Hospital Fees

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.