That’s A Lot Of Scratch: The $48,329 Allergy Test Janet Winston had a rash that wouldn’t go away. The English professor from Eureka, Calif., always had been sensitive to ingredients in skin creams and cosmetics. This time, however, the antifungal cream she was prescribed to treat her persistent rash seemed to make things worse. Was she allergic to that, too? Do you have an exorbitant or baffling medical bill? Join the KHN and NPR’s Bill-of-theMonth Club and tell us about your experience. We’ll feature a new one each month. Winston, 56, who works at Humboldt State University, knew the dermatologist in her rural Northern California town was booked months in advance. So, as she often does for specialized treatment, she turned
to Stanford Health Care, a nearly six-hour drive south. She hoped to finally clear up her rash and learn what else she might be allergic to — for years, she had avoided lipstick and other skin products. Winston said that 119 tiny plastic containers of allergens were taped to her back over three days of testing. Winston ultimately learned that she was allergic to — among other things — linalool (a compound of lavender and other plants), the metals gold, nickel and cobalt, the ketoconazole cream prescribed to treat her persistent rash, the antibiotic neomycin, a
clothing dye, and a common preservative used in cosmetics. Her Stanfordaffiliated doctor had warned her that the extensive allergy skinpatch testing she needed might be expensive, Winston said, but she wasn’t too worried. After all, Stanford was an in-network provider for her insurer — and her insurance, one of her benefits as an employee of the state of California, always had been reliable. Then the bill came. Patient: Janet Winston, 56, of Eureka, Calif., English professor at Humboldt State University Total Bill: $48,329, including $848 for the time Winston spent
with her doctor. Winston’s health insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, paid Stanford a negotiated rate of $11,376.47. Stanford billed Winston $3,103.73 as her 20 percent share of the negotiated rate. Service Provider: Dr . Golara Honari of Stanford Health Care’s outpatient dermatology clinic in Redwood City, Calif. Medical Procedures: Extensive allergy skin-patch testing to determine what substances caused Winston’s contact dermatitis, or skin rashes. “I was grateful I had such wonderful care at Stanford,” Winston said, “but I was pretty outraged they could charge that. … No one cut into me. No one gave me anesthesia. I had partly open plastic containers filled with fluid taped to my back.” …..Read More One of the biggest reasons our health care is so expensive.
Dan Rather: I Do Not Think President Trump Is Redeemable There is no middle ground on hate. There are no ends justifying the means. No tax cuts. No deregulation. No scores of conservative judges can be worth tearing asunder the foundation of American freedom and democracy. And yet we now stand on that precipice I do not think President Trump is redeemable on this score. His actions long before becoming president suggest a profound level of personal animosity to the diversity of our nation. And now, drunk on power and exalting in the amen choruses assembling at his hatefilled rallies, his debasement of the norms of the office he holds and his misplaced sense of victimhood has metastasized across a political movement that
has become increasingly indistinguishable from the political party he leads. We must find other pressure points to return the United States to a path of sanity. One big moment is the upcoming election. Americans must vote with the message of “This will not be us!” And they must not tremble in the face of voter intimidation and threats of violence. I believe that most Americans recoil from the hate and injustice. That’s why GOP officials are lying about their records on health care. They are playing a cynical game of stoking their restive minority through propaganda and lies
while intimidating and demoralizing the majority. That’s why they seek to distract with all this gunned-up racism and antiSemitism. Republican officials who play in cynical games of wink, nod, abet, and excuse must hear loud and clear that their complicity is akin to an endorsement. This can be a delicate balance. One can understand that words and actions are different and that one cannot be held accountable for the actions of a deranged loner. But one can be held accountable for stoking a climate where these actions burst forth with the frequency and seriousness we are
witnessing. Where we used to speak of dog whistles we now hear bullhorns. There is nothing subtle or hidden about what’s going on. And no one can be allowed to pretend that this is just a slightly adulterated version of politicos as usual. All who support the president must be called to account for the hate they have allowed him to wreak upon this nation. This hate is bigger than Trump and it long preceded him. To personalize it around him is to excuse far too many for their tacit complicity. We are long beyond the stage of words of disapproval. We must dismantle the scaffolding that has allowed this terror to flourish.
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