With an American 17 require thousands of dollars per seam on the finger

New Jersey resident Ryan Edgerton claims that Bayonne Medical Center demanded thousands of dollars from him and his insurance company 17 for a two-inch wired cut on a finger.

Edgerton hit the center ambulance last summer after he injured his index finger, slicing a melon. He was given six stitches and demanded to pay 2833 dollars for each.

The victim's insurance company, United Healthcare, has reportedly already paid most of the amount due. Edgerton himself has not yet paid his share of the expenses - about $1170.

CarePoint Health, which owns a medical center, argues that insurers from United Healthcare cannot offer a suitable deal to include this center in their network, and high prices for out-of-network services are simply necessary for the hospital to exist.

“This is not a business strategy, but a survival strategy,” explains CarePoint spokesman Jarrod Bernstein. “We would like to enter the network, which would allow us to offer an adequate amount of insurance payments.”

According to representatives of the insurance company United Healthcare, 17 thousand dollars for a seam is just one of the most recent examples of CarePoint hospitals, in which, as stated, 10-12 times higher than in the centers participating in network programs.

Bernstein said that CarePoint never uses the services of collective agencies to get money from patients who refuse to pay for medical services. However, the company, according to him, reserves the right to recover funds from its patients.

In addition, Bernstein said the reason for the inflated prices of out-of-network hospitals is justified because "insurers offer more attractive in-network deals for centers in the suburbs with more paying clientele."

The authorities in New Jersey are now considering a bill that will allow doctors and hospitals to be brought to an arbitration court if insurance companies challenge the bills for out-of-network services.

Craig Coughlin, a member of the local legislature, who initiated this bill, is convinced that such a measure will protect patients from unexpected bills with a few zeros.