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billydunwood
join:2008-04-23
united state

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billydunwood

Member

Hospital Milking us and insurance company/Brotman Medical

Well, the wife was in the hospital for 2 days. They billed our insurance $31000 for 2 day stay. 1 of those nights is the hospital's doctor's fault because he said he would release her on the 2nd day, but never came back to do that, despite us asking the nurse to call the doctor. Anyways, there is over $5300 is MISCELLANEOUS charges from the online claim detail on Blue Shield's website, and over $8000 in ICU/CCU charges, even though she was not in an ICU/CCU. Plus, they have another $8355 in labratory fees. Seriously, they drew her blood 3 times and they charge $8300? We never wanted to go to Brotman Medical Center here in our city, because it truly is horrible. The reviews online are terrible, they have been fined 2 times in the last 4 years by the Health Department for killing 2 people(once they let a man fall out of his wheelchair, the other time a nurse injected a medication wrong). However, our doctor for some reason said that our insurance mandates we go to Brotman Medical Center. While that is completely not true( our medical group and insurance says: Brotman, Cedars Sinai, or Olympia(Olympia is a great hospital)). She was in for an irregular EKG per her cardiologist. They did an EKG, an Echocardiogram, drew blood 3 times, a stress test, and everything turned out fine luckily. My complaint is that my wife and I are going to owe $2116 to Brotman for our coinsurance, but the way they overcharge my insurance and the terrible services they provide(read their reviews too), it's not worth half that. I am going to ask them for an itemized list for all charges and proceed from there. I want to see what Miscellaneous items add up to $5300. Just my rant about how this hospital not only sucks, but how they also overcharge and sneak in charges by just putting, miscellaenous. When you take your car to a mechanic, you get a bill with what they did, not just miscellaneous.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

CylonRed

MVM

Readers Digest had an article with suggestions and research sites to lower your hospital bills. I think it was last month or the month before.
billydunwood
join:2008-04-23
united state

billydunwood

Member

said by CylonRed:

Readers Digest had an article with suggestions and research sites to lower your hospital bills. I think it was last month or the month before.

Thanks for the info, I will take a look at that. Before we pay anything or even negotiate, we are going to request a itemized bill.
Bob4
Account deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey

Bob4

Member

Around here, the hospital cashier's office is the one empowered to fix problems like this.

thegeek
Premium Member
join:2008-02-21
right here

1 recommendation

thegeek to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood
hospitals are notorious for getting the bills wrong. requesting the itemized bill was the smart first move. also, hospitals charge ridiculous amounts because there are a lot of people without insurance that simply cannot pay. they have to cover those expenses some how. the insurance company likely will not pay anywhere near close to what the billed amount was anyway. they will have set rates that they will pay. still, your coinsurance will likely be a percentage of the original bill so it is in your best interest to get that itemized bill asap and go through it with a fine tooth comb. also, sit down right now and write down absolutely everything you can remember that the hospital did for your wife that you think they could bill for. it's best to do that now instead of waiting because the longer you wait the more you will forget.

and most importantly, i hope your wife is doing better now. dealing with medical issues of a loved one is hard enough, trying to worry about obnoxious medical bills only makes it harder. try to stay calm and have patience and good luck!
billydunwood
join:2008-04-23
united state

billydunwood

Member

said by thegeek:

hospitals are notorious for getting the bills wrong. requesting the itemized bill was the smart first move. also, hospitals charge ridiculous amounts because there are a lot of people without insurance that simply cannot pay. they have to cover those expenses some how. the insurance company likely will not pay anywhere near close to what the billed amount was anyway. they will have set rates that they will pay. still, your coinsurance will likely be a percentage of the original bill so it is in your best interest to get that itemized bill asap and go through it with a fine tooth comb. also, sit down right now and write down absolutely everything you can remember that the hospital did for your wife that you think they could bill for. it's best to do that now instead of waiting because the longer you wait the more you will forget.

and most importantly, i hope your wife is doing better now. dealing with medical issues of a loved one is hard enough, trying to worry about obnoxious medical bills only makes it harder. try to stay calm and have patience and good luck!

Thanks so much, she is doing better. They didn't find anything wrong with her cardiovascular system. We remember everything they did and every medicine they gave her. The insurance company ended up paying $5600, and we are responsible for $2116

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

AVD

Premium Member

WOW
gateguy
Premium Member
join:2001-02-12
Reisterstown, MD

gateguy to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood
said by billydunwood:

When you take your car to a mechanic, you get a bill with what they did, not just miscellaneous.

Not to distract, but often there is a line item for Shop Materials. Supposed to be for towels, cleaners, spray lubes and all sorts of other miscellaneous items.
Secyurityet
Premium Member
join:2012-01-07
untied state

Secyurityet to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood
Wait 'till you get all the bills from the doctors who provided the actual treatment/services. All you have thus far is the HOSPITAL's charges...

I've learned the hard way to ask up front if all the doctors are "preferred providers."

TheBionic
Funkier than a mohair disco ball.
Premium Member
join:2009-07-06
united state

TheBionic to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood
said by billydunwood:

When you take your car to a mechanic, you get a bill with what they did, not just miscellaneous.

Truer words were never spoken. Medical billing is just so completely fucked up. People generally don't get an idea of cost beforehand so it's hard to compare prices between hospitals and doctors, then they seem to bill whatever and however much they can. $31,000 for a two day stay? How is anyone supposed to pay that? What other business works like that??

My mother in law had a similar experience to yours when my father in law went in for surgery. She asked for the itemized list and found a ton of stuff that didn't have anything to do with him. I'm willing to bet that it's very common but most people don't bother because they have insurance. Good luck and hope your wife gets well soon.

Cthen
Premium Member
join:2004-08-01
Detroit, MI

Cthen to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood
You mean to tell me that they didn't charge you another $2k for driving there and parking in their parking lot? Maybe the billing agent was a new employee that day.
(Yes, I'm actually surprised that they didn't!)
billydunwood
join:2008-04-23
united state

billydunwood

Member

said by Cthen:

You mean to tell me that they didn't charge you another $2k for driving there and parking in their parking lot? Maybe the billing agent was a new employee that day.
(Yes, I'm actually surprised that they didn't!)

They wanted to charge me $8 to park, but I just went 50ft into the parking lot and next door and it was free. I figured they are overcharging people to make up for the 1 or 2 bankrupcies they have had, and the 2 patient deaths(and fines from CA department of health that found them negligent). They have to pay for that someway.
TheMG
Premium Member
join:2007-09-04
Canada

TheMG to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood
While the Canadian health care system does have its shortcomings, I'm just glad we never have to deal with hospital bills! Sounds like a huge PITA.

GroovyPhoenx
Premium Member
join:2006-05-22
Gloucester, ON

GroovyPhoenx to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood
Well if they are billing for services (ICU/CCU) that she was not in, I'd certainly fight the bill tooth and nail until they can explain what the ICU/CCU charges are doing on our bill and if they are justified.
Expand your moderator at work

Rifleman
Premium Member
join:2004-02-09
p1a

Rifleman to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood

Re: Hospital Milking us and insurance company/Brotman Medical

I honestly never read up on the USA system but from what I can see----why do most oppose a paid medical system like canada? Even 50/month tax would be worth it for free care?
Expand your moderator at work

EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS to TheMG

Premium Member

to TheMG

Re: Hospital Milking us and insurance company/Brotman Medical

I wouldn't laud our system. It's a big pit of expensive bureaucratic systems made to hide the cost/benefit to the average taxpayer.
Expand your moderator at work

Rifleman
Premium Member
join:2004-02-09
p1a

Rifleman to EUS

Premium Member

to EUS

Re: Hospital Milking us and insurance company/Brotman Medical

Yeah---its a mess but at least one doesn't bankrupt himself if something serious happens. It needs work, but it's still one big load off a family's mind,

EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS

Premium Member

Yes it's no hassle to us, except when I try to get service.....
The biggest joke with our system is what follows when report after report comes out explaining why our system is unsustainable; everyone sticks their head in the sand, refusing to believe it.
*Sorry for O/T.

psafux
Premium Member
join:2005-11-10

psafux to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood
Glad that your wife will be OK - that is the most important thing.

You should see my hospital bill when I was in the hospital for 32 days, in and out of ICU, moved to a variety of rooms (each move required new supplies & tissue boxes that were alone billed at $48 each), teams of specialists, multiple MRI's & cat scans not to mention supplies & medicine for home recovery (~6 months). Insurance paid over $250k, I still owe my cut of it but am making progress. The itemized printout is over 200 pages.

Medical care does seem unnecessarily expensive, don't be afraid to ask where the charges are coming from.

chamberc
Premium Member
join:2008-08-05
Addison, TX

1 recommendation

chamberc to billydunwood

Premium Member

to billydunwood
said by billydunwood:

Just my rant about how this hospital not only sucks, but how they also overcharge and sneak in charges by just putting, miscellaenous.

Those charges have to be included in order to recoup costs incurred by patients not paying for services. It is similar to taxes where you are paying for services you are not consuming.
Dodge
Premium Member
join:2002-11-27

Dodge

Premium Member

said by chamberc:

said by billydunwood:

Just my rant about how this hospital not only sucks, but how they also overcharge and sneak in charges by just putting, miscellaenous.

Those charges have to be included in order to recoup costs incurred by patients not paying for services. It is similar to taxes where you are paying for services you are not consuming.

I had a hospital bill like that several years ago. When I asked the hospital to explain the charge, they pretty much told me that there are charges in there for non-paying patients.

I politely explained to them that I am not a charity and have no intention of sponsoring anyone. After a long argument about "state mandated" this and "we'll file collections" that, I was able to explain to them that if they file the collections and ruin my credit over these charges, then I may as well not pay anything at all and settle with collections for pennies on a dollar in a few years.

All of a sudden the charges were gone. (Funny how "blackmail" works both way:)

Oh and I did force them to recalculate the co-insurance based on insurance agreed upon rates, not their random numbers.

Fir_Na_Tine
Time to get riggity riggity wrecked son
Premium Member
join:2001-01-03
South Jersey

Fir_Na_Tine

Premium Member

I think they send out bills and inflate them just to see if they get paid. My wife had some X ray and a Ultrasound thing done and we paid cash at the time it was done since we don't have any insurance. About a week later a bill from the radiological center came in. I called to complain that we paid already and were told no more charges. She said it was sent out by accident. Funny because a month later we had similar X rays done and same thing happened. I think they hope that it will just get paid without the person investigating it. Extra money for them.

Another reason we should have universal healthcare in this country. Families shouldn't go broke and into huge unrecoverable debit because of health reasons.

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

AVD

Premium Member

said by Fir_Na_Tine:

I
Another reason we should have universal healthcare in this country. Families shouldn't go broke and into huge unrecoverable debit because of health reasons.

we need REFORM, against all these scams and illicit practices.

bombadill
Honest it just fell apart in my hands
Premium Member
join:2008-11-10
australia

bombadill to Fir_Na_Tine

Premium Member

to Fir_Na_Tine
said by Fir_Na_Tine:

Another reason we should have universal healthcare in this country. Families shouldn't go broke and into huge unrecoverable debit because of health reasons.

In Aus. we may pay higher tax rates but we do get a fairly good "universal" medical insurance scheme for the unemployed, pensioners and chronically ill. I've got cancer and am an age pensioner. If I had to pay the stated price for my 6 monthly injections I'd not be here today.

Paying tax all my working life has been a benefit although for 50 working years I've complained about my taxes.

At the risk of being flamed, I do find it difficult to come to terms with what I read about your 'fiscal cliff" argument that says, I'll not pay more tax, but do want the government to provide me services.

TANSTAAFL

jubangy
Premium Member
join:2005-03-26
Corry, PA

jubangy

Premium Member

Probably because every time they raise the tax to cover something they also raise "their cut" which means in a year or 2 down the road they are raising the same taxes to cover the exact same things the taxes previously raised were supposed to cover.
Stix8
join:2010-01-08
Philadelphia, PA

Stix8 to billydunwood

Member

to billydunwood
quote:
They did an EKG, an Echocardiogram, drew blood 3 times, a stress test, and everything turned out fine luckily. My complaint is that my wife and I are going to owe $2116 to Brotman for our coinsurance
If it makes you feel any better i was just in the hospital for essentially the same things and the same length of time and thus far i'm on the hook for $2500.00. I'm posting this just for a comparison.