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Anybody feeling the urge to lampoon/praise/discuss hospital bills? Have you had problems being over or under billed? Have you found your bills to be understandable or complete gibberish? And, if you have had billing problems, how did you sort them out?
I’m a reporter for U.S. News and am working on a story about the topic…
First, I have a neighbor who misunderstood the instructions for enrolling in Medicare Part D (prescription coverage) and managed to wipe out her coverage with an HMO with which she was well satisfied. Unfortunately I discovered this after she fell and was hauled off to the emergency room. Managed to get insurance reinstated retroactively after four months of trying. However, you may want to examine why her bill for the emergency room was over a thousand dollars while the insurance company's bill was less than two hundred.
Another topic you may wish to explore is why when one sees a physician's assistant at a doctor's office the charge submitted to Medicare and I presume other insurers is submitted as if one had seen the doctor. Is there not some provision for a provider number at a lesser rate of reimbursement for a physician's assistant's services? If not, why not?
you should probably mention that those who are uninsured are charged more than hmo's are. i find that practice rather impractical, because most likely, those who are uninsured cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars for medical care.
another thing is how some hospitals give uninsured people's bills to collection agencies and call that charity care... as you know, the law states that all hospitals are to have charity care programs.
Recently my husband went to the ER for a finger infection - it was a Saturday night and his doctor
was out of town - The ER happened to be empty that night so we were seen by the doctor - actually a PA - immediatley - He lanced the finger, drained and took cultures and an exray- bandaged it and sent us on our way with an RX - When the bill came it was $1,400 for the ER and 900 for the PA -
less than 1 hour in the ER total - we were stunned - We went to risk management and they
helped with the bill - even before asking any questions they took $600 off the bill - they also discussed it with the ER doctor's group and both payments together came to a final of $1400 -
so even though that was exhorbitant we saved $1,000 - some one would have to be near death for me to go to the Er again as we have no insurance - AND on top of that they did not even
send us or his doctor a lab result of the culture so we would know what we were dealing with -
his doctor got a copy and it was MRSA -
For over one year, I have been getting bills from the University of Michigan medical Center, I would send them back writing that I had paid the co-pay, the M-Care insurance was in the process of being sold or just gone. So, I now have a few co-pay bills that the Billing department of the Medical center is telling me i did not pay and I always pay at the time of service, now that the M-Care insurance is gone, I am now turned into a collections company from toledo Ohio, which is a surprise with the u of m med Center being in Ann Arbor, Michigan,
getting calls and bills telling me I owe the medical school and when I call and check it out, I am told I did not pay for co-pays for doctor office visits. After one year I did not keep the receipts and I was told over the phone, too bad, if I can not prove it I have to pay again and keep this receipts the next time. The Medical Care might be wonderful to be listed as one of the best Hospital around, but the Billing department is a Sad situation. If they are doing this to me, I am sure they have been doing this to the elderly and others. This is wrong, does any one have a word of advise for me.
James Staley
Ann Arbor, Michigan
well, I am still having the same problem, it is sad that a place so big and well know, has to use a billing company in Ohio and Illinois. It seems like they could use their own billing company. not have to go to ohio state for help. I wrote to the ann arbor News, we will see if that will help the situation
James Staley
ann arbor, MI
I just had routine lab work completed Saturday morning, at the hospital lab where my Dr. has his office. The same morning I had a phone call from a PA at the Dr.'s office, advising me that my potassium level was dangerously low and that I had to report to the ER immediately for an IV. I disputed it at first, saying I had an appt. on the Monday and that I'd discuss it at that time. She was insistent and scared the heck out of me when she told me that she insisted I get to the ER since my heart could stop at any time. That got me there right away- the staff got the IV line in me (after the first one blew) and then drew blood from it to check my non-fasting potassium level. They said it was 3.3 and that the fasting one was 2.9...I never had anything administered through the IV- they gave me a potassium drink, did an EKG and discharged me with a potassium rx, saying that it really wasn't necessary to come to the ER for a 2.9 level. On Monday when I went to the Dr. the story I got was the lab reported my level was 2.4 (according to web md if it's lower than 2.5 you need immediate medical attention and an IV). I do not feel that I should be responsible for any portion of this hospital bill, since it was the lab's mistake that got me to the ER. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thank you!
The hospital or MD office will charge you more if you go to a hospital or MD that is not in your plan. They will din you just as if it were Any other bill. They will sell it and not help you to pay on time. This is why people without insurance or who mistakenly go to the wrong MD or hospital. This never went on before the hospitals were made into profit making entities rather than parts of the community. After all we(the public) pay the major part of the cost of medical school training with our taxes and donations. We (the public)also started these hospitals with donations and taxes. This is why they are called Saint so and so and Prespretarian, Montifore, Mt Scorpis, Divine Redemer or some other religious or community name. Donations from people such as ourselves started the entire medical care system in the USA and now we are treated as beggers.
I have a real problem with my bills from cancer, chemo, radiation treatment. They do not put the payments I have made on the statement. The balance does not go down that much. I have refused to make another payment until they send a bill I can read. This bill goes back to 2007 when I started chemo. I owe $4,487 according to them.
The above are the situations that must be addressed by our administration--
People should be able to access clear documentation as to what bills were paid-- (Some people who go to emergency care (for example) may not be in a position to do bookkeeping-
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