Got my bill for my 3 day stay in hospital for a-fib/flutter

[Bryan B]

22,711.16

If I make a "prompt" cash payment I "only" have to pay 50% of that. Not gonna happen unless I start playing the lottery and win. That's not gonna happen either. The thing is that 11,355.58 (the cost at 50%) probably isn't that bad of a price considering I was on a telemetry unit for 3 days, I had a regular echo, I had anesthesia for the cardioversion (that never happened), I had a TEE before the cardioversion (that never happened) which found the clot, and I had a cardiac MRI with and without contrast. Add the Lovenex shots, blood work drawn every day, ECG done every day, and the rest of the meds (including 2 diltiazem drips) and it adds up pretty quick. If I had 11,355.58 I would probably go ahead and pay it off...but I don't. I do think that I got double charged for a few things that I am going to dispute which might knock off about 1,000 dollars. For instance they charged me for 8 doses of Lovenox at 222 dollars an injection. I received only 6 injections...1 on Tuesday night, 2 on Wednesday, 2 on Thursday, and 1 on Friday morning. If I received more doses than that they will have to admit they administered too many doses to me...a major error...and my bill (and possibly my upcoming surgery) would be free. :biggrin2:

Talking about making someone want to take a drink!!! :eek2: :rolleyes2: :wink2:

BTW I had my PT INR blood draw yesterday and I got the results today. It was 2.5, right in the sweet spot. For my condition they want me between 2-3. My instructions were to keep doing what you're doing and don't change anything. I was at a 4.0 three days after discharge giving myself Lovenox 80mg injections twice a day and taking 7.5mg of Coumadin daily. The test done yesterday was 8 days later after alternating between a whole 7.5mg tablet and 1/2 of a 7.5my tablet daily (5.625mg daily). Of course this was the cardio group's NP who made the call and seems to be the only one that's accessible most of the time and will always return your call if she's not accessible at the time. IMO she is has more common sense when it comes to overall health concerns than the entire cardio group put together. I realize that the cardios are very specialized and extremely good at what they do, but if you only get to see them for 5 minutes, once a year, I'll take the NP who deals with the groups cardio patients face to face all day every day, three days a week in their clinic when I have questions or concerns.

 

[Ross]

Not that it matters, but if you could, see if they'd take what Medicare would pay. That should knock another 25% or more off.

 

[Maryka]

Sorry, Bob! This healthcare roulette in not yet resolved, is it?

 

[Rebecca]

In February my husband had a heart attack. We were still fighting to get cobra health insurance papers to fill out. At the time we did not have any health insurance . Two hours at one hospital was $7,273.50, with no health insurance the amount was reduced to $1,188.00, when we did get health insurance United Healthcare paid 3,605.00. Three nights at Saint Joseph's Hospital in CICU was $48,395.00, with no health insurance the amount was reduced to $29,037.00, when we did get health insurance United Healthcare paid $6,720.07 and the rest was written off by the hospital.

 

[Daren]

Bob, I agree with Ross, see if you can get them to negotiate the price down. A lot of times you can even set up a payment deal over a long period of time. Sorry you have to go through this man. It seems like you have enough to deal with right now without this garbage climbing up your back. Daren

 

[buncle]

Health care is the only business I am aware of that we purchase a service and we dont even know what the charge is going to be before hand.It is also (other than a home ) the largest purchase we make.(Heart surgery and all the tests that lead up to and follow it) We drive 3 blocks further to save .05 a gallon of gas. its like "whats the point?" One provider to another for the same service can vary by hugh percentages. It is madness. And costs are only going up. So other than rant forever I took a proactive move to invest in this crazy money making business.I made 2 large investments- one in a privately help long term care company that is currently buying class A long term care facilities.And another in a privately held pharma. company that has a patented drug that will go public soon or be bought by possibly by a large swedish pharma. co. I figure if I cant beat them I will make money off this crazy system.

 

[Luana]

This is one of the things that gets me when you hear about the "high cost of medical care." Yeah, it is expensive, but geesh, if they can drop their pants that quick and offer a 50% discount, it means we'll take anything we can get. So the billed amount and what is actually paid are almost always two vastly different things. So, what's the cost? My insurance paid about 1/3 of what my hospital bill was for my AVR, and yet on other things, like an outpatient CAT scan, they paid at almost 90%; an ER visit was paid at about 50%; the amounts paid were all based on the insurance company's "negotiated rate." I know hospitals have to make up for the low reimbursements received from Medicaid and for some with no insurance who pay nothing. But with billing amounts that are so fluid, what do things really cost?

 

[OldManEmu]

50% discount for cash, this sounds like some kind of cash in hand tradesman job on home renovations, not something that a hospital would do.
If you pay cash doesn't the hospital pay tax on your payment.

Rebecca 48k to 6k this sounds like a better deal than you could get in a third world market, 85% discount. It is amazing how US hospital billing works.

 

[Ross]

What bothers me is, if you have no insurance, they bill you full fare and play this mind game with you. I used to allow them to do that too and it's put me within range of bankruptcy until I called their bluff. My wifes emergency kidney surgery was billed at $58,000 and of course, I would get a 10% discount if paid in full today. Like that 10% discount is something to be proud of?

I got on the phone, wrote letters to the hospital CEO and threatened a little TV publicity of the ordeal. The hospital was about to take us to court, even though I had been making $20 a month payments. They were demanding no less then $192 a month. I couldn't do that. Long story short, I settled that hospital bill for around $5000 and made deals with every other doctor and lab involved too. The only one that wouldn't cut us any slack was the surgeon himself. We just paid that off 2 months ago and this is from back in 2004?

 

[Maryka]

As I always point out, my Marfan friend Patricia in Florida had several heart surgeries down there and had to declare bankruptcy each time to get her bills resolved. It was a brutal event each time. Patricia died about 4 years ago. If hospitals now drop their charges, well, that is a step forward in MY book!

 

[Lynlw]

What bothers me is, if you have no insurance, they bill you full fare and play this mind game with you. I used to allow them to do that too and it's put me within range of bankruptcy until I called their bluff. My wifes emergency kidney surgery was billed at $58,000 and of course, I would get a 10% discount if paid in full today. Like that 10% discount is something to be proud of?

I got on the phone, wrote letters to the hospital CEO and threatened a little TV publicity of the ordeal. The hospital was about to take us to court, even though I had been making $20 a month payments. They were demanding no less then $192 a month. I couldn't do that. Long story short, I settled that hospital bill for around $5000 and made deals with every other doctor and lab involved too. The only one that wouldn't cut us any slack was the surgeon himself. We just paid that off 2 months ago and this is from back in 2004?

That always makes me so angry the one group of people they always bill and expect the full price from, is the one that can not afford it, people without insurance.
Since We found out about Justin's heart when he was a day old, we always based our job decisions on making sure he was always coverred, since if you get a small lapse, you are pretty much screwed. But out of all the stress of having a child with serious medical issues, a great portion of our stress has always been caused by dealing with the games hospitals/insurance companies pay. what needs pre certed this year, since that changes yearly ect. But with good insurance and lots of staying on top of everything, even tho Justin's bills have problably reached a million dollars, beside Copays for out patient visits we usually don't pay anything. Even when he has had surgeries out of network, with lots of calls and letters, we got those approved as "in network" BEFORE the actual surgery.
I see what the hospitals charge for everything and what insurance pays and know it is about 1/2 if that. But when Justin had one of his MRI/MRAs that dept missed a letter in our insurance number so it came back he didn't have insurance and they sent him a bill for 13 grand for JUST the MRI, not even the doc that read it. They offered the same "great deal" 10% off if Justin paid it full that month. (I was surprised how "low' Brians bill was considerring just Justin's MRI was over 13,000) We got Justin's bill fixed with the right insurance info, but since I know what they charge if a person is paying vs what they take from insurance, it is disgusting. If anyone should get the lowest price right off the bat, it should be the people that have to pay. PLUS IF the bills were more reasonable, instead of amounts even if you paid the rest of your life, you would never come close to paying off, maybe more people would try to pay it off instead of just knowing no matter what they give, it will never put a dent in the bill so why bother paying anything, you will still gt the same grief.
Cobra is another thing that needs work, so people not working CAN afford it as long as they are elligble.. I know right now there is a discount for it, but we needed it for a few months about 5 years ago, the monthly payment was 1300 plus, for the 3 of us. How many people who lost their job and still have ALL their other bills to pay, can find an extra 1300 a month for Cobra? Luckily My husband got a job after a couple months, but no way could we have kept up the COBRA payments much longer with no income coming in.

 

[Ross]

Oh I know. When Lyns kidney surgery acted up, she was laid off and we couldn't afford COBRA, so we thought we'd be ok for a couple months. WRONG. That whole event has had us teetering on the brink of total financial collapse ever since.

 

[buncle]

It used to to be "i want a career or job in this field or that because I will be real good at it,productive and enjoy very much what I do for 8 to 10 hours a day"
Now it is "i got a new job and it comes with health insurance it will be a great job" Friend asks what job is it? "I dont know. Heck who cares? I start on Monday and I get my health
insurance card.

 

[kfay]

That always makes me so angry the one group of people they always bill and expect the full price from, is the one that can not afford it, people without insurance.
Since We found out about Justin's heart when he was a day old, we always based our job decisions on making sure he was always coverred, since if you get a small lapse, you are pretty much screwed. But out of all the stress of having a child with serious medical issues, a great portion of our stress has always been caused by dealing with the games hospitals/insurance companies pay. what needs pre certed this year, since that changes yearly ect. But with good insurance and lots of staying on top of everything, even tho Justin's bills have problably reached a million dollars, beside Copays for out patient visits we usually don't pay anything. Even when he has had surgeries out of network, with lots of calls and letters, we got those approved as "in network" BEFORE the actual surgery.
I see what the hospitals charge for everything and what insurance pays and know it is about 1/2 if that. But when Justin had one of his MRI/MRAs that dept missed a letter in our insurance number so it came back he didn't have insurance and they sent him a bill for 13 grand for JUST the MRI, not even the doc that read it. They offered the same "great deal" 10% off if Justin paid it full that month. (I was surprised how "low' Brians bill was considerring just Justin's MRI was over 13,000) We got Justin's bill fixed with the right insurance info, but since I know what they charge if a person is paying vs what they take from insurance, it is disgusting. If anyone should get the lowest price right off the bat, it should be the people that have to pay. PLUS IF the bills were more reasonable, instead of amounts even if you paid the rest of your life, you would never come close to paying off, maybe more people would try to pay it off instead of just knowing no matter what they give, it will never put a dent in the bill so why bother paying anything, you will still gt the same grief.
Cobra is another thing that needs work, so people not working CAN afford it as long as they are elligble.. I know right now there is a discount for it, but we needed it for a few months about 5 years ago, the monthly payment was 1300 plus, for the 3 of us. How many people who lost their job and still have ALL their other bills to pay, can find an extra 1300 a month for Cobra? Luckily My husband got a job after a couple months, but no way could we have kept up the COBRA payments much longer with no income coming in.

Lyn, I've always been in the same boat as Justin. When I was a child, of course my parents always made sure we were insured (although there was a time that the shriners paid some of my bills, not sure why), but as an adult, I always, always, made sure I had health insurance. There were several times I turned down jobs I really wanted because health insurance wasn't an option. When my husband took a job in England, we made sure that part of his package was continuation of health insurance here in the states "just in case". Yes, I was covered over there, but I would have been on the first plane home had I needed something done. Luckily, we now own our own business, so we have complete control over our insurance coverage. I've always thought it was ridiculous what they try to charge the uninsured.

 

[Bryan B]

I'm not quite sure who this "Bob" guy is ( :biggrin2: ) but I do agree with the games hospitals will play with you. I guess they do the same to the insurance companies but at a better price. The posts in this thread made me think...if I end up needing heart surgery before I either get financial aid or health insurance I'm going to go to all the "main players" (surgeon, hospital, lab, radiology, anesthesia, etc) and try to negotiate a deal with them ahead of time. The problem is that they only have staff privileges at certain hospitals so if you get one or two groups that won't budge on the price you're screwed.

The good news (although I haven't seen the CD) is that my MRI results showed that the increase in my aortic root dilation and ascending aorta were small as compared to the year ago. Both only increased by about 1mm in the last 10 months. Of course I've been on a beta blocker, calcium channel blocker, and an ace inhibitor for the last 10 months as well. My root went from 4.4cm to 4.5cm and my ascending aorta went from 5.3cm to 5.4cm. There were no true aneursyms present (i.e. no bulges within the dilation). My aortic insufficiency remained "moderate" and my LV was upper limits of normal with normal EF. Of course the autograft from my Ross Procedure is continually taking a beating from the regurgitation and I have a feeling they won't do surgery until I reach a 5.0 aortic root dilation. This means there will be little chance of saving the valve. If I had health insurance I probably would have had surgery anywhere from 11-09 to 1-10 in order to hopefully save the valve. Now it feels like..."if we wait long enough he'll either find insurance or find financial aid. But the clock is ticking if they can't control my a-fib/flutter (I put both down because at one time or another they have said I had one or the other). There is no way I can work right now. If I exert myself too fast in any way I have what I've come to call a "spell". It's when my heart rate ramps up, I get very short of breath, and I have to find a place to sit down soon or I'm going to pass out. Not good. I think I would qualify for some type of disability (maybe short term?) if my illness causes me to not be able to work for 12 months. Hell my cardio told me to stop working a year ago because she expected me to have surgery in the next 6 months and it might help my cause when applying for financial aid. She also knew by my symptoms that I was struggling to do the things I used to be able to do and would not be able to work in any of the fields that I have worked in the past.

Anyway Happy Memorial Day and hug a soldier today (current or retired) if you know one. My dad was a 20 year Air Force vet and I'm going to give him a salute and a hug tomorrow.

 

[Guest]

It used to to be "i want a career or job in this field or that because I will be real good at it,productive and enjoy very much what I do for 8 to 10 hours a day"
Now it is "i got a new job and it comes with health insurance it will be a great job" Friend asks what job is it? "I dont know. Heck who cares? I start on Monday and I get my health
insurance card.

Sad, but somewhat true .

I love my current job (though I hate the commute...go figure), but it isn't what I really want to be doing. Maybe one day....


Bryan ... thoughts/prayers en route....



Cort | 36.m.IL | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker * NoreastrTrekRT=Aug2010 *
MCs.Caprice | models.HO.legos.CHD.RadioShows | RTs.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"If you'll hand me my crayons, I'll be glad to take your name" ... John Conlee ... 'I Don't Remember Loving You'

 

[Bryan B]

It looks like I might be accumulating another 20,000 bill at the end of the month. I have an appointment with my cardio on June 29th, and if I'm still in A-Fib (which at this point I still am, just controlled somewhat better with meds...still have some strong episodes of it every couple of days) I will go in for another attempt at cardioversion and start on Sotalol. Hopefully the clot in my heart has dissolved due to the "blood thinners" (lol...j/k i.e. blood thinner). My 3 INR tests since leaving the hospital have been 4.0 (dose reduced by 25% after that test), 2.5 and 3.0. The girl that does my blood draw may have the best "touch" with a needle I've ever experienced. She's also very attractive (huge understatement but trying to keep it clean here) so I actually look forward to going in for a blood draw.