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During my career I have worked in a variety of settings, from pediatrics to the burn unit, to neuro, trauma, cardiac, surgical and medical intensive care units, as well as in the the emergency department. And mostly the patients were grateful for the care they received.

As you might expect when they are lying in the hospital bed, the cost of treatment and the bill isn’t a high priority. Furthermore, more than once family members have told me they wanted everything done for the patient. The cost was not important.

It is when they get home, weeks later, when they receive the bill that the surprise comes. And while most I am sure, feel they should pay a portion of the bill, some are completely dumbfounded how a 3 day hospital stay can rack up tens of thousands of dollars.

It would be terrible to have that debt hanging over your head, the anxiety and sleepless nights would be overwhelming. In this day and age with soaring health care costs and out of control cost, stories of unpaid bills and bankruptcy are easy to find.

So in keeping with the tradition of patient advocacy that nurses adhere to, this article will examine some actual hospital and medical bills. You will see how those bills may be overcharged or in error of 400% or more.

Some resources are on the internet and are very helpful. Other examples come from personal experience. And there is nothing better than personal experiences.

Do the errors and overcharges found in some hospital bills represent fraud? That is what we will find out and explore.