This was sent to me by a radio listener, who was in the hospital in October, 2016.
He was at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, New Hampshire.
He was served a standard fast food meal of chicken strips and french fries -- something you would get at most places for about $8.
Instead, the entire meal was $92.70.
While the $36 for chicken strips and $21 for french fries was outrageous enough, the most glaring markup came regarding the condiments.
Three small ketchup packets were $3 each, totaling $9. One little packet of Sweet and Sour sauce was $11. One packet of barbecue sauce was $10. Finally, the biggest "bargain" was $5.70 for a packet of honey mustard sauce.
The listener also noted that the same meal was available in the hospital cafeteria for under $10, and all of the sauces were free.
He didn't pay for this. He said it was billed to (and paid for) by his insurance, which is why the hospitals do this.
If you have no insurance, or if your out-of-pocket maximum isn't yet reached, you will also be paying for this "meal" out of pocket.
Hospitals claim they need to charge insane markups on services in order to pay for the countless patients who come through the doors and stiff them (and who they are required to treat), but that's not a good excuse.
This, my friends, is why we need health care cost reform, and not simply play the foolish game as to who pays for it.
Oh, and guess what? Do you think this sort of thing will go away if we go to a single payer model? Think again.