Guest guest Posted August 1, 1999 Report Share Posted August 1, 1999 <!doctype html public " -//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en " > <html> Skis@... wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>From: Skis@... <p> has had Systemic JRA now since May and our hospital/medical bills must <br>be close to $100,000.00! & nbsp; Just today we go a bill for $64,000.00 just for her <br>last visit to hospital which included liver complications. Georgina you've <br>had lots of problem's with Josh what kind of costs are you looking at for the <br>last four years? & nbsp; I'm concerned that will have reached her one million <br>life time cap by the time she is less than 10 at this rate!</blockquote> Hi , <p>I hope you're not getting too stressed out about the costs of treatment for JRA. Like any other chronic long-term illness, it can get very expensive, very quickly. As you're finding out. Too bad the US doesn't follow the lead of some of the European countries and provide health care treatment for all of it's citizens. Hopefully, one day the government will see to it that our health care needs will become more of a priority. <p>When Josh got sick, the hospital and doctor bills were tremendous, way beyond our means. As a single head of household, I was advised to apply for Social Security Disability benefits on behalf of Josh. When they approved the claim, Josh was automatically given Medicaid insurance coverage that was retroactive and paid for the hospital bills in their entirety. I don't know what we would have done without that assistance. It would have put me in debt forever! We are also very fortunate to have the services of the Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children, located just a short plane trip away. They cover the cost of physical and occupational therapy, his wrist braces and some of the xrays, bone scans and other testing that he needs. They've been a great help :-) <p>Hope this helps a little, <br>Georgina</html> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 to get a discount you ahve to discuss it in advance. if they sense you will not do the procedure at the staed price they may come down, not with your health in mind but wiht the idea that they can still make money off you even if its less. the dental field is also scary as some will not quote a price at all beforehand, or are intentioanlly vague saying the procedures will depend on what they find. I make them tell me the possibilities and the prices. I am still settling problems wiht medicare/medical where tons of scans and services were done. apparently my medicare had lapsed in error/ I had the congresswomans office eventaully fix this for me, got my insurance coverage going again, but still problems wiht the old bills that should be covered. my latest frustration is trying to get someothing pre approved in writing. and they say they don't do anyting in writing.WHAT???? that is the biggest scam yet, because anything they tell you over the phone cannot be proven wihtout it in writing., and you will still get the bill most likely. BUYER/ PATIENT BEWARE!!! amy > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >INFECTION AND INFLAMMATION > > > > > > INFECTION AND INFLAMMATION > > > Messages In This Digest (13 > Messages) > > > > > 1a. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > Penny Houle > 1b. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > Penny Houle > 1c. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > Kate > 1d. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > Norman Yarvin > 1e. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > Penny Houle > 1f. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > > 1g. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > jim davis > 1h. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > Penny Houle > 1i. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > Marie Mayberry > 1j. > > Re: Is anyone home? > From: > Norman Yarvin > > > 2a. > > Re: Benicar experiences > From: > pjeanneus > 2b. > > Re: Benicar experiences > From: > Penny Houle > > > 3. > > Activity-Restore model, was: Re: Is anyone home? > From: > pjeanneus > > > > View All Topics | Create New Topic > > > Messages > > > > 1a. > > > > Re: Is anyone home? > > Posted by: " Penny Houle " > pennyhoule@... > > > pennyhoule > > > > Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:51 am (PST) > > > > That's WITH insurance, unfortunately. Insurance paid a lot but >refused to cover it all, so I'm stuck with several thousands of dollars I >wasn't planning on, plus the anesthesiologist and doc's fees that were over >and above. > > > > I truly am disgusted by the whole system. > > > > penny > > > >Norman Yarvin <norman.yarvin@...> wrote: > > On Mon, Oct 09, 2006 at 10:28:41AM -0700, Penny Houle wrote: > > > > > And you know what really sucks? I've got a huge bill I need to pay > > > before I can go back and see the ENT. Turns out my surgery/anesthesia >and > > > 1/2 day of outpatient hopsital care cost $36,000. How do they justify > > > that? The hospital got $25k of that. For taking my blood pressure, >giving > > > me a bed, and monitoring me post anesthesia. It's unbelievable. > > > >If you had insurance, the bill would probably come back from them slashed > >by a factor of five or ten. At least that's been my experience, on a > >couple of occasions: truly ridiculous bills, which suddenly turn into > >something just normally expensive, by prior agreement between the > >hospital and the insurance company. My impression is that ridiculous > >bills are intended to screw insurance companies who don't have a prior > >agreement. Individuals can usually walk away from the bills. (We don't > >have debtors' prisons any more.) Of course, if you need to go back and > >get more care from them, you'll have to come to some sort of agreement -- > >but it probably doesn't have to involve paying anything like that amount. > > > > > > > > Back to top > > Reply to sender > | > > Reply to group > | > > Reply via web post > > > > Messages in this topic > (26) > > 1b. > > > > Re: Is anyone home? > > Posted by: " Penny Houle " > pennyhoule@... > > > pennyhoule > > > > Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:02 am (PST) > > > > Not to mention, Insurance is suddenly challenging almost every >prescription I'm on, except the dirt cheap ones, of course. > > > > penny > > > >Norman Yarvin <norman.yarvin@...> wrote: > > On Mon, Oct 09, 2006 at 10:28:41AM -0700, Penny Houle wrote: > > > > > And you know what really sucks? I've got a huge bill I need to pay > > > before I can go back and see the ENT. Turns out my surgery/anesthesia >and > > > 1/2 day of outpatient hopsital care cost $36,000. How do they justify > > > that? The hospital got $25k of that. For taking my blood pressure, >giving > > > me a bed, and monitoring me post anesthesia. It's unbelievable. > > > >If you had insurance, the bill would probably come back from them slashed > >by a factor of five or ten. At least that's been my experience, on a > >couple of occasions: truly ridiculous bills, which suddenly turn into > >something just normally expensive, by prior agreement between the > >hospital and the insurance company. My impression is that ridiculous > >bills are intended to screw insurance companies who don't have a prior > >agreement. Individuals can usually walk away from the bills. (We don't > >have debtors' prisons any more.) Of course, if you need to go back and > >get more care from them, you'll have to come to some sort of agreement -- > >but it probably doesn't have to involve paying anything like that amount. > > > > > > > > Back to top > > Reply to sender > | > > Reply to group > | > > Reply via web post > > > > Messages in this topic > (26) > > 1c. > > > > Re: Is anyone home? > > Posted by: " Kate " > KateDunlay@... > > > katedunlay > > > > Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:18 am (PST) > > > > On Oct 12, 2006, at 12:48 PM, Penny Houle wrote: > > > > > I truly am disgusted by the whole system. > > > >Well, there's something wrong with the basic premise that profit- > >making companies are going to ever be happy to continuously pay out > >benefits to the sickest people who need them the most. Not that our > >Canadian system works too well either. In our case, taxpayers > >probably aren't willing to pay out the true cost of good medical care > >until they're personally the sick people, in which case it's too > >late. Oh, I suppose there's a lot of inefficiency that could be > >fixed, which would help. An even bigger help would be research of the > >type that actually focuses on curing or even preventing disease, and > >dissemination of this information to physicians, especially the ones > >whose ultimate goal seems to be getting a patient out of their office > >within the next 5 minutes. All this wallowing around in chronic > >disease is what truly costs society the most. > > > >- Kate > > > > > > > > Back to top > > Reply to sender > | > > Reply to group > | > > Reply via web post > > > > Messages in this topic > (26) > > 1d. > > > > Re: Is anyone home? > > Posted by: " Norman Yarvin " > norman.yarvin@... > > > Thu Oct 12, 2006 1:44 pm (PST) > > > > Is the denial of coverage because the treatment is >'experimental', or > >because the price charged goes beyond their standard rates? > > > >(Denying coverage for experimental treatments is a pretty standard > >feature of insurance plans, and a great way to put a halt to medical > >progress.) > > > >On Thu, Oct 12, 2006 at 08:48:42AM -0700, Penny Houle wrote: > > >That's WITH insurance, unfortunately. Insurance paid a lot but refused to > > >cover it all, so I'm stuck with several thousands of dollars I wasn't > > >planning on, plus the anesthesiologist and doc's fees that were over and > > >above. > > > > > > I truly am disgusted by the whole system. > > > > > > penny > > > > > >Norman Yarvin <norman.yarvin@...> wrote: > > > On Mon, Oct 09, 2006 at 10:28:41AM -0700, Penny Houle wrote: > > > > > >> And you know what really sucks? I've got a huge bill I need to pay > > >> before I can go back and see the ENT. Turns out my surgery/anesthesia >and > > >> 1/2 day of outpatient hopsital care cost $36,000. How do they justify > > >> that? The hospital got $25k of that. For taking my blood pressure, >giving > > >> me a bed, and monitoring me post anesthesia. It's unbelievable. > > > > > >If you had insurance, the bill would probably come back from them slashed > > >by a factor of five or ten. At least that's been my experience, on a > > >couple of occasions: truly ridiculous bills, which suddenly turn into > > >something just normally expensive, by prior agreement between the > > >hospital and the insurance company. My impression is that ridiculous > > >bills are intended to screw insurance companies who don't have a prior > > >agreement. Individuals can usually walk away from the bills. (We don't > > >have debtors' prisons any more.) Of course, if you need to go back and > > >get more care from them, you'll have to come to some sort of agreement -- > > >but it probably doesn't have to involve paying anything like that amount. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Back to top > > Reply to sender > | > > Reply to group > | > > Reply via web post > > > > Messages in this topic > (26) > > 1e. > > > > Re: Is anyone home? > > Posted by: " Penny Houle " > pennyhoule@... > > > pennyhoule > > > > Thu Oct 12, 2006 2:01 pm (PST) > > > > Beyond their standard rates. Also, my ENT dropped my insurance >company shortly after my surgery due to a reduction in their payment rate. > > > > I've got to try to see if I can do something to negotiate the price >down, but it's hard when you're fatigued and have to figth to get all your >drugs pre-authorized, etc. > > > > What a crazy system. Expecting a sick person to try to wade through it >is akin to asking a 6 year old to do your taxes. :-) > > > > penny > > > > > > > >Norman Yarvin <norman.yarvin@...> wrote: > > Is the denial of coverage because the treatment is >'experimental', or > >because the price charged goes beyond their standard rates? > > > >(Denying coverage for experimental treatments is a pretty standard > >feature of insurance plans, and a great way to put a halt to medical > >progress.) > > > >On Thu, Oct 12, 2006 at 08:48:42AM -0700, Penny Houle wrote: > > >That's WITH insurance, unfortunately. Insurance paid a lot but refused to > > >cover it all, so I'm stuck with several thousands of dollars I wasn't > > >planning on, plus the anesthesiologist and doc's fees that were over and > > >above. > > > > > > I truly am disgusted by the whole system. > > > > > > penny > > > > > >Norman Yarvin <norman.yarvin@...> wrote: > > > On Mon, Oct 09, 2006 at 10:28:41AM -0700, Penny Houle wrote: > > > > > >> And you know what really sucks? I've got a huge bill I need to pay > > >> before I can go back and see the ENT. Turns out my surgery/anesthesia >and > > >> 1/2 day of outpatient hopsital care cost $36,000. How do they justify > > >> that? The hospital got $25k of that. For taking my blood pressure, >giving > > >> me a bed, and monitoring me post anesthesia. It's unbelievable. > > > > > >If you had insurance, the bill would probably come back from them slashed > > >by a factor of five or ten. At least that's been my experience, on a > > >couple of occasions: truly ridiculous bills, which suddenly turn into > > >something just normally expensive, by prior agreement between the > > >hospital and the insurance company. My impression is that ridiculous > > >bills are intended to screw insurance companies who don't have a prior > > >agreement. Individuals can usually walk away from the bills. (We don't > > >have debtors' prisons any more.) Of course, if you need to go back and > > >get more care from them, you'll have to come to some sort of agreement -- > > >but it probably doesn't have to involve paying anything like that amount. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Back to top > > Reply to sender > | > > Reply to group > | > > Reply via web post > > > > Messages in this topic > (26) > > 1f. > > > > Re: Is anyone home? > > Posted by: " " > usenethod@... > > > hodolog1ca > > > > Thu Oct 12, 2006 2:05 pm (PST) > > > > I think what first started scaring me about socialized >medicine is > >that we have ~200(?) LLMDs in the states, where Europe and Canada seem > >to have ~4 apiece. However, I'm not actually at all sure whether > >that's largely a function of how the health system is financed, or not. > > > > > > I truly am disgusted by the whole system. > > > > > > Well, there's something wrong with the basic premise that profit- > > > making companies are going to ever be happy to continuously pay out > > > benefits to the sickest people who need them the most. Not that our > > > Canadian system works too well either. > > > > > > > > Back to top > > Reply to sender > | > > Reply to group > | > > Reply via web post > > > > Messages in this topic > (26) > > 1g. > > > > Re: Is anyone home? > > Posted by: " jim davis " > jimd85379@... > > > jimd85379 > > > > Thu Oct 12, 2006 2:32 pm (PST) > > > > Normally the insurance co and the Doctor have agreed > >on the price before the operation. Because the " guide > >lines " set for that operation are set. If the doctor > >does extra, Padding " the insurance will not cover > >anything outside of the guide lines. You also should > >not have to pay, unless you signed a contract saying > >you will pay for anything outside the standard > >guidelines, period. Most sinus operations, run 5-6 > >thousand. check with a medical lawyer, 2 hundred will > >save you 30 thousand. jimd > > > >--- Norman Yarvin <norman.yarvin@...> wrote: > > > > > Is the denial of coverage because the treatment is > > > 'experimental', or > > > because the price charged goes beyond their standard > > > rates? > > > > > > (Denying coverage for experimental treatments is a > > > pretty standard > > > feature of insurance plans, and a great way to put a > > > halt to medical > > > progress.) > > > > > > On Thu, Oct 12, 2006 at 08:48:42AM -0700, Penny > > > Houle wrote: > > > >That's WITH insurance, unfortunately. Insurance > > > paid a lot but refused to > > > >cover it all, so I'm stuck with several thousands > > > of dollars I wasn't > > > >planning on, plus the anesthesiologist and doc's > > > fees that were over and > > > >above. > > > > > > > > I truly am disgusted by the whole system. > > > > > > > > penny > > > > > > > >Norman Yarvin <norman.yarvin@...> wrote: > > > > On Mon, Oct 09, 2006 at 10:28:41AM -0700, > > > Penny Houle wrote: > > > > > > > >> And you know what really sucks? I've got a huge > > > bill I need to pay > > > >> before I can go back and see the ENT. Turns out > > > my surgery/anesthesia and > > > >> 1/2 day of outpatient hopsital care cost $36,000. > > > How do they justify > > > >> that? The hospital got $25k of that. For taking > > > my blood pressure, giving > > > >> me a bed, and monitoring me post anesthesia. It's > > > unbelievable. > > > > > > > >If you had insurance, the bill would probably come > > > back from them slashed > > > >by a factor of five or ten. At least that's been my > > > experience, on a > > > >couple of occasions: truly ridiculous bills, which > > > suddenly turn into > > > >something just normally expensive, by prior > > > agreement between the > > > >hospital and the insurance company. My impression > > > is that ridiculous > > > >bills are intended to screw insurance companies who > > > don't have a prior > > > >agreement. Individuals can usually walk away from > > > the bills. (We don't > > > >have debtors' prisons any more.) Of course, if you > > > need to go back and > > > >get more care from them, you'll have to come to > > > some sort of agreement -- > > > >but it probably doesn't have to involve paying > > > anything like that amount. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >__________________________________________________ > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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