My Son’s French Hospital Bill: Emergency Room + Doctor = $95
This article is for subscribers only.
On vacation in France last month my 1-year-old son hurt his arm and, worried that he might have dislocated his shoulder, my wife and I took him to a doctor. Since it was a Sunday and none of the local doctors were in the office we saw no option but going to the hospital emergency room.
A few days ago we got the bill: 72.38 euros, or about $95. We saw a doctor after waiting for about an hour (we spent most of that in the playground across the street). No “facilities charge,” or other special emergency fee. The doctor spent about 15 minutes with our son, determined that everything looked okay, and that our son should be fine within a day, as he was.