Yes I s/w our insurance company

[Chrisandgary]

the good news is Sinai is a participating hospital Dr. Griepp would be out of network. I would owe him about $15k . Now I have to check on the anesthesia portion to see if they are participating.
Any one know of any other cost besides the hospital and anesthesia and surgeon that I need to check?
Thanks to all - the 15k wasnt as bad as I thought - still going to be rough but anything to get Gary the best!
Christine

 

[Mary]

the good news is Sinai is a participating hospital Dr. Griepp would be out of network. I would owe him about $15k . Now I have to check on the anesthesia portion to see if they are participating.
Any one know of any other cost besides the hospital and anesthesia and surgeon that I need to check?
Thanks to all - the 15k wasnt as bad as I thought - still going to be rough but anything to get Gary the best!
Christine

Will you be able to use your own cardiologist? I had a bill from the cardiology group in St. Louis that did my heart cath the day before. I've also had a bill from pathology that was separate from the rest.
Good luck!
Mary

 

[Georgia]

Be sure that Dr. Griepp doesn't order your labs or tests - in many hmo's they won't pay for such things unless ordered by an in-network physician. It might be OK while you're in the hospital, but if you have an echo or bloodwork and he orders it you might have the costs denied. It's something for you to check.

 

[Bill Hall]

Christine - I hope you are using the search feature on this page. If you type in Griepp, you get many threads to look at, all with Griepp's name. From my quick look, it asppears one of our members used Dr. Griepp (back in 2003). Although he hasn't posted in a long time, he has an e-mail address and instant message address on this site. Irt might be worth a try to contact him to find out his experience.
Bill

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Chris -

What does s/w mean?

I sounds like you might benefit from having a Case Worker assigned by your insurance company. Sometimes they can help you find ways to arrange for 'out of network' providers but you have to 'make your case'. Often a referal from an IN NETWORK provider stating that no one 'in network' has the necessary experience to handle this particular (high risk) surgery will suffice.

You should also investigate what other 'out of network' providers will be utilized during his hospital stay. It is AMAZING how 'uncovered costs' can mount up when going out of network. Best to check this all out BEFORE going to the hospital!

Another option to explore is to see what other IN NETWORK surgeons may be qualified to do this surgery.

Either way, it sounds like you have some more work to do!

'AL Capshaw'