Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A lot of us would gladly pay cash for treatments if they weren't so damned exhorbitant.
Not knocking medical establishments, but some of those tests are very unnecessary. I walked into a clinic in a shopping mall years ago, and I swear I saw dollar signs in their eyes !
The bill was approximately ten times the amount of money that they actually accepted from your insurance company as payment in full. In other words, if Casus was right and the "charges" came to $4500, the total amount of money that will actually pass from the insurance company to the medical providers will be about $450.
In all likelihood, you were not billed by the hospital at all, except for things like lab charges. The ER is space in the hospital building that is leased by a corporation somewhere that operates dozens of emergency rooms all over the country. One of the itemized charges will be "Use of Emergency Room", and that will be the four figures that went on the first line the minute you wheeled her through the swinging doors, and everything anybody did is added on to that. You're lucky you didn't have to call for an ambulance, which would have invoiced over $1,000 to drive her a mile or two to the ER.
Not my experience. My experience was that the hospital billed $350.00 and my insurance company explanation of benefits stated that it was paid over 3 times that. Oh, but I can't find out exactly why the hospital was overpaid, because of that pesky little "confidentiality" clause between the provider and the insurer.
I do, unbeknownst to the insurance company, work at a hospital and was informed that oftentimes insurance companies and providers "contract" for overpayment as a negotiated block payment method. This way, the hospital can still pay its bills (yes, they really do have bills just like the rest of us) and cover the uninsured and/or underinsured and/or people who simply blow off their medical bills.
I agree with you about the ambulance ride. That's a whole other story.
Back to OP: 3 hours in the ER with tests...hmmm...I don't know where you are, so I wouldn't even begin to venture a guess of the total amount. I will guess your ER room charge level alone could possibly be over $500.00 ??
don't forget the gov't... (MEDICARE).. they only pay the hospitals a certain % of what everyone else would have to pay...
As do the inurance companies. The OP will get an EOB with the charges, what the insurance paid, and what he is expected to pay. The latter two will not add up the the first.
I do, unbeknownst to the insurance company, work at a hospital and was informed that oftentimes insurance companies and providers "contract" for overpayment as a negotiated block payment method. This way, the hospital can still pay its bills (yes, they really do have bills just like the rest of us) and cover the uninsured and/or underinsured and/or people who simply blow off their medical bills.
I am pretty sure something like this must go on. I have received a ridiculous bill from the hospital and asked them to explain it to me. I refused to believe the price, but they have stated that this is the rate my insurance company negotiated with them. I've asked what the real cost of procedure is and they said 'it depends'. Depends on what insurance you have and whether you don't have any and also if you are a low income patient falling under the hospital's income threshold and can prove it you can be exempt from the bill or receive a huge discount. so, basically, there is no such a thing as the 'cost of treatment' for all.
They actually disclosed to me what it would cost had I been a cash patient and it was much cheaper. I asked if I could go as a cash patient and pay them that rate and they refused indicating that once I submitted myself as an insured patient they 'must' bill me as such. Of course my bill was under the amount of my deductible and my insurance who so skillfully 'negotiated' such rate ended up paying nothing.
So... A little over 2 weeks ago I took my wife into the ER on a Sunday evening. She was having severe abdominal pains, and they were getting worse.
We were there for about 3 hours - most of which was sitting in the room waiting to see a doctor. While there she had a CT Scan, and an IV with 2 specific medications. She was seen by both a doctor and tended to by a nurse.
We went home with no medications. They did find something wrong, but it wasn't serious, and she's fine now.
Anyway... we got the bill today (yes, insurance will cover at least most of it).
Anybody want to guess what the total hospital bill is? Give it a shot!
no matter what the cost, do you think it would be different with govenment run programs? Most of us know, no one ever pays the prices on those bills. Why the hospitals even bother, I have no idea..
no matter what the cost, do you think it would be different with govenment run programs? Most of us know, no one ever pays the prices on those bills.
Well I did and not on single occasion. As do many other high deductible private insurance patients. We are the 'dream customers' for the insurance companies and the hospitals since most of our basic care is out of pocket and at inflated prices.
don't forget the gov't... (MEDICARE).. they only pay the hospitals a certain % of what everyone else would have to pay...
After medicare pays out I get a bill for the rest which I am required to pay. Medicare doesn't cover 100% of any medical bill.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
