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Hospital Bill
By JLP | February 23, 2006
Well, we got the bill for the four days my daughter spent in the hospital. A whopping $13,793.88!!!!!!!
Here’s the breakdown:
|
Room and Board – Private, Pediatric |
$2,608.00 |
|
Pharmacy, General |
$4,812.00 |
|
Pharmacy, IV Solutions |
$3,315.00 |
|
Laboratory |
$2,692.85 |
|
OR Services, General |
$366.03 |
|
Grand Freakin’ Total |
$13,793.88 |
Fortunately, this is not the amount we owe since our insurance company hasn’t looked at it yet. I would like to see an itemized list of everything. I don’t understand the difference between pharmacy general and pharmacy IV since everything she received was through IV. It’s crazy how expensive healthcare is.
Topics: Miscellaneous | 7 Comments »
February 23rd, 2006 at 3:47 pm
It’s crazy, isn’t it? When DH had an emergency appendectomy and a
four day stay, the bill topped 20K. Then the insurance
company refused to pay some of it because it was “above usual
and customary.” Apparently we should have taken a moment to
comparison shop after the doctor said “Go now or die.”
Of course, the extra cost ended up being our problem because I
had no clue what to do about it. Ah, the things I wish I’d known
then.
February 23rd, 2006 at 4:06 pm
The wonderful world of insurance. If you want you can ask for a detailed itemized bill, which is something I do for our clients if the bill has outstanding balances after insurance pays.
“Above Usual & Customary” usually applies for out of network providers. When going to a hospital today, it is next to impossible to make sure all providers and services are in-network, even if you ask ahead of time. You are serviced by those out of network, I think because that is a way in-network providers can increase their insurance payments–they probably get a cut from the out of network dr.
You also have a right to negotiate with the providers for balances left over after insurance, and negotiate hard.
Many many bills also are incorrect, and I scrutinize them to the penny and have saved our clients as much as $20,000 or more.
The joys of insurance. Good luck.
February 23rd, 2006 at 7:55 pm
trying to sort the bills for the week my husband spent in the hospital has been psycho — I’m finding all kinds of errors. and likewise, it drives me nuts that stuff isn’t more clearly defined. even if my insurance is footing most of the bill, I want explanations of charges I’m given!
February 23rd, 2006 at 8:17 pm
Yipes! I had to pay for a pap once out of pocket. It cost over $400.00! That’s why I love Medical FSA.
I like asking for free samples of medications. You can actually save a lot that way. My old roommate is a nurse care manager and those pharmaceutical companies have money to burn. She gets taken out to dinner all the time at some really posh places. My doctors are usually pretty accommodating if I ask them for things like extra dressings and bandages, etc.
I’m glad your daughter is better!
February 24th, 2006 at 9:48 am
I’d bet that “Pharmacy, IV Solutions” refers to just the sterile saline, as well as perhaps the tubing, etc. “Pharmacy, General” would then apply to the actual drugs that they used. But that’s just a guess. It would be really interesting to see how they break this out on a line-by-line basis. You should ask.
February 24th, 2006 at 10:18 am
I spent less than 48 hours in the Tampa Hospital for knee surgery and was billed $50,055! That disn’t include the surgeon and anestheiologist.
February 27th, 2006 at 10:42 pm
how much is the doc paid..