logo
welcome
CBS News

CBS News

He went in for a colonoscopy. The hospital charged $19,000 for two.

CBS News
Summary
Nutrition label

89% Informative

Tom Contos , 45 , has a family history of colon issues.

Rates of colorectal cancer are on the rise, particularly among younger people.

The hospital charged him $ 19,206 for the procedure, including physician fees.

Contos asked why he was charged for two colonoscopies that find polyps cost more.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by KFF Health News and The Washington Post's Well+Being that dissects and explains medical bills.

To get a colonoscopy at a lower price, patients should consider going to a freestanding endoscopy center or ambulatory surgery center not associated with a hospital.

Patients should ask whether the price includes potentially extra services.

VR Score

91

Informative language

91

Neutral language

71

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

49

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

External references

16

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/surprise-bill-toddler-445-dollars-swab-covid-test-november-bill-of-the-month/https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/cpt-code-missing-sports-hernia-repair-september-bill-of-the-month/https://www.fairhealthconsumer.org/https://kffhealthnews.org/about-ushttps://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights/help/guides/good-faith-estimatehttps://kffhealthnews.org/send-us-your-medical-bills/https://www.kff.org/about-ushttps://www.washingtonpost.com/wellbeing/https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/toddlers-backyard-snakebite-bills-totaled-more-than-a-quarter-million-dollars/https://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/bill-of-the-month/https://kffhealthnews.orghttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10184027/#:~:text=More%20than%2015%20million%20colonoscopies,in%20upper%20endoscopy%20(4).https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/surprise-bill-colonoscopy-chicago-northwestern-december-bill-of-the-month/https://turquoise.health/products/clear_rates_data?utm_term=turquoise%20health&utm_campaign=Branded&utm_source=GoogleAds&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=1170514703&hsa_cam=20253614391&hsa_grp=150247953979&hsa_ad=664719931663&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-1661617642441&hsa_kw=turquoise%20health&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6Ou5BhCrARIsAPoTxrC-zlnrQzIdIiNLQzzErgoq-aKjxLC99EOfOqRKsBaAkoHbgunDR5waAhoPEALw_wcBhttps://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/facility-fees-charged-by-hospitals-for-colonoscopy-procedures-are-about-55-percent-higher-than-those-charged-by-surgical-centershttps://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/

Affiliate links

no affiliate links