Who's the Culprit

[carlapv]

I just received the bill for the hospital portion of my cardiac catherization. $11,800.00 . Unbelieveable... I thought that the insurance industry was the culprit in the healthcare crisis, but now I am not so sure....

I know that you all have had much higher bills than this. I am expecting that the surgery will be out of sight, but I did not expect this bill to be so high.

Does this seem in line to you guys?

Thanks,

Carla

 

[Les]

In line?...Yes. Fair and Just?...No.

 

[MelissaM]

The amount my cardiologist billed for catheterization: $9600

The amount my insurance company paid for catheterization: $3300

Pretty amazing, huh?

It seems that physicians are having to inflate the amount that they bill because they know the insurance companies will knock it down. A lesson for anyone who has to pay their own medical bills - NEVER PAY RETAIL. Ask for the "cash rate" or what they pay insurance companies for the same service.

 

[carlapv]

It truly is amazing... I haven't received the EOB on the cardiologists bill yet, it ought to be a doozey. I had to have two cardiologists for the catherization so I'll get billed for both. It is truly ridiculous. They charged me $15.00 for a Sharpie (magic marker) to put an "x" on the two pulse sites on my feet. I am truly fortunate that I do not have to pay much on either of these bills and I am so grateful. My drug co-pays each month are 300.00. I can't imagine what the cost would be if I had to pay the entire amount.

Carla

 

[Ross]

Your insurance company would only pay roughly $4000 for it, so don't expect to pay more then that. Generally, the insurance companies only pay a 1/3 of what is charged. This is another reason I'm fed up with the way things get billed. It is totally bloated out of proportion and they expect people to pay full price.

 

[medtronic of borg]

caths

caths

Immediately contact your insurance company. That seems a little high. Ask them if they will look into it for you.

Medtronic

PS My caths with two cards only ran just at $9000

 

[Heather Fisher]

Mine was around 10,000. It was a killer too because mine was done as an outpatient so I had to pay the co-insurance plus my deductible that I had yet to meet for the year. I'm actually still waiting for them to send me the final bill. I've already paid off the surgery costs. The surgery and hospitalization were close to 100,000. Truly amazing huh?

Heather

 

[Marcia]

Hospital bills

Hospital bills

My hospital bill for the angiogram was around $7000 for the Dr. and hospital. I had a TEE done also so that was included. My hospital bill for the surgery for $78,000 and the insurance paid them something like $46,000. I think I am around $150,000 for the surgery and pretesting plus Cardio Rehab and INRS>

 

[hensylee]

DITTO WHAT Les said. Only people with no insurance have to pay that much, tho. Ain't it a shame.

 

[weekycat]

Sounds about right

Sounds about right

My heart cath was right around $10,000 too. I know I just about fell on the floor when I read that. And thank God I had insurance!

 

[joy]

My valvuplasty cost around $4000. Thank goodness my insurance paid the whole bill...and I don't have ANY co-pay. In one year my hospital bills alone ran around $220,000. I didn't add up the doctor bills. And I thought the medevac bill was high! That was $3560, and I was only in the air for like 20 minutes. I almost fell off the couch when I saw that one! Really, though, insurance companies don't pay what is really billed. My whole two weeks in the hospital(6 in the ICU and like 8 in the antenatal department) cost over 50K, and my insurance only paid them $14K. That's what they thought was reasonable. SO I do think that part of the healthcare crisis is the insurance companies' fault. At least part of it. Part of it is our government letting costs get that high, and the last part of it is the people who abuse the system so they can get a free ride.

I remember this lady I used to work with used to doctor her husband's paycheck so she could be on welfare AND she was on SSI along with her three kids. She could have gone out there and gotten a job, but she didn't. I watched her kids, and since I never got paid what I was supposed to, and she expected me to be her maid as well, I quit not even a month after I started. Those kinds of people anger me...especially when there are honest people that really need the money.