1 edit | 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.
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No Victim=No Crime |
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 CylonRedPremium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | 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.
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Brian
"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain |
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| 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.
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No Victim=No Crime |
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BobAccount deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey | Around here, the hospital cashier's office is the one empowered to fix problems like this. |
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 thegeekPremium
join:2008-02-21
right here
kudos:2
 ·Suddenlink
| reply 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! |
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| 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
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No Victim=No Crime |
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 AVDRespice, Adspice, ProspicePremium
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ
kudos:1 | WOW |
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gateguyPremium
join:2001-02-12
Reisterstown, MD Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
| reply 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.
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Time for a new message. |
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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." |
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 bionicRodFunkier than a mohair disco ball.Premium
join:2009-07-06
united state
kudos:1 | reply 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. |
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 Cthen
join:2004-08-01
Detroit, MI
 ·Verizon Wireless..
·Comcast
| reply 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!)
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"I like to refer to myself as an Adult Film Efficienato." - Stuart Bondek |
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| 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.
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TheMGPremium
join:2007-09-04
Canada
kudos:1 | reply 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. |
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| reply 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. |
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| reply 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? |
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 EUSKill cancerPremium
join:2002-09-10
canada | reply 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.
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~ Project Hope ~ |
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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, |
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