美国国家公共电台 NPR Soccer-Playing Engineer Calls Foul On Pricey Knee Brace

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right. It's time for our bill of the month. This is where we take a close look at medical bills that you send to us. And this month, we've got one that I bet a lot of people will relate to, especially those of you who play sports and have gone through an injury. Elisabeth Rosenthal is editor-in-chief of our reporting partner Kaiser Health News. And she joined us from our studios in New York City to tell us about who we're meeting.

ELISABETH ROSENTHAL: This month it's Esteban Serrano. He's a 41-year-old software engineer from the suburbs of Philadelphia.

GREENE: OK. And I think we have a little tape of him here describing exactly what happened to him.

ESTEBAN SERRANO: Last year around October, I got injured - my knee - playing soccer, or football. Yeah. It was a bad bruise¹. I got - my MCL got injured. But I went to the doctor to get an opinion to see what the problem was. And after the doctor saw me, did an exam and X-rays, he suggested I wear a brace² to help with the healing and give me a little bit of support.

GREENE: All right. That doesn't sound that bad - nothing broken, has to wear a brace. I mean, that's the kind of thing a lot of people go through, right?

ROSENTHAL: Yeah. It's probably one of the most common sports injuries. But it can be a big deal financially because when Mr. Serrano went to the doctor, he got a hinged knee brace...

GREENE: OK.

ROSENTHAL: ...Purchased through the doctor's office for $882.

GREENE: Wow.

ROSENTHAL: And since he hadn't met his deductible, he paid most of that himself.

GREENE: Most of the $800. I mean, you say hinged knee brace. Is this some kind of special brace that would be a lot more expensive?

ROSENTHAL: Well, yeah. It is kind of a fancy brace. It has a hinge where your knee bends. But, you know, that's not really justified³ here. First of all, the company that makes it says the retail⁴ price is about $242. But it's not really clear why this patient needs a fancy knee brace. I mean, you know, we all know you can go into Target or Costco and buy a knee brace for about $20, and that probably would've done the trick.

GREENE: All right. Well, let's listen to a little bit more of his voice here.

SERRANO: This is a very simple - you know, your run-of-the-mill injury that anybody can, you know, twist their knee. They can twist their ankle, go to an orthopedist. And if, you know, they happen to give you this kind of a brace, then you're in for an $800 bill. I don't think that there's a reason why anybody should be paying $800 for a $100 or $50 brace.

GREENE: All right. So clearly it sounds like he feels like he's been taken for a ride here. So have we learned more about why this happened from, like, the doctor's office?

ROSENTHAL: Well, not exactly. The doctor's office didn't return our multiple phone calls. We actually got some info from another orthopedist who said, oh, yeah. You know, doctors' offices routinely up-charge two to three times what their wholesale⁵ cost is. And I like to point out for consumers that it's not just knee braces⁶. It's everything that a doctor or a hospital might give you to go home. So crutches⁷, a breast pump, a wheelchair - all of those things are up-charged heavily by these offices.

GREENE: So is there anything patients can do about that so they're not being up-charged by their doctors?

ROSENTHAL: Well, (laughter) you know, I think we tend to think of visits to the doctor as kind of all-inclusive resorts, but that's not how it works these days. These days, every item is likely to be charged and likely to be charged a lot. So I always tell people, don't take anything you don't feel you need or won't use. And I think you should also ask why you need a fancy version of this rather than the one you could get at your local pharmacy⁸. You could even Google from the doctor's office and see, like, how much would this cost me if I bought it online? So you'll save a ton of money like that.

GREENE: Wow. OK. So - I mean, so besides actually finding a corner of the doctor's office to, like, Google for five or 10 minutes and make sure you're not being overcharged, is anyone out there trying to change this practice and put pressure on doctors' offices not to do this?

ROSENTHAL: It's kind of unseemly, but this one is not actually illegal. It's kind of like what restaurants do when they sell you cheap wine for $20 a glass, right? But this is one where being a good consumer can really make a difference. It takes advantage of patients who are unaware⁹ and vulnerable. But, hey, now that you know this happens, next time a doctor says, hey, your kid's elbow is injured - we'll give you a sling¹⁰ - say, uh-uh, I'm going to go buy one at Rite¹¹ Aid.

GREENE: Just think about the number of people who get these kinds of ankle braces, knee braces, you know, like, the stuff you mentioned. I mean, this is a lot of money that doctors' offices are charging people.

ROSENTHAL: Well, and it's not like the half-million dollar bills we sometimes talk about. But...

GREENE: Right.

ROSENTHAL: ...As Mr. Serrano said, that $800 was unexpected, and it meant he couldn't buy his kid an iPhone for Christmas. So it can make a big difference in people's lives.

GREENE: It sure can. All right. Dr. Rosenthal, thanks as always for being here.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you.

GREENE: That is Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthal. She's editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News. And if you have a medical bill that seems kind of inflated¹² or kind of mysterious in some way, something that concerns you, and you want us to have a look at it, just go to our Shots blog at npr.org, and submit it to us online. Maybe we'll talk about it.

(SOUNDBITE OF BONOBO'S "ANTENNA")

1 bruise   

n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤

参考例句：

• The bruise was caused by a kick.这伤痕是脚踢的。
• Jack fell down yesterday and got a big bruise on his face.杰克昨天摔了一跤，脸上摔出老大一块淤斑。

2 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

3 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

4 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

6 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

7 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

8 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

9 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

10 sling   

vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓

参考例句：

• The boy discharged a stone from a sling.这个男孩用弹弓射石头。
• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。

11 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

12 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》