Cost after insurance?

[rlm869]

i realize all insurance pays differently, but i am curious to hear of costs left over after the insurance has paid. i am scheduled for surgery march 24 and am trying to figure out how i will pay for the remainder.

any replies will help!

thank you
rebecca

[takilasunrise]

I just received the total bill from the hospital....................$44,000.00+.  My co-pay is $100.00.  I still have to pay all the co-pays for each PT session (9 sessions at $29.00 each) and a few co-pays for the doctor visits.  I also have some stragglers that the insurance has denied for some reason or another that I have to follow up on.  I am extremely grateful for the health insurance my employer carries!  I could buy a couple of cars with what the hospital charged! 

The $44K was for the hospital bill.  The doctor bill was $15K+!!!

[Tommy]

Does anyone have anything to add to this post, I'm trying to make my self feel better about the my cost. Hip is great insurance is not.
                                                 Tommy
           
                                                                                     

[tedroberts]

My cost after insurance for bi-lateral hip resurfacing was $2,500.00 which was my insurance deductable (100% coverage after that).   The surgeon's charge for both hips was about $4,000.00  The hospital (4 nights) was in the $40,000 range and included everything but the surgeon's and anesthesiologists'  charges.
My PT is all covered.

Ted Roberts, BHR Bi-Lat 1-7-09  Dr. Nelson, MPLS, MN 

[Tommy]

I'm paying for half of the hospital charge and the price of the BHR device really suprise me. 35910.00 WOW! My wife works at a hospital that does BHR's so she is checking with the smith&nephew rep to get more info. thanks for replying Ted
               Tommy

[Cutter3]

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but in my mind, this is one thread that can be beneficial for a long time...

I just had a resurfacing done on September 21st, through Kaiser Permanente.   I have to say  I feel very blessed, reading this section of the board.   My  cost for my surgery was a $250 admission fee, which was reimbursed to me through a program subscribed to by my employer.   Aside from prescription costs, my only out of pocket was for a monthlong hostpital bed and commode rental, which totalled ~$220.00.

Overall surgery out-of-pocket:   $0


I was very nervous, going into the pre-planning process, because words like "elective" were thrown around, which would have made me responsible for 100% of the costs.   Turns out, it was a wording issue on a form that the surgeon filled out.   Once he clarified, the surgery was deemed medically necessary and covered under my health insurance.   Prior to 2010, my wife and I strongly debated returning to Kaiser, as we live out of the coverage area.   A situation like this is precisely why we decided that it was worth it.

[sheptr]

I am still fighting with United Healthcare over my out of pocket expenses and "deductible".
HSS in NYC charged $50K+ for 3 nights, and a skeleton nurse crew over the holiday weekend.  Service was adequate.  Surgeon fee was another $16K, anesthesia was another $4K.  I am still getting random bills almost a year later.  Another $600 for surgeon, $800 for anesthesia, $1000 for the HSS.  I am happy I had the operation with the surgeon I did, but never having anything remotely close to this, I was and still am blown away by the charges levied upon me and my insurance company. 

[stevel]

I also had surgery at HSS.  My insurance paid for everything except about $500 co-pay and travel (except one night lodging at $80/nite for pre-op tests).  This includes about $71,300 for surgery and $5,500 for 5 1/2 months physical therapy after surgery.
But I have a union managed health trust and the benefits are generous to members, compared to many other plans.

[katekosar]

Just wanted to bump this up to see if anyone wanted to add their total insurance costs, both gross and net, to this thread.  Might help others for planning purposes, also?  I was anticipating total costs of about $50K but apparently may be underestimating it quite a bit, based upon these several posts.  Thoughts or additional information?

Take care,
Kate

[phillwad]

I am trying to keep track but currently I have 4 separate "account numbers" at the Clinic - it is like getting your car repaired and Joe who changed the oil send you a bill form the shop and Mike who changed the ties from the same shop sends you another bill on the same letter head....and on it goes, so I am trying to keep track.   Then I have started to get the bills from the "independant contracts" - I think these are the PA's that saw me over the weekend.

I know just two bills (Surgeon and Hospital stay) added up to $55K

Also the cute things on our legs we "rent" were $1350 for the couple of weeks - hard to think they even cost that much

[halfdone]

Good description of the Kafkaesque nightmare that is US hospital billing Phil. 

[FlbrkMike]

I have gotten so many separate claims that they take up a page and a half on my Blue Shield website.  I get separate claims from the hospital, the surgeon's practice, pathology service, anesthesiology, radiology, pharmacy, physical therapy, etc., etc.  They come in at unpredictable intervals and I'm supposed to pay my share as I get them.  Very hard to keep things straight.

The amount of each claim seems to have little relevance to the actual costs.  For each surgery I got a claim from the hospital for about $55,000 and from the ortho practice for about $6,000.  The "allowed" total for the hospital was around $19,000 and for the surgeon about $2,000.  I have a spreadsheet on which I'm keeping track of what comes in and how much I have to pay.  I don't have any totals yet, though

I have a $4,000 deductible (for the entire family) and then 20% coinsurance up to a $7,000 annual out of pocket maximum.  I probably spent $1,000 of my deductible before having the surgery so, in theory, my total cost should be about $6,000.  But...I should also have $0 medical out of pocket costs for the rest of the year due to the annual maximum.  We'll see.

[hernanu]

Hospital Bill for first hip - $52 K
Hospital Bill for 2d hip   - $46 K (less complicated than 1st).
Doctor's bill for both -
My responsibility - $200 per hip / $400 overall.
Visiting nurse and in home PT - - my responsibility - $0
Outpatient PT - - my responsibility - $20/visit, about $200 total / hip, $400 total.

No pain - priceless.

[halfdone]

Also the cute things on our legs we "rent" were $1350 for the couple of weeks - hard to think they even cost that much

I found them online for $1,800 to buy.  I'm going to start a squeezy boots rental business!  Maybe $100 a week rental charge,  expect to rent them 1 week in 3, that's over $1700 a year.  Allow 30% for overhead, 3 year depreciation ($600 a year) and I'm making over 30% a year ROI, which sure as hell beats my other investment returns.

It really is unbelievable how much hospitals rip people off.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=huntleigh+flowtron&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=11298109515622603545&sa=X&ei=guHCTYeJLML2gAep3bmEAg&ved=0CDIQ8wIwBA#

[phillwad]

The leg pimp I had did not look anywhere near a big or complicated - I will try and track down which one I had and find a price - Phill

[katekosar]

Leg pimp?

At the prices they charge, they could indeed have a pimp somewhere in the chain of distribution.

 

[phillwad]

Kate - thanks for picking up on my spelling error - big difference from leg pump 

Phill

[katekosar]

Just got the first bill from the hospital ... total billed a tad over $56K, with almost $19K for the device itself.  Wow.  Amazing.

[Lopsided]

Now, how come these foreign doctors can do the whole job at a quarter of the price or less? And still make money on it! I will have to look out for the itemised bill I got from hospital, but I am sure that $19,000 for the device is somewhere over a 1000% markup.

[hernanu]

Now, how come these foreign doctors can do the whole job at a quarter of the price or less? And still make money on it! I will have to look out for the itemised bill I got from hospital, but I am sure that $19,000 for the device is somewhere over a 1000% markup.

But... didn't you get a pair of complimentary TEDS socks???