Medical bill help

It should be a crime for a hospital or doctor to be out of network and not inform the customer of the cost prior to work being performed.

Wasn't it signed into law a few years ago that hospitals have to give you the amount before the scan is performed? Also I just had a CT scan done recently and it was only like $700

Summary: 1) Google “Balance Billing” for Louisiana 2) call 1-800-985-3059 which is the number for the Federal No Surprise Help Desk and/or check to see if Louisiana has something similar.

Short version of our experience

This might help point you in the right direction. But we are in Texas and Louisiana laws will be different.

A close family member was pregnant. Visited the hospital well ahead of due date. Was told the hospital was in network and given an estimate of the costs. She put down a deposit based on a percentage of the estimated cost. Approximately a month and a half later she had the baby. She never received a final bill from the hospital. In February she contacted the hospital and got no answer other than they were working on it. She had gotten a bonus from work and wanted to use it to pay off the bill. So, she sent in a check for most of what she thought was due based on the hospital’s estimate. Five months after the baby was born she received her first bill. It was $17,000 more than the estimate. At this point my wife got involved and of course my wife got me involved.

After my wife got nothing from the hospital except to be told that the charges were correct. Was told that there was nothing they could do and that the account was in collections. She called the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Department of Health Services filing complaints. I spent some time online researching. Texas has a form, AH025, which was supposed to be signed by the patient. Texas Administrative Code Section 21 409 states that the hospital must clearly and unmistakenly inform and make sure the patient is aware that they are out of network and will pay more. This was the key. The hospital didn’t have a copy on file and the family member never signed one. She is not an idiot and would never have her baby at an out of network hospital.

The good ending came in January of this year more than a year after the baby was born. My wife received a letter from the hospital. It said that the President of the hospital had received an email from Texas Health and Human resources. The hospital agreed to a total bill of only slightly more than the original estimate.

Good luck.

Medical providers are almost always willing to negotiate bills, especially if you have a good argument making their recovery questionable.

This doesn't apply to anesthesiologists, though.

It's complete BS that there are different prices for people with or without insurance. People who do the right thing are being penalized and are subsidizing the deadbeats.