My Unexpected Visit to the Emergency Room in the US

I suddenly felt a pain in my lower​ back while on a business trip. It felt strange. As expected, the moment I got up ‍to⁣ get⁢ off the plane, I felt a sharp pain in my lower⁢ back every time I took​ a step, and I ⁣couldn’t walk at all. As I cried in pain,⁢ the flight attendant put ‌me in a wheelchair, and ‍the airline gave me⁤ a ticket for the fastest flight ‌back home.

A few hours after telling my husband, “I’ll be back⁢ soon,” I was lying in​ bed at home, unable to move. In the US, you have ‌to make an‌ appointment in advance to see a doctor, and these appointments⁣ are often scheduled weeks or even months in advance. Furthermore, because it is a country with privatized medical services, you have to check in advance where your health insurance will be accepted (‘in ​network’), ⁢and then make an appointment with an ‘in network’ doctor in order for your insurance to cover⁤ it.

So in the US, if you suddenly get sick and want to see⁢ a doctor right away, you have to go to the emergency room.

This was my first ​time⁣ in my life going to the emergency room. Fearing that I would be hit with a‌ huge hospital bill if⁣ I called an ambulance,‌ my husband barely managed to get me into the car and⁣ took me to a nearby emergency room. After listening to my symptoms, the ⁤medical ‍team suggested that I get a‌ CT scan.

The⁣ CT scan results showed that I had​ a herniated disc,‍ but it wasn’t a ruptured disc. ⁤However, the surrounding muscles seemed ‌to be in severe spasms, so they told me to take some ⁤medicine, put on a patch, ‌and rest for a few‍ days.

But I felt relieved after learning the cause. They say you‍ don’t know until you⁣ experience ‌it yourself, and after going to the emergency room‌ once, I finally realized‌ how important ⁤it is to have an emergency room ‍close to your home and running smoothly.

While ⁤waiting for the scan results, I was lying in what looked like an‌ emergency room, and the staff came in to calculate the $100⁢ (130,000 won) emergency room visit fee ‍according to my health insurance policy. Yes,‌ even if‌ you are sick,‍ you have to pay. This is ⁢literally the cost of entering the emergency room. It is not the ⁢cost of treatment.

I calculated it right away while lying down, and with the lump sum discount, ⁤I ‍ended up paying $80 (110,000 won). I started to worry, ‘How much of a⁤ large bill will I end up getting at my house later?’

It ​had been quite ‌some time since I had been to the​ emergency room, but strangely enough, the bill hadn’t arrived, so I logged into the insurance‍ company’s website⁣ and it said, “Payment Complete.” Thinking, “Huh? ‍Is that all I paid back then, ‍the $80?” I clicked on the ​details and⁢ the words,⁢ “What the heck?!!!” came out of ‌my mouth.

Total medical expenses:⁢ $22,000 (30 million won)

Medical Insurance Discount: $19,000 (26 million won)

Health insurance company contribution: $2,900 (3.9 million won)

Patient pays: $100 (130,000 won)

Looking at the details, the emergency room fee was originally 130,000 won, but ⁢10 million won.

If I didn’t have health⁣ insurance, I would have ended up having to go to the emergency room for ⁣a CT scan and receive a bill of 30 million won.

Tips⁢ for living in​ the US:

If you received treatment without‌ medical ⁤insurance, do​ not accept ‌the bill right away, but negotiate with the hospital. If your income is low, the⁤ hospital’s social worker will help you, and ‍even​ if your income is not low, there is plenty of room ​for negotiation. As you‍ can see above, the discount ‌amount agreed‌ upon between the medical insurance‍ company and the hospital is $19,000. ⁤

If you are traveling to the United States, it is recommended that you purchase‌ travel insurance.

The day I saw the details of the‌ emergency room costs was probably one of the ⁢top three⁢ days I was thankful I had a job.

As⁣ of 2023, the average family health insurance premium for ⁣American workers is $23,968 per year, or 32 million‍ won in Korean currency (Source: KFF) It is an