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so thankful for health insurance!
Andy just got the bill for his surgery last month for his broken leg. Just the surgery - not the emergency room visit, the anesthesiologist, the hospital stay, follow up care, prescriptions, physical therapy, or anything else. Just the bill from the orthopedic surgeon for his surgery. That took about an hour. $28,000.
We have insurance that covers the bulk of this, but still. Seeing that number was a little shocking.
What do people without health insurance do? It's not like Andy's an unhealthy person, he just had an accident. Something that could happen to anyone. What about people with chronic illnesses who have to get routine treatment? Or people with injuries that they can't completely recover from.
I guess I believed it before, but this really made it sink in that people without health insurance are totally screwed.
We are so fortunate. Honestly, seeing that $28,000 bill makes me feel so blessed - that we have insurance, that Andy's injury wasn't worse, that we are healthy people.
Mr. Sammy Dog
Re: so thankful for health insurance!
We're in the same boat. I just spent 5 days in the hospital for my appendix - my stay included 3 CT scans, IV antibiotics, and I had a drain put in. I go back for my 4th CT scan and drain removal on Friday, and I'll have my appendix removed in 6 weeks.
I am scared to see what our final bill will be. We've definitely hit our out of pocket max this year. I don't know how people without insurance would ever be able to pay for something like this. It's tough enough just having to pay our high insurance deductible and out of pocket max.
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I had a breast reduction in 2005 - I spent 1 night overnight at Abbott Northwestern. My "this is not a bill" explanation of charges was $43,000.. and that was just for the hospital portion. The plastic surgeon was $5000 and the anesthesiologist was another $2500.
My breast reduction was completely covered by health insurance except for $1000 that I had to pay. It was a medically approved/necessary surgery, and I am so thankful because my back feels so much better than it did pre-surgery, and my body image is so much better now that I'm not hiding behind watermelon sized breasts.
If I hadn't had insurance though.. there is no way I could have had the surgery. I'm so thankful for health insurance, for elective surgery AND for accidents. It's scary what things cost without it..
What's even worse, IMO, is that health insurance companies get a discount at clinics and hospitals that are in network. Cash paying customers do not get a discount however. That seems messed up.
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
Yikes! I had a Breast Reduction at Abbott in 2003 and my hospital total was only around $20,000.
Baby Boy born 5.3.15
There are some programs where you can pay a reduced fee for medical care. Big D had a colonoscopy the year I was back in school (not working & living off of student loans), and our income was low enough to qualify for Hennepin Care. I think we paid about $600 for a procedure that should have been about $3000.
Most people who can't pay the bills let them go to collections. What's their other choice?
Wow - I can't believe that it was so much more "expensive" for me! I had breathing complications coming out of the anesthesia and a bad reaction to morphine - I wonder if that made mine cost more, or if it's really that much more now? It wouldn't surprise me if it just costs that much more. Being that my health insurance cost (out of my check) has doubled in 5 years..
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
Usually the bill to patients without insurance is billed at a reduced rate. Medical providers have to charge about 4 times what they expect to receive because insurance companies do not pay them 100% of what is billed.
So say the doctor needs to get at least $1000 to cover the expenses of running his office, supplies, whatever. He needs to bill the insurance company $4000 because the insurance company might only pay him 30% of what he bills. And there is nothing he can do about it. He is forced into contracting with insurance payors because otherwise his patients will be out of network which means they end up paying huge deductibles because insurance companies conveniently have a clause that requires a much larger than usual deductible for out of network providers.
Insurance companies are the devil. Seriously. The have both the providers and the patients by the proverbial balls.
Judging
This. Exactly.
FWIW, I DON'T have insurance, and while I wish that I did, I absolutely detest insurance companies.
2.3.11: Started TTC
2.8.12:Initial b/w - Normal
3.7.12:HSG - Normal
3.8.12:S/A - Normal
Cycle #12/Month #15 - 50mg.Clomid CD5-CD9 - BFN
4.24.12: RE appointment - DX Unexplained IF
7.12 - 9.12: TTA
10.12 - 1.13: TTC Naturally
February 2013 - IUI #1 w/100 mg Clomid - 5 mil.post-wash: BFFN
March 2013 - IUI #2 w/100 mg Clomid & Trigger - ?? MY BLOG
I have never heard of anyone waiting to have their appendix removed! Interesting. I had mine removed on New Year's Eve of 1998. Once they figured out that is what it was it all happened really quickly and I was in and out in a flash! Do you know why they want to wait?
They want to wait so they can do it laparoscopicly (sp?). My appendix didn't burst, but it was leaking. Had they done the surgery before taking care of the infection they would have had to take out not only my appendix, but the intestine around it that was infected. It would have been pretty major surgery. I thought it was odd too, but their reasoning makes sense and if it keeps me out of major surgery, I'm all for it.
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