Quote:

Somehow I just noticed this post.

Anyhow, suggestion about how to attract people with private insurance:

Create an option that would permit a person with a billing question to pay $20 (through a 900 number?) and speak to an intelligent live person at a prescheduled time.

My experience is that doctors and hospitals actually do a decent job at providing care. My insurers have mostly done a pretty good job of living up to the letter of their contracts. But the doctors' and hospitals' billing offices have been nightmares.

The medical office business people who actually sit in the doctors' offices tend to be nice and bilingual but extremely ignorant.

The people hidden in the offsite billing offices are a lot more intelligent, but they're almost impossible to reach.

There have been times when I would have gladly paid $20 extra just to speak to a live human being and make sure that I don't owe anyone any money.

"How are they appealing to patients with private insurance?" Well, for one thing, they are spending thousands of dollars running full-color ads in local media (Jersey Journal, etc.) that tout their bloated, taxpayer-funded facilities.
But, of course, anybody with $0.02 to their name heads across the Hudson for quality health care...

Quote:

I've taken my child to the Jersey City Medical Center pediatric emergency room twice (once around 3 a.m. with a 105 degree fever, once on a Sunday evening with a smashed thumb) and it was great.

The facility is new, clean and beautiful. A doctor saw us right away the first time and got right to the heart of the problem.

The second time (after my insurance company's nurse line nurse told us to take our child to the emergency room), a triage nurse came out, glanced at my child's smashed thumb and told us that we could get by without medical attention. So, we got out without without even having to through the sign-in process.

Note: we took my daughter before the residency programs changed. I don't know if the pediatric ER staffing was affected by all of that.

I was in Christ Hospital about 5 years ago in the emergency room, it was one of the worst experiences I've ever been through. I was only able to get attention from the doctors and nurses because I kept making a fuss, If I hadn't I would have been ignored like many of the other patients there, they were not busy at that time, only a few patients were in there. I decided that If I ever needed to go to a hospital on an emergency basis that would be the LAST place I would go.

Has ANYONE been to Jersey City Medical or Christ Hospital? Could you share your satisfaction or disatisfaction?

I was told that Jersey City hospitals are trying to attract patients with private insurances.

I would like to ask the board, how have Manhattan hospitals dealt with Charity care vs. Private care or do they?

Also, what are some suggestions or problems that you have had with either Jersey City Medical or Christ Hospital?

I have my own nightmare with billing but I would be interested in hearing others.