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Hospital Charges Man Nearly $9K For Bespoke Finger Bandage
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 6, 2014
Modified Aug 6, 2014
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By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 6, 2014
Modified Aug 6, 2014
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Last August, the awesomely-named New Jersey man Baer Hanusz-Rajkowski cut his finger with the claw end of a hammer. But the Hanusz-Rajkowskis are of hearty stock, and instead of immediately running to the hospital like a mary, Baer Hanusz-Rajkowski decided to take a wait-and-see approach. After several days of bloody agony, the wound did not appear to be healing, and so Baer Hanusz-Rajkowski took his finger to the professionals at Bayonne Medical Center. He was released hours later after receiving no stiches—just a bandage and a bill for almost $9,000.
According to NBC New York, Baer Hanusz-Rajkowski did not receive an X-Ray, and did not require stitches. Nevertheless, he was billed $8,200 bill for the emergency room visit, plus $180 for a tetanus shot, $242 for sterile supplies, and $8 for antibacterial ointment. To be fair, those "sterile supplies" included a matching set of limited edition Gucci bandages. (That started out as a dumb joke and then Google revealed, of course, it's essentially dumb reality.)
“I got a Band-Aid and a tetanus shot. How could it be $9,000. This is crazy,” Hanusz-Rajkowski marveled. “If I severed a limb, I’d carry it to the next emergency room in the next city before I go back to this place." Say what you want about the Hanusz-Rajkowskis, at least they have a sense of humor.
Long story short, the obscene bill was the result of some insane dispute between the hospital, which was bought by a for-profit company several years ago, and the insurance company, United Healthcare. After NBC New York called attention to it, the insurance company finally coughed up the money. And Baer Hanusz-Rajkowski's finger appears to be okay now, which is fortunate, because it's his middle finger and he's going to need it for future hospital visits.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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