at 34.99, so I guess the hospital is taking less of a profit. How very noble of them.