re: Medical Billing has gone mad

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HDHCP

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I had to Google this. I happily have Tricare and have had to only pay a copay a few times over the years when we did not have an MTF to go to (you can google MTF). My wife went to a civilian emergency room for a broken wrist 10 years ago and we got a $15K bill in the mail that stated it was being fully covered.

Bottom line, the jobs a bitch but the benefits are good. I have maybe paid $500 in copay to out of network hospitals or doctors over the last 23 years.

We had all this happen with my dad. His plane was diverted to El Paso from LAX to MSY and he was taken by ambulance from the airport to the hospital ER for what they thought was either a heart attack or stroke.

Admitted as a John Doe, even though he had his license on him.

By the time we got to him the next morning, we had to straighten out his name, give them his medical info (medicare and supplement) and update all demographics.

He ended up there for a week, including a couple of days in the ICU. About a month later we got a bill for over $150K. I called to deal with it. After all the time I spent in billing, they had not updated his billing info with his insurance info.

Not to mention the nightmare of when he actually had a stroke while visiting us in L.A. a year or so before that.

We kept getting bills for $25K+ ever month. And every month I'd call and talk to them and make sure they had his correct insurance info.

I finally got to their hospital admin people about 6 months later. She was a very nice lady who told me that he nor we were responsible for the bill and they were about to make a Demand to Pay to medicare since he was eligible. What a nightmare.

My sister and I both have Power of Attorney for my dad. I keep .pdf of it in my email just in case I have to handle things for him; I can just send it off really quickly.

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You can ask about costs of services up front just like any other service. Only problem is that you have to think about doing it when talking to the doctor, after you’ve been waiting for an hour, and sick. I’ve done this and had them give me alternatives rather than just hit me with $150 treatments

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The only problem is that most of them time we (providers) also have no idea how much things are going to cost. There is no easy way to figure it out, and it’s all different depending on what insurance a patient has. It’s incredibly frustrating for everyone involved.

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Isn't it your responsibility to know this? You should have contacted your insurance company before your visit to the doctor.

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He should know how far he is away from deductible, but how is he supposed to know what the final bill is going to be?

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Banks are wanting identification now when you make a deposit.

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There actually is a good reason for this.

Scam:
I steal your checkbook and/or debit card, but you are broke, so it does me no good.

So I deposit a bad check to your account, which most banks will credit to you almost instantly.

Then I empty those funds.

But then those bad checks I deposited get returned.

Too late. Crook has your money, and guess who's on the hook for it... the bank? HAHAHA! You are!

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There actually is a good reason for this.

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For cash deposits? Explain the good reason for asking for ID on cash deposits.

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So I deposit a bad check to your account, which most banks will credit to you almost instantly.

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Which bank will credit a check almost instantly? Unless you have succifient funds to cover it they usually put a hold on the check. And if it’s more than 5k they put a partial hold even if you have sufficient funds.

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I explained to her that many people have HDHCP now and that they have to come out of pocket for a lot. I’d simply like to know if this was going to cost me $1K or $15K since I was the one paying for it. They are so used ordering procedures and essentially giving themselves a blank check. In no other profession do you approve a job be done, and then discuss the cost after the fact. It’s crazy.

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The problem is, most of the time there is no way of knowing how much these things cost. Even if you call the insurance company to try to find out, they usually can’t tell you. Then on the back end, there is some magical calculation that goes on to say how much it’s going to cost. To say there is no transparency is an understatement. It’s incredibly frustrating for patients and doctors alike.

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So I deposit a bad check to your account, which most banks will credit to you almost instantly.

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So explain why an ID is needed to deposit CASH?

This system is built on double and quadruple billing the people who actually pay something. I have to say you shouldn’t feed the monster by succumbing to paying he copay twice. Really almost to say to hell with insurance for routine medical stuff.