PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — A local hospital has landed itself on the top 50 list, but it’s not something to brag about.
Southside Regional Medical Center ranked 38th with the highest markup of prices, meaning you could be paying hundreds — if not thousands of dollars more for medical services.
A hospital bill from Southside Regional Medical Center shows emergency room services totaling $12,424.50.
“I thought it was quite expensive,” said Roslyn Presley who received the bill after visiting the ER complaining of stomach pains.
Presley says she was there for less than five hours and did not undergo surgery and had no operations.
“They ran a few tests to find out what was wrong, but at the end of the day they just gave me some pain meds and discharged me,” said Presley.
Weeks later, the bill arrived and her insurance covered more than $1,500. The hospital had adjusted the bill due to the relationship it has with her insurance carrier and subtracted more than $10,000. Presley ended up paying just over $500.
“It’s kind of shocking because a lot of people here in the city don’t have health insurance or they may not have great health insurance,” said Presley.
But, the hospital says if someone didn’t have insurance and didn’t qualify for Medicaid or charity care, that $12,000 bill could fall solely on the shoulders of the patient. A spokesperson went on to say the patient would receive a 35 percent discount. Many residents believe costs like this are what landed the hospital number 38 on Health Affairs 50 U.S. hospitals that charge the most.
“I’m very disappointed,” said resident Nancy Allen.
In a statement to 8News, the President and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals says in part “A critical limitation of this study, acknowledged by the authors, is its omission of discounts attributable to these programs.”
