<prompt> Human: About a month ago my wife was very sick and could not hold down any food or water. After unsuccessfully trying to get a visit with her PCP multiple times and going to an urgent care center twice with no relief, we took her to the ER at a non-profit hospital. The ER visit lasted roughly three hours. They did IV therapy, blood work, and an ultrasound. Following this visit, she was sent to a GI doctor who eventually performed a scoping procedure.My wifes health insurance is not the best, but when all was said and done they covered over half of the entire balance from these visits. We have about 2680 that we are responsible for. We tried to apply for a discounted bill, but were denied because our income was slightly above the threshold.Naturally the next step is negotiating with the hospital. Looking at her bill, there are a few things that seem a bit excessive, but I am not sure how to address them. In particular: 1210 just to be seen at the emergency room - I am not sure how much wiggle room is here, but she was only there for three hours. 768 for IV therapy - She had one IV containing phenergen, famotidine, and saline. I am hard-pressed to believe that the bag cost them 100, let alone anywhere close to this amount. 628 for blood work and 792 for the ultrasound.Then for the endoscopy after the hospital visit: 1602 for the endoscopy procedure. 778 for anesthesia during that procedure less than an hour, which makes me question why the procedure costs as much as they charged. 183 for medical supplies - Nothing outside of a typical endoscopy was performed here, so I am not sure why this is itemized separately. 360 for the recovery room after the procedure.I am not trying to back out of paying the hospital, but I believe they overcharged us for these items. I dont know where to start negotiating with them, especially since insurance already covered their part. Does anyone have any strategies for handling something like this andor resources to gain information on what these services should actually cost?  <response>: None of this seems out of line for the normal costs of medical care in the United States. Is the general cost of healthcare in the US high? yes. But no, you werent overcharged, just because they charge you more than it costs them doesnt mean they are trying to pull a fast one. Non-profits have overhead costs to cover as well, not just the direct cost of the drug, etc. You spent 3 hours in a facility that has to be open 24 hours a day and staffed with multiple medical professionals and all the supplies necessary to basically treat anything that comes in the door without any warning. You were treated by multiple people who went to school for many years to be able to treat you and many support staff who facilitated you being there and getting adequate treatment, 1210 seems reasonable. You can, and maybe should, try to negotiate with the hospital, at the very least they will probably work out a payment plan for you but dont be surprised if there is no discount coming, the insurance company already negotiated the discount through their contracting with the hospital and that discount is likely being taken into account in this bill.. Im sorry you and your wife are going through this but no I dont believe you were overcharged. 