Medical Bills... agh

[indimom]

Yes. We set up a payment plan to cover DD's birth. Our bill after insurance for the 3 day stay was $3000+. That only covers the hospital portion though. All the doctors, anesthesia, referrals, ect are separate bills that are still coming in and can't be added to the payment plan. My favorite so far was the $500 bill from the neonatologist who was present at birth since my daughter had meconium in the fluid. Turned out she didn't have any issues with the meconium so the neonatologist didn't have to do any thing. So basically, $500 just to stand there??????

Doesn't that just make you sick. Our daughter had some cardiology tests run and for one of the tests (a sort of color ultrasound of the heart where they can see the flow of blood through the chambers) took no more than ten minutes and the bill was over $3,000. Yikes! I'm in the wrong business!

 

[ilovemk76]

So, it is different. We have never been limited on the payback time. The pregnancies were easy to pay back in a year since they were in and out natural births. But our son's illness took two years to repay. We had payment plans with two different hospitals and with the various doctors. We were able to pay off some of the smaller bills (ambulance, tests, ER docs, etc) with cash we had on hand, but we did payment plans on all the rest.

Braces are the only thing I've experienced that required a set pay period. And I completely forgot to include that in this years total. We've got two kids going into braces this fall and both bills are about $5,000; so add another $10,000 to the pot. Wow, I might be able to write some of this off on my taxes this year.

You can only write off what you have actually paid. Since most people pay off braces on a payment plan the $5K will be over a few tax years. for 2011 you can write-off everything that is above 10% of your AGI. If you make $100K and you have interest income you will be able to write off nothing of the $10K (assuming you pay it all in 2011).

 

[indimom]

You can only write off what you have actually paid. Since most people pay off braces on a payment plan the $5K will be over a few tax years. for 2011 you can write-off everything that is above 10% of your AGI. If you make $100K and you have interest income you will be able to write off nothing of the $10K (assuming you pay it all in 2011).

Yep, I knew that. I called our tax guy a couple months ago to find out what the percentage was. Our goal was to have all the medical bills paid off by December, we're making sizable payments every month (I hate owing money. ) And we have a good portion to put down on the braces. Plus all the travel expenses for DD's treatments. We may still have bills come January if we have to continue treatments, but I think it's looking more and more like we'll be able to write off a little. At this point, I'll take what I can get.

 

[BCV2003]

I just added all ours up yesterday to make a plan. I wanted to cry.

Just paid Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh $3k.. not even going to come close to paying all my sons bills off.
For some reason they've yet to bill insurance for any of the 3 MRIs he's had done since he was born (he's 11months).. and they want to do a brain shunt (I'm estimating that's about a 40k procedure)..

DH had a hernia repair at the beginning of May. I've had a ton of issues (ER visits, biopsies, random tests to try to figure out what was wrong)...

It's been a fun year. Just waiting for that wonderful letter from insurance telling me we've hit our max OOP for the year. We did last year!

Just wanted to add that I worked in the Neurosurgery Dept at CHP for almost 20 years and the surgeons there are some of the best in the World.

 

[rpbert1]

Just been reading the med issues some have here, and the $$ involved.
luckily here in the UK we are not charged unless you go private, which is expensive, but sometimes have to wait if its not serious.
What i would like to know, is what happens to those who are out of work and unable to pay for hospital treatment ,wether its just to the emergency room or operation, how do they cope, or are they just left to suffer

 

[Mickeyluver37]

We have a High Deductible Health Insurance plan that covers most preventative care. I used to think our coverage sucked, but it's seemed to becoming the norm. Our deductible is $2,400 and DH's employer kicks in about half of that. The maximum you can contribute to the HSA account linked to the HDHP is $6,150 total. Starting this year, we are putting in the max. I'd rather have that extra $100 or so a week in DH's check, but it's given us peace of mind to pay medical bills as they come in, as well as get one through braces, and build up a fund to pay cash for the 2nd kids teeth.

With our premiums, dental, and vision insurance, plus contribution to the HSA, we are paying almost $200 a week for health care. It's right around $10,000/year.

The year I had a baby in January, we met our deductible right away, but had a ton of medical bills to catch up on for over a year, because everything else associated with the hospital visit was only covered at 80%. At least this way we are padding our medical fund tax free. (Which will be depleted once DS gets his braces anyway!)

Also, if anyone else has this type of insurance, you are not allowed to have a 2nd insurance. Coordination of Benefits is prohibited by the IRS because of the tax-benefits.

Also Piecey- If I'm not mistaken, don't the maximum coverage rules go away with the Obama changes?

 

[indimom]

Just been reading the med issues some have here, and the $$ involved.
luckily here in the UK we are not charged unless you go private, which is expensive, but sometimes have to wait if its not serious.
What i would like to know, is what happens to those who are out of work and unable to pay for hospital treatment ,wether its just to the emergency room or operation, how do they cope, or are they just left to suffer

Most likely they would receive medicaid, a health program for low income families. Also, most hospitals around here will cut the bill if you are below the poverty level. I'm not sure how that works as we're not eligible, but there is information on the back of my hospital statements showing what the poverty level is for different sized families and how to get in touch with that department at the hospital if you qualify.

I don't know a lot about the "universal" style healthcare in the UK, it sounds good on the surface. But, I do know there is one woman on a board I go to who has the same eye condition as my daughter. She lives in the UK and she is blind because she cannot get the same treatments that we get here. I don't know if that is because of the health care system or just lack of information (this is primarily a North American disease). So, at least in this instance, paying a big bill is better.

 

[rpbert1]

Most likely they would receive medicaid, a health program for low income families. Also, most hospitals around here will cut the bill if you are below the poverty level. I'm not sure how that works as we're not eligible, but there is information on the back of my hospital statements showing what the poverty level is for different sized families and how to get in touch with that department at the hospital if you qualify.

I don't know a lot about the "universal" style healthcare in the UK, it sounds good on the surface. But, I do know there is one woman on a board I go to who has the same eye condition as my daughter. She lives in the UK and she is blind because she cannot get the same treatments that we get here. I don't know if that is because of the health care system or just lack of information (this is primarily a North American disease). So, at least in this instance, paying a big bill is better.

Yes there is treatments available in USA that have not passed the UKs tests , and so they will not use anything thats not passed. Not sure why , if it is working in other countries , but then its all to do with legalities etc.
our cousin is a Pharmacist in California and my DW was telling him what med she is on, actually quite a bit, and he was shocked that they where still using some in the UK, one he said he had not filled a prescription for over 12 years. he gave her a list to see if they would change to it, here in the UK, but they where not available here

 

[MomRN]

Just been reading the med issues some have here, and the $$ involved.
luckily here in the UK we are not charged unless you go private, which is expensive, but sometimes have to wait if its not serious.
What i would like to know, is what happens to those who are out of work and unable to pay for hospital treatment ,wether its just to the emergency room or operation, how do they cope, or are they just left to suffer

Most children qualify for Medicaid, but it's difficult for adults (besides pregnant women) to be covered. ER's must treat emergencies under EMTALA. They can't just send you on your way with a gunshot or ruptured appendix if you don't have insurance.

This is often why our emergency rooms are used for situations that are less than emergencies... we have a free clinic (one) in an area that serves close to 100,000 people. It is opened 3 days a week for a few hours. So people go to the ER with a bad tooth, strep throat, unidentified rash, etc because they can't afford the $100 up front to see a doctor. Granted, the ER will be several times that amount, but people have the option to get it reduced, make small payments, or not pay at all.

 

[maps]

A few "cheaper" alternative for some expensive medical costs that I have provided for my patients:

1. Use pharmacies like Target/Walmart or others that offer reduced generic meds. I have patients that didn't even know that this option exists. Most prescriptions can be $4/mth or $10/3mths.

2. If you can't use generics, contact the pharmacy or find out who manufactures the drug and contact them. Most drug companies offer very good rebates for their meds; you just need a voucher.

3. Try ordering your own blood work and bring the results to your doctor. I have a patient who had blood work through the hospital--$486. The next time, he ordered them through prepaidlab.com and paid less than half that.

These are just a few suggestions. I have had to get creative with some patients who have no insurance but there are some where there is no good solution.

 

[Piecey]

Just wanted to add that I worked in the Neurosurgery Dept at CHP for almost 20 years and the surgeons there are some of the best in the World.

Good to know.
We're currently going against their advice but headed back up Thursday so who knows!
I did spend an hour on the phone with them today working out the bills so we're currently paid in full... for two days!

Also Piecey- If I'm not mistaken, don't the maximum coverage rules go away with the Obama changes?

I'm not sure. We don't have a max per person (I don't think) we just have a max that we have to pay every year, then insurance kicks in 100% for anything that is covered/at a PPO facility. Thats what I was talking about. They call it the catastrophic clause or something.