Trevor Turner

Review of Cedar Park Regional Medical Ce...

My wife had food poisoning a few weeks back and ha...

My wife had food poisoning a few weeks back and had become severely dehydrated while continuing to vomit. Unfortunately, her symptoms spiked around 1:00 AM, so we were left with the option of waiting until morning or going to the ER.

When we arrived, my wife received the following care:

-IV fluids (1 pack)
-Anti-nausea medication (1 quantity)
-urine test diagnostics
-Prescription for anti-nausea medication.
-Diagnosis: upset stomach

That is all. Nothing more.

Total time spent with ER doctor: 2 minutes
Total time spent in ER room: 60-90 minutes

Total bill: $5,198.68

The bill we received was not itemized, and the version submitted to insurance did not contain details beyond "emergency room services", "emergency room drugs", "emergency room tests". We have tried contacting the hospital for more information, but the itemized bill will take 7 days to arrive (which is 2 days after the bill due date). Our calls to the hospital have been "dropped" on numerous occasions when asking for explanations and itemization.

I understand our health care system is broken, but this is criminal. Avoid this hospital unless you are dying. Even then, think twice.

Update: 9/25/2019 - Weeks after requesting the itemized bill, we received a form to fill out just to request an itemized bill. My wife then had to take time off of work and go to the hospital in person to see the itemized bill, which classified her straightforward, hour long stay as an "Extended ED Visit" for $2548.98, as well as +500 in urine test panels with no explanation as to why they were necessary given knowledge that my wife ate something likely to be bad and was feeling better immediately following the IV and anti-nausea medication.

Update: 10/18/2019 - We have been waiting for about 3 weeks for the auditor to call back regarding this visit and the inaccurate billing. Nothing yet, even though the bill was technically due over a month ago. My guess is that they will send to collections without ever contacting us back regarding this issue.