Hospital bill came...

I had a 3 day 2 night stay and just the hospital portion before the ins paid and the ins discounts were taken was $21K! My dr was much less. I only paid out of pocket to him $200. The OR was over $6K just for the space!
And to the air force vet, you earned every bit of free care you receive! I am an army brat and I assure you you earned it!

WoW. I am amazed at the staggering costs of the surgeries, hospital costs, pharmacy and doctor's fees listed on here.

Since I haven't received anything from my doctor, or the hospital, I called my insurance company today to inquire about the claim.

I had an overnight stay; with TVH with both ovaries remove. The care I received was first rate. The nursing staff were very professional, and informative. They spent time with me and didn't just rush off. I received a lot of information from them as to what to expect while I was there, and what to expect when I got home.

I have five separate bills. $1170, $400, $1459, $16.59, and $9313.95. Three of them have been paid at 100% with billed discounts. One is being processed, and the largest of the bills needs more information from the hospital. The Customer Service person was very helpful. She suggested I call back in two weeks to see if the hospital responded to the request. At least part of the bill has been paid.

Now I want to see the itemized bill from the hospital.....

Well, after going over my budget I am only going to be able to pay $50/mo until I start getting my full pay checks again (in a month). As long as I am sending something they can't throw it into collections. Oh well.

I'm coming in late to this discussion, but I know that for me it wasn't the surgery that cost so much (after insurance)......it was all the doctor's bills, copays, prescripions, etc. leading up to my surgery!! Doctor visit after doctor visit to determine the extent of my situation, my options, etc. THAT's what added up for me!!

By the time I had my surgery, it was almost all covered because I had almost met my maximum out of pocket from being at the doctor so much!!!

Way to go Jess. I'm glad you got it sorted out. I trust that you didn't get much flack for the payment plan, since you didn't mention it?

Um, I didn't call em yet LOL! I was just gonna write out the check and send it, I'm skeered to call em!

Jessica, do not fret. They will work with you, but you should call them and set up a payment plan. The fact that you know how much you can send them, until you go back to work, is great. They will appreciate the fact that you are on top of the situation.

One thing that you want to be sure not to do, is have them talk you in to using a credit card. If you do that, you loose any rights you have to negotiate payments.

This really is a topic that should be brought up in the Pre-op board too. Afterall, there are many ladies there who may not have thought about any amount they may have to pay, post-op. For those with enough time prior to surgery would benefit the most as they would have time to sock money away prior to surgery.

I called my insurace carrier prior to my surgery to find out how much I would be responsible for. So, I knew, before surgery, what the worst case scenario was. It ended up being less than the worst case scenario, which was great.

^That is so true. Once they have your credit card, they HAVE it. I have the option to pay my little bills with it from time to time, and I've always been afraid to put that number on the stub and send it back. I write a check.

I *think* once they cash that first payment check, it implies under the law that they are accepting payments from you. I know when I collected on bad checks, we were told not to take payments on them, or else we were bound to continue to take payments.

If you are scared to call, put a letter in with your first payment telling them what you are agreeing to do and ask them to call you if it's not okay. Put the ball in their court and let them cash that first check. You should be good to go.

Yep, no waaaaaaaay will they get a CC number for me!! My H doesn't even have my CC numbers LOL!

I'm gonna give em a call on Monday.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by jessicajames Yep, no waaaaaaaay will they get a CC number for me!! My H doesn't even have my CC numbers LOL! I'm gonna give em a call on Monday.

You go, girl! You're doing great!