I’m not naive enough to think medical bills don’t get (s)expensive, but I’m also one of those people who have to experience it first to believe it. And as my good friends Ace of Base would say – I have now seen the sign baby! And it has surely opened up my eyes.

Medical bills are indeed expensive. And I praise the Good Lord for providing us with enough health insurance to cover most of “the incident”! Especially before our rock star plan got downgraded a bit. As a guy, I never think anything’s going to happen to ME. But now that there’s a WE and I’m getting a little wiser (some may say due to marriage), it’s now come to my attention that this stuff really IS important.

This “incident”, if you recall, was the gallbladder removal of ’08. Remember that? It took the doctors an entire week to figure out Mrs. Budgetsaresexy needed that thing pulled out before she jumped off a bridge – which incidentally occurred on voting day! Luckily we were able to sneak away and cast our opinions before the polls closed, but it was def. a close one. (although not as life threatening)

So last time I posted about this I had people guess how much the surgery would cost in the end. And the numbers were pretty scattered – We had some around $20k, some at $40k, and then others up in the $70k-$80k range. We actually even had one for $0! You Canadians out there now what I’m talking about ;) So now that we’ve cleared up some billing issues and finally received the last of the statements, here’s what it all “cost”:

• Inpatient services (3 nights/4days): $9,482.38
• TV charge (wtf?): $15.00
• Gallbladder surgery: $3,610.00
• Anesthesia: $1,504.00
• Emergency Room: $1,302.65
• Radiology: $980.00
• Labwork: $709.00
• X-Rays: $627.00
• Consultations: $325.00
• Outpatient Services: $197.39
• ————————————
• TOTAL COST: $18,752.42
• ————————————
• TOTAL AMOUNT WE PAID: $95
• ========================

As you can see, having health insurance is muy importante! We might not appreciate it when we’re young and nubile, but I’m telling you that it can nab ya when you least expect it. Just take a look at all this Swine Flu stuff! *shiver* You better believe I’ll be making sure we’re covered 100% of the time going forward – even if we (knock on wood) ever lose our jobs. Although i’m sure it’s MUCH easier said than done in that instance!

If you’re still around TightFistedMiser and Mr. Anonymous from my original post – you guys win the prize for the closest guess @ $17k! I would have liked to mail you the burnt off gallbladder for your winnings, but sadly I didn’t think of it at the time ;) So instead, please accept our warmest thoughts & make sure you’re staying healthy over there. I wouldn’t wish hospitalization on anyone, not even this chode.