Posted on 06/23/2008 8:34:39 AM PDT by vimto
My lad is in America waiting for a visa to live there and marry a lovely American lass. He was taken ill and went to hospital where an appendectomy was performed. The bill is $28,000 minimum. We think he has medical cover but we don't know the datils ...is ths figure about right? Anyone out there with any advice?
What hospital is he in?
That sounds almost right for surgery, especially emergency.
Next: Emergency Appendectomys are expensive, but I cannot tell you the cost. Someone may be able.
Lastly: You think that was expensive, wait'll we get free health care.
Yea, I believe it. I was in the hospital for about 36 hours doing some tests for chest pain. The bill was over $9000 nad they didn’t do much of nothing.
He’s in Palms of Passadina.
If that includes the OR fee, Doctor fee, and room fee, it sounds about right. Most hospitals in the US have charity options if a person cannot afford the bill, or they have payment plans you can work with. I have found as long as you send them some money each month they are happy.
Critical data item. Hospitals quote a different price for an insured person than an uninsured person — because the insurance companies tell them NO! The hospitals, when they get an uninsured person, use it to try to make up for indigents they must treat.
He needs absolutely to say he is insured. Simply doing that will cut that price. And above all — tell him do NOT put it on a credit card, nor his wife-to-be. Let the situation get complex for the hospital, with him being a Brit.
He’s recovering but not a quickly as we had hoped. but he’ll be OK. Appreciated.
Prayers that he’s doing better now!!
Hope you all get the financial aspect all figured out!
Did the thought occur to anyone else that had he entered the US illegally, then he could have gotten his health care/operation for free?? What a bizarro world we live in...
My appendix ruptured just over 25 years ago when I was 15, the surgery and hospitalization was nearly $20,000 back then (I had peritonitis which complicated things). So, what you are being quoted sounds about right. Keep in mind that an appendectomy is nearly ALWAYS emergency surgery, it’s not something you can put off (otherwise it WILL rupture and then it gets a lot more expensive).
Hospitals inflate their bills terribly to those without insurance, but if you are firm and resolute they will negotiate.
Try to find out what they are paid for these services by a major insurance company, such as Aetna. You will probably find that it is less than half of what they have billed you.
Don’t pay any part of the bill until they become reasonable. Then pay the whole thing.
No.
Don’t be thinking of payment plan. A young man starting out who thinks he was properly insured and a guest from another country should not be saddled for possibly a decade with an inflated hospital bill.
Sign nothing. Do not put it on credit card. Get full details from the insurance company before agreeing to anything at all by the hospital.
I recently called my GP's office to find out what an "office visit" would cost. They could/would not tell me.
I called the insurance company to find out what a "reasonable and customary" charge for an office visit would be. They could/would not tell me.
So much for the patient taking charge of their health care.
We are at the mercy of the the system. It's all about big bucks. Insurance companies are taking in record earnings and raising co-pays and rates.
Our health should not be dependent on dividends and bonuses.
That hasn't been my experience, though it is limited.
I had knee surgery a couple of years ago, and was uninsured/self-pay. I received a 40%+ reduction in the cost of services, but had to pay upfront.
The same thing happens for all my normal doctor's visits.
I would imagine that if you are uninsured and make no provisions for payment, the cost you will be quoted for non-emergency treatment would be exorbitant, as you suggest.
Good luck with that! I couldn't even find out what my GP charged for an office visit - from them!
And, they have different rates for every insurance company.
The best rate would be the Medicare rate if you could find that out.
Yep, I know we do everything by the book - we should have sent him to Mexico and got him to cross the boarder! :^(
She is a nurse who works in a hospital ER.
As stated in earlier posts, as long as you make some sort of monthly payment, (even as small as $25) they dont bother you.
I had an emergency gall bladder operation last year and it ran over 25K.
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