Thirty-day hospital stay for knee infection costs man $619,000

Not that we need it, but here's further proof that the American health care system, no matter how good your doc might be, needs a serious overhaul.

BoingBoing reports on a Reddit thread that, if it's to believed, begins with an unidentified man claiming that a recent one-month hospital stay to treat a knee infection landed him with a bill for -- wait for it -- $618,967.78.

That averages $20,632.25 a day.  

To put that into perspective, Zillow.com reports that the median price of a home in the U.S. as of August, 2019 is $229,600.  That means for what the man was billed for his hospital stay, you could buy 2.7 homes.

The least expensive item on the bill is $990 for "nutrition services."  The most expensive?  $343,482 for "room & care."  The pharmacy charges alone are nearly a hundred grand -- $92,234.78, to be exact.

Here's hoping at least that the stay cured the man's infection.  The Reddit thread is posted under the title "Never get a knee infection."  Feel free to peruse it at your leisure.