My neighbor and I were discussing this. He went in to his general practitioner for an insect bite because he’s allergic to certain venoms. When he was being treated, they opened a new 1-ounce tube of 1% hydrocortisone and put a dab of it on the bite area, but when he went home, they didn’t give him the tube.
His after-care instructions included application of 1% hydrocortisone for the next couple of weeks, so on the way home, he bought a 1-ounce tube of it from a drug store/pharmacy.
Now about ten or twelve days later, the doctor’s bill has come in. The portion of it that was not covered by insurance is asking him to pay more than $37 for “hospital-grade” 1% hydrocortisone in a 1-ounce tube. The drug store/pharmacy charged just over $5 plus tax for the exact same thing. He called the doctor’s office, they said he was supposed to have been given the tube that they opened, but if he really didn’t receive it, then it must have been an oversight on their part. He wanted it taken off of his bill, but they said that after so many days had passed, they had no way of knowing whether or not they had givenhim the tube the way they were supposed to. He asked why it was so much more expensive; they said overhead.
He called the insurance company, they said that for this particular type of visit, they are only required to cover regularly-priced or generic medications, the “hospital-grade” is considered an option that he chose, so he has to pay for it. He did not choose it, he’s a retired cabinet-maker and doesn’t have training, knowledge, or expertise in determining medications.
:(
Benedict Arnold 