hospital bill

[kitkat1 5]

Understood. i went in because of chronic lower abdominal pain. They took blood, x-rays, and a urine sample. 4 hours later the doctor walked in and said "I 'think' it s urinary tract infection". He gave me antibiotics, turned out it wasnt. So i now owe them 1500 bucks for nothing.

Sometimes I miss Canada...

Hey here's a tip most people don't know - hospitals are usually more than willing to cut bills down. Tell them you can't pay it and ask them to lower the bill - surprisingly enough, the billing people often have the authority to do this. If not, ask to speak to a supervisor. Explain the situation and give it a try - nothing to lose.

[Dr_LHA 3]

Guys. Please. Get some... any kind of health insurance. At least some that maximises your out of pocket expenses. Otherwise if the unexpected happens (like you're in a bad car crash), you could not only face a lengthy recovery, but also crippling debt for the rest of your life.

$2783.56

The annoying thing is that if you had insurance, the insurance company would probably have only paid abour $500 at most for this.

[Cristy 4]

Well we did fill out a subsidized fee form. Apparently it was not reflected on the bill. I called and $2003 or that is being taken care of.

I should be on Casey's insurance now but we had just gotten the forms the day I went to the ER.

[pedroh 21]

lol.. yea actually most hospital people or healthcare are willing to listen to you..

my case, had this vaccination supplement form i was required to sent.. got my shots from health dept, but had to go to a certified surgeon to sign the form.. i did go.. they charged me 100 bucks.. ok no biggie.. 6 MONTHS! later they sent me 'the rest of the bill' another 150 bucks.. cuz 'that was th price for the immigration exam'.. i went there, told them there wasn't an exam, he just signed papers.. and they were.. ah no problem u dont have to pay anymore.. ftw!

but.. healthcare in US is offensive.. u're not allowed to be sick in America

[PlatyPius 5]

One thing people from countries with national healthcare soon learn about America...... you're penalized financially here for being a "frequent shopper" at the local hospital.

From what I'm told, the UK system is bogged down because of people getting checked out for everything.... "oh, I have a slight headache! time to call the doc!" Here in the US it would be "#######! I have a 2x4 through my chest! I can't really afford a hospital bill.....maybe I can pull it out and put a Band-Aid on it..."

Basically, extremes on both sides.

People get silly things checked out in countries with nat'l health care, and people hardly get anything checked out in the US. Neither is good in my opinion. One costs everyone else $, and the other might cost you your life.

Some advice on living in the US....

If you have a leg cramp, eat a banana or take a potassium supplement. If it still doesn't go away, THEN go to the doctor. Part of surviving healthcare in the US is being aware of your body and what it really needs. If I have a cramp, no, I won't be going to the doctor. If I have a terrible pain in my knee, no, I won't be going to the doctor. If my leg has been amputated by a defective Ginsu Electric Knife with bloodlust, then yes, I'll go to the ER.

The bad thing about health insurance in the US is that having it made people more like they are in the UK....visit the doc for everything. That, therefore, made the insurance rates go up. Now they are so high that no one can afford insurance. Full insurance for myself, Sian, and Jordan would be around $1500/month. That's about 75% of my take-home salary. It is only that high because insurance companies lose billions of dollars each year because of people visiting the hospital for minor aches and pains. (Well, and a bit of greed on the part of the insurance company)

What's the solution?

If someone figures that out, please let me know.

[jordanianprincess 0]

I was in the ER last week thinking I had a blood clot in my leg, turned out I needed potassium....

5 hours in ER

1 leg u/s

3 vials of blood

$2783.56

Being told to eat bananas

Priceless

Sorry to hear that, Cristy. I checked into the hospital back in May with pneumonia and I think it was over $5,000, but thankfully Blue Cross HMO paid for it in full.

For my lymph node biopsy last year - costs were submitted to the insurance company for about $20,000! Even with insurance I still ended up paying $2000 out of pocket...

You belong to an HMO? With HMO's there's almost never any out of pocket - just co-pays.

Sounds like a PPO to me.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

If the insurance companies are 'losing' money on all of the insurance claims from people going to doctors for minor aches and pains, then why do we regularly read about the obscenely high profits the insurance companies are raking in each quarfter?

[Not Available 0]

Understood. i went in because of chronic lower abdominal pain. They took blood, x-rays, and a urine sample. 4 hours later the doctor walked in and said "I 'think' it s urinary tract infection". He gave me antibiotics, turned out it wasnt. So i now owe them 1500 bucks for nothing.

Sometimes I miss Canada...

Hey here's a tip most people don't know - hospitals are usually more than willing to cut bills down. Tell them you can't pay it and ask them to lower the bill - surprisingly enough, the billing people often have the authority to do this. If not, ask to speak to a supervisor. Explain the situation and give it a try - nothing to lose.

We did something similar. We called the hospital and asked if we could make monthly payments so now we are making payments of 100$/month.

[PlatyPius 5]

If the insurance companies are 'losing' money on all of the insurance claims from people going to doctors for minor aches and pains, then why do we regularly read about the obscenely high profits the insurance companies are raking in each quarfter?

I'm not denying that they make tons of money.

However, they'd like to continue making that ton of money, ergo, as claims go up; rates go up. Any cut in their profits is considered a "loss".

[iceyspots 0]

sorry to hear

[Cristy 4]

If you have a leg cramp, eat a banana or take a potassium supplement. If it still doesn't go away, THEN go to the doctor.

You make it sound so simple. I had symptoms of deep vein thrombosis. I am on the pill so they take it very seriously. I called my Dr. back home and she said get to the ER, don't wait. They rushed me in for the u/s when I got there. If it was a leg cramp I would not have gone. Duh.

[PlatyPius 5]

If you have a leg cramp, eat a banana or take a potassium supplement. If it still doesn't go away, THEN go to the doctor.

You make it sound so simple. I had symptoms of deep vein thrombosis. I am on the pill so they take it very seriously. I called my Dr. back home and she said get to the ER, don't wait. They rushed me in for the u/s when I got there. If it was a leg cramp I would not have gone. Duh.

I didn't address my post to you. Duh.

You had mentioned the potassium thing, so I used that as an example. You never mentioned having leg cramps, and I didn't assume you did. I was speaking generally to all non-US people....preparing them for what's to come when they move here.

[Cristy 4]

If you have a leg cramp, eat a banana or take a potassium supplement. If it still doesn't go away, THEN go to the doctor.

You make it sound so simple. I had symptoms of deep vein thrombosis. I am on the pill so they take it very seriously. I called my Dr. back home and she said get to the ER, don't wait. They rushed me in for the u/s when I got there. If it was a leg cramp I would not have gone. Duh.

I didn't address my post to you. Duh.

You had mentioned the potassium thing, so I used that as an example. You never mentioned having leg cramps, and I didn't assume you did. I was speaking generally to all non-US people....preparing them for what's to come when they move here.

My bad, you must have been addressing the other people in the thread with leg problems. duh

[PlatyPius 5]

If you have a leg cramp, eat a banana or take a potassium supplement. If it still doesn't go away, THEN go to the doctor.

You make it sound so simple. I had symptoms of deep vein thrombosis. I am on the pill so they take it very seriously. I called my Dr. back home and she said get to the ER, don't wait. They rushed me in for the u/s when I got there. If it was a leg cramp I would not have gone. Duh.

I didn't address my post to you. Duh.

You had mentioned the potassium thing, so I used that as an example. You never mentioned having leg cramps, and I didn't assume you did. I was speaking generally to all non-US people....preparing them for what's to come when they move here.

My bad, you must have been addressing the other people in the thread with leg problems. duh

Oh bloody hell. Must you ALWAYS pretend that you don't understand what I'm saying? Why is it only you who seems to have problems? Last time I checked, I did write my sentences in English that could be understood.

Ok, I will use small words and spell it out for you.

1. Cristy make post about leg and US med costs.

2. Larry read post.

3. Larry use Cristy's example to make general post about US healthcare.

4. Since using Cristy's example, Larry uses leg problems - NOT cristy's leg problems - in his post.

5. Larry goes on merry way.

6. Cristy reads, assumes it's all about her, posts "Duh" reply.

7. Larry clarifies that not about Cristy.

8. Cristy pretend she not speak English and uses bizarre argument out of left field somewhere.

9. Larry replies then wanders off, hoping to never see this thread again.

10. "Ignore User"

[Cristy 4]

If you have a leg cramp, eat a banana or take a potassium supplement. If it still doesn't go away, THEN go to the doctor.

You make it sound so simple. I had symptoms of deep vein thrombosis. I am on the pill so they take it very seriously. I called my Dr. back home and she said get to the ER, don't wait. They rushed me in for the u/s when I got there. If it was a leg cramp I would not have gone. Duh.

I didn't address my post to you. Duh.

You had mentioned the potassium thing, so I used that as an example. You never mentioned having leg cramps, and I didn't assume you did. I was speaking generally to all non-US people....preparing them for what's to come when they move here.

My bad, you must have been addressing the other people in the thread with leg problems. duh

Oh bloody hell. Must you ALWAYS pretend that you don't understand what I'm saying? Why is it only you who seems to have problems? Last time I checked, I did write my sentences in English that could be understood.

Ok, I will use small words and spell it out for you.

1. Cristy make post about leg and US med costs.

2. Larry read post.

3. Larry use Cristy's example to make general post about US healthcare.

4. Since using Cristy's example, Larry uses leg problems - NOT cristy's leg problems - in his post.

5. Larry goes on merry way.

6. Cristy reads, assumes it's all about her, posts "Duh" reply.

7. Larry clarifies that not about Cristy.

8. Cristy pretend she not speak English and uses bizarre argument out of left field somewhere.

9. Larry replies then wanders off, hoping to never see this thread again.

10. "Ignore User"