Ridiculous medical bill alert - $874 because holding a nurse's hand is "physical therapy", 12k (!) for changed sheets

[Silent Type]

2. The insurance question is key. If she has insurance, they probably cut the entire bill to $7,000 or so. If she doesn't

have insurance, she can probably negotiate it down to a similar amount, assuming she can even pay anything.

Since inception of Medicare in mid-1960s -- and under most private insurance plans at the time -- providers charge way more than they expect to get. It goes back to when Medicare and insurers pretty much paid whatever a provider billed. Payers -- including Medicare -- learned quickly that providers are greedy too.