I definitely get the cynicism of the US system, but that’s not actually true. Repeat procedures on the same patient typically have 30 or 90-day windows where the hospital cannot bill for the same procedure or for managing complications related to a procedure. In this specific case, not only would the 2nd surgery not be billable, but all additional expenses associated with it (extended stay, additional materials used in the 2nd surgery) would have to be eaten by the hospital. Even if it hadn’t been discovered for several weeks, it would be the same.
Any hospital that billed insurance for the 2nd procedure would get audited and fined damn quick.
