Keo Capestany, 73, got stung twice, first by a bee and then by a hospital. Danny Westneat, a columnist for the Seattle Times, reports that Capestany ate a piece of steak at a picnic, not noticing that "a yellow jacket was clinging to the bottom side. It stung or bit him right on the tongue."
Capestany's tongue got swollen, and he worried that it might obstruct his breathing. So he went to the Harborview Medical Center. After almost a day on a Benadryl drip, doctors gave him a clean bill of health and sent him home from the hospital:

Two weeks later, though, he got stung again: The bill was $8,200. The IV costs alone were $2,469. The emergency room fee: $2,822. The pharmacy tab ran to $964. . . .

Capestany found out that though he spent about 22 hours there in a room, his treatment is considered "outpatient."

His insurance (Medicare Part A and his wife's policy) only give broad coverage for inpatient hospitalizations, not outpatient visits. . . .

Harborview couldn't discuss Capestany's bill with me, but said it's Medicare that sets the rules on whether someone is an inpatient or out.

In fact, Medicare puts out a six-page guide--with charts--on how to tell which is which. It's so complicated, they advise that if you're ever in a hospital for more than a few hours, you better ask about your status. I wonder: Would staff even know the answer?

It seems Capestany is stuck with the bill. And here is the lesson columnist Westneat draws from the story:

I sure don't know what would work. A single-payer system, competing insurance exchanges, health savings accounts--all seem better than what we have now.

Yet some say no, slow down. Leave health care until we repair the economy.

At $8,200 for a bee sting, health care could become all that's left of the economy.

If only the federal government ran health care, we wouldn't have to worry about Medicare rules. Brilliant!