Amen!Originally Posted by Hickory
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Amen!
Had a friend who went to college to be come an anesthesiologist ended up going to a different line of work as the malpractice premiums were astronomical.
It is sad when you have to check out the insurance before making employment decisions.
One thing to remember in the future, unless it is an ER visit there is always a standard price and a cash price, you can negotiate for the cash price before but not after. My friend needed a procedure that wasn't covered by her insurance, so she called around until she found a doctor that would do it for cash, paid $1,700 rather than $40k+
You can always contact the medical review commission and start claiming malpractice or poor case management, problems tend to disappear when lawsuits show up on the horizon, at least at the wife's hospital.
I know you hate payment plans but consider... tell them all you can afford is $50 a month and you will set it up to come out automatically... I have heard that in "some" states if you are paying something you can't be sued... after a few years they might be willing to settle more reasonably......just a thought .... Your mileage may vary... Good Luck!
I'm in health care myself and tell people, "how would you like to go to the grocery with 5 other shoppers. Everyone has the exact same items at checkout time. The first two pay nothing, the second pays $100, and the last two pay $900 and $1500?" That kind of billing is not tolerated in any other sector of society, so why do we tolerate it in medicine?
Not quite the same, but the wife had a procedure about 15 years ago that we had $15,000 saved for deductibles and unexpected items before the surgery. Long story short, a 30 minute procedure turned into a 9 hour procedure with complications. We where left holding a $75,000 bill AFTER the insurance maxed out. We where paying monthly payments up until the hospital had us served papers! The next morning we where in a chapter 13 lawyers office, filed bankruptcy, and they got NOTHING because they wouldn't work with us at all!
The only real difference between systems is, you pay these astronomical charges on service here, or astronomical taxes along the way in the other. O, and the most money tends to be spent on the front end of ones life there, vs in the last of ones life here.
When I had back surgery, I told the doctor and the hospital administrator that if my bill was padded with fake items or fake services, then I would protest these charges. This occurred anyway. I protested fake charges and got nowhere until I involved the insurance companies. Doing so removed $1500 from the bill. One physician charge violated his contract terms with the insurance company. One bill came from an outside source that deleted its charge when I said that I suspected fraud and would allege such. Even though I conducted this business in a professional manner, it angered many.
The AMA cannot handle their own Malpractice insurance crisis but have time to want to speak against gun rights.
Makes you wonder eh?
One of my problems with payment plans is I absolutely hate owing money. If I can get something payed off and done with I much prefer to do that. I called them and after talking to a couple different people they went from a 15% discount for full payment, to 20%, and finally 25%. I'm thinking we'll just do that and be done with it.
I don't think I'll set foot in that hospital again unless it's life or death. It has a reputation for being one of the most expensive in the state, as a for-profit hospital. In the future for something like this we'll shop around a bit first. Maybe they're all the same, I don't know. To me it feels similar to selling or buying a house. Everyone has their hand out during the process, wanting a big piece of the pie. A guy works and scrimps to save a dime, and everyone wants a big piece of it. What I learn from this is that you can't get ahead working for an hourly wage. I really need to encourage my kids to go to school, get a degree and a decent profession. Gee, I sure wish I was able to save a little money to help them with college tuition...
25% saved is 25% earned my friend. I'm sorry you had this experience with the dark side of medical care. I hate it myself, but am glad you stuck to your guns and were able to get some % off. Truth be told, they are probably still making plenty off of it and I truly despise that part of medicine. I also am not a fan of insurance at all. No one to actually look out for the patient.
Sounds like money well spent!
One suggestion I have heard is to make settlements/pricing agreements public. Sunlight disinfects, right? Without secrecy, the incentive to maximize profit is lessened, driving prices down. I know it is not the whole answer, but it might be a start.
Micah 6:8
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
"I don't have hobbies - I'm developing a robust post-apocalyptic skill set"
I may be discharged and retired but I'm sure I did not renounce the oath that I solemnly swore!
You guys make sure you review your company insurance policies closely each year IF you have options. I'm surprised that you have that large a bill. Large deductibles usually will cover 100% after a decently large out of pocket. Those are the two major things to look at. Deductable and where you hit the insurance company hitting 100% payment.
You may pay a bit more when you go to the dr for the base visit, but you HAVE to look at worst case. That 100k surgery. Will you owe $50k? Or $5k. A lot of difference.
Oh, the hospitals do way more cya routines than you would expect, each raises your bill and a lot do nothing for your health. Daughter does ultrasound. Had girl come in the other night hurting. She had a surgery 2 weeks earlier, so first thought of dr was infected with surgery. So ultrasound... nope simple urinary tract infection. So $600 test vs $5 test with a couple of intelligent questions. Guess who pays for their incompetence. And they have had a lot of this type of problem. Several missed or delayed problems resulting in $30000 helicopter flights to main hospital. Now that is a kicker.
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I remember my grandpa telling me about him having to go to the doctor in the 1930's to have his appendix removed and he paid in cash. $30. This was in 1938 or `39.
That's the equivalent of $510 today.
An appendix surgery today costs around $10,000.
"Luck don't live out here. Wolves don't kill the unlucky deer; they kill the weak ones..." Jeremy Renner in Wind River
Our plan pays 80% after $3k out of pocket (deductible), and 100% after $14k out of pocket. When the company first switched to this type of plan a few years back, the premiums were very affordable. Actually I think it worked out to where our cost in premiums was almost nothing.
Now with another change, they're something like $8k per year, but only for some employees. If you were with one part of the company, you get the old (far better) benefits. If your income is above a certain point, you pay double. If it's above another point, you pay quadruple. It's a convoluted mess.
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