Comments on: Friday Links: Got the ER Bill Edition

By: bridesmaiddresses

bridesmaiddresses — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:51:42 +0000

Do you want to be one of the radiant one among all the guests of a joyful bridesmaid dresses.

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:41:15 +0000

That’s nothing. I recently went to hospital for 1 hour and have been billed at least $11k. Most of that was for an abdominal cat scan (no they did not give me the option of getting a lower priced x-ray). The total bill is probably more than this as there are 2 more envelopes from the hospital I need to open.

By: The Prudent Homemaker

The Prudent Homemaker — Tue, 25 May 2010 20:58:20 +0000

We’re self-employed, and an emergency policy with a $10,000 deductible would cost us $20,000 a year. That’s just the plan, and it doesn’t cover doctor’s visits–or pregnancy. No one wants to cover pregnancy for those who are self-employed; I’ve looked.

Thankfully, our children have been able to be born at home, and we pay my midwife out of pocket for each one.

But, when my daughter broke her arm, it was $6,000 betweeen the three billing places (the emergency room, the hospital, and the specialist they sent us to, because the hospital would not put a cast on it, though they did reset both broken bones in her arm). The only discount they offered was 10% off if we paid in full in 30 days. In addition, both the hospital and the emergency room wanted a minimum of $100 each per month, or they would send us to collections. The specialist wanted $250 a WEEK for 3 months!

Being forced to buy insurance (by law) is not going to help us at all. We’ve been living from our pantry and garden for years now; we can’t afford food, let alone insurance.

If you have insurance and don’t have to pay both sides of it (because your emplyer pays the other half) consider yourself lucky; it is a great deal of money for those who are self-employed.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Mon, 24 May 2010 02:23:10 +0000

I don’t have insurance so I don’t go to the Dr at all. That means no preventative care or check ups either which is a shame. I simply cannot afford it. The last time I went was nearly 2 years ago. One simple exam..one simple in office test and 2 blood tests at a lab. Nearly $1000. And that was with a discount from the lab the office sends their tests to. That lab offered a 70 % discount to patients with no insurance. I could afford a regular check up but what if something came back wrong? I could not afford treatment. Its sad.

By: Diana

Diana — Sun, 23 May 2010 04:28:53 +0000

Tips:

1) As tough as it is to decipher, read through plan docs when changing insurance. That will tell you a lot.

2) Know your avaiable care providers and their hours. In a mountain-bike accident, I cut my knee. I thought it was nothing, and my friend drove me home. It didn’t stop bleeding, so he urged me to see the doc. We called my doc’s office, and they were open (on a Sunday!) for limited visits. I went there, signed in, and after a nurse noticed I was sittting in the waiting room with a lot of bleeding, she took me in immediately. I hadn’t read my insurance plan before, but while in the waiting room, I pulled out my insurance card and called the number on it. They gave approval over the phone for treatment. For the eight stitches, the cost would have been over 3k. My co-pay after all was said and done was $50. Part of that was dumb luck through going to my doc’s office rather than a hospital ER.

3) After knowing your primary’s hours, look at Urgent Care Clinics hours (helpful to know). Look at your insurance policy to see the coverage for these and how much you might save over going to the ER. (Certainly major emergencies require an ER, but things like stitches, etc. can be handled by urgent care clinics at much less cost).

In summary, understand your insurance plan and understand available providers.

By: Friday Links: Got the ER Bill Edition | Budgeting Finance

Friday Links: Got the ER Bill Edition | Budgeting Finance — Sat, 22 May 2010 01:50:05 +0000

[...] Beingfrugal AKPC_IDS += [...]

By: Erika

Erika — Sat, 22 May 2010 01:05:52 +0000

Don’t forget that if you have insurance and the hospital you went to was a preffered provider then the hospital can only charge what they agreed upon with the insurance company. With my husband’s recent bill that along knocked off $2,000 from his $10,000.

This is a prime example on why we need to crack down on illegal aliens, they know they can go to the hospital for routine care and get it without having to pay and the hospital can’t turn them away. We can’t track them down and we end up paying for it with inflated bills.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 21 May 2010 22:22:50 +0000

wow, I can’t believe it costs so much! I’ve been to the emergency room tons of times. And never had to pay anything. I am in Australia though and have Medicare. I have always had someone take me there, too so I’ve never used an ambulance either, but WOW.

By: mom2fur

mom2fur — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:27:01 +0000

I just want to reply to Heidi, if you don’t mind.
Thank God your son is okay! My son was hit by a car about 15 years ago and also broke his femur bone–not to mention other more serious injuries. But it was the femur bone that had him in traction in the hospital for 42 days and in a body cast for another two months. He’s totally fine now (as far as a 23-year-old can be) but those were scary times. I’m glad we also had insurance. But I’m glad that times have changed and your little boy doesn’t have to spend most of the summer in the hospital!

By: mom2fur

mom2fur — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:22:54 +0000

People who can’t afford insurance can often apply for and get Medicaid. I work for a pediatrician and I’d say 60% or better of our patients are Medicaid patients. I might be wrong, but I’m sure it’s available to all children who wouldn’t have insurance otherwise.

Still, I’ve never been able to figure out the high cost of a visit to the emergency room. Frankly, if they compensated you for all the time you sat there waiting, they’d probably end up owing YOU money, LOL!
Hope your son is doing well!