Beancounters: Organ removal is outpatient surgery

Cancer surgery should be done on an outpatient basis, without the hassle of an overnight stay at the hospital.

That's the sentiment of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, according to a letter we just got from them regarding my recent cancer surgery. The hospital bill was $13,627.62, and the insurance company says it won't pay a dime over $2,156. The letter notes that we're not responsible for the difference, but I'm still appalled.

How in the world is a thyroidectomy outpatient surgery? I was in surgery for something like three-and-a-half hours, during which time my throat was cut open and one of my organs was removed. They took me back up to my room sometime after 10 p.m., and I was still drifting in and out of consciousness for the next hour or two because of the effects of the anesthesia.

During surgery, the doctors inserted drains into my neck to keep blood from pooling there, and those drains remained in place until 6 a.m. the next day. If this had been outpatient surgery, would I be expected to remove them myself?

Good grief. Outpatient surgery? If they're that out of touch with reality, I'm amazed they didn't say, "This could have been taken care of in the hospital parking lot, or on a do-it-yourself basis with a bottle of bourbon and a Swiss army knife."

Even though we're not liable for the remaining 83 percent of the bill, I called the insurance company to complain about the arrangement. The popular perception is that medical treatment is going downhill in this country, and people have an overwhelmingly negative image of health insurance companies. This sort of thing does nothing to improve either view.