Medical bills

[hpymomof3]

I'm in shock. My dd and I both had to have a mole removed and biopsied last week. My bill alone was over $1000! Unfortunately $500 has to go toward my deductible. It doesn't seem right that it should cost that much.

My dd has had over $10,000 of medical bills in the past month trying to figure out why she had the dizziness. Luckily "all" we had to pay of that was a $500 deductible and a $20 copayment each time she went to a different doctor.

So between both deductibles and co-payments we owe $1200. I'm so sickened by this. I can't imagine what people do who don't have insurance.

[one l michele]

I had my three to the dentist Monday for cleanings $685.

Then they had doctors appointments the past two days, 3 office visits, 1 test, 2 x-rays, and 3 Rx's. Not sure the total bill there yet.

[nestof3]

Wow -- I would shop around for quotes from now on. My husband had a mole removed, and they charged $170 for the removal and $147 for the biopsy. With the insurance's allowable charge, we paid a total of 236.55.

[melissaL]

I am so glad that I live in Australia, I have had 3 moles removed for free. it is so nice to go to the doctor without having huge bills
dentist isn't free though.

[CactusPair]

I'm there with ya! Our medical bills, though we have insurance, are sinking us. We have to pay 20% of everything, plus $30 for every visit. Don't even get me started on the prescriptions:glare:

I don't know how uninsured people manage....Go without medical care???:confused:

When I'm down about the costs, I try to remember to be thankful that we're all as healthy as we are.

Health is the most important thing. Hope you find answers on your dd's dizziness soon.:grouphug:

[GVA]

We have good insurance (actually the model for Hillary Clinton's plan), and still average $500 or so a month year-round, mostly for DH. No music lessons or fancy vacations for us. We won't go anywhere overnight in 2008, and probably will stay home in 2009 too.

Then I just found out that there isn't funding for one of my part-time jobs beyond December because of state cut-backs.

SIGH!

[Lucidity]

I'm one of those without insurance. :( My husband and I our self-employed and we've tried to get insurance, but they won't cover me because of RLS (restless legs syndrome). Dumb reason... It's really tough especially when doctors cost most much and tests are twice as much. Hope the new prez can do something on this.

[nestof3]

but they won't cover me because of RLS (restless legs syndrome).

You might want to look into this further. Most companies will insure you, you are just rated higher because of a pre-existing condition, and often there's a time period where that specific thing won't be covered, but when that time period is up, it will then be covered.

[asta]

I'm in shock. My dd and I both had to have a mole removed and biopsied last week. My bill alone was over $1000! Unfortunately $500 has to go toward my deductible. It doesn't seem right that it should cost that much.

My dd has had over $10,000 of medical bills in the past month trying to figure out why she had the dizziness. Luckily "all" we had to pay of that was a $500 deductible and a $20 copayment each time she went to a different doctor.

So between both deductibles and co-payments we owe $1200. I'm so sickened by this. I can't imagine what people do who don't have insurance.

That really doesn't sound right.

I would call the doctor's office and ask about that bill. I had to pay cash to one of the top dermatologists in the US for hubby to have 2 moles removed and biopsied and the office visit was $110 and the lab was about $150.

It sounds as if someone has padded your bill for insurance purposes.


asta

(who spends A LOT of time at very expensive doctors)

[Kris]

I can't imagine what people do who don't have insurance.

We just don't go to the doctor. :)

Sweetie finally got dental insurance -- and boy, did he need it. If we hadn't had the insurance, he wouldn't have started getting all this dental work done. He did "phase one" last month. We are just now getting the paperwork on it. The insurance company -- and we were assured it was a good one -- only paid ONE THIRD of the cost. We are now stuck with a $500 dental bill, only half of the work is done, and now Sweetie has two of his middle front teeth missing!

Nope -- I'm not pleased with this "surprise." There was a note on the bill:

Insurance didn't pay as much as we thought they would. :-(

Okay -- but we're still stuck with a bill we *did not plan on.*

[Annabel Lee]

it still isn't easy sometimes. DH has ins. through his gov't job, but it still doesn't cover any dental or vision. So, DH and I haven't been to the dentist for over 5 yrs., but luckily we haven't had any problems either. We do pay out of pocket for the kids to go 1x/yr.
For vision, we use our contacts and glasses prescriptions waaaay longer than recommended. I think I was at the eye doctor 3 yrs ago. Dd's initial eye exam and glasses were $400+ total a year ago when we discovered she had a vision problem.

Also in 2007, my Dd had some major medical needs. We had to see many local Dr.'s who referred us to specialists, who referred us to out-of-state specialists and treatment centers. Because of the way lots of little peices about it went (mainly b/c the hospital out-of-state did not get authorization from our ins. co. and didn't confirm ins. during her stay), we had to pay $22,354.00 out of pocket. Goodbye, savings account and retirement. I appealed it and even saw a lawyer about it, but b/c of the state where it took place there's really nothing we can do. Technically we still owe another $13,000+ but they have never sent a bill for it, and since that was in the spring of '07, I'm hoping they just forget about it. :) I won the appeal w/ the ins. co., but was later told that didn't mean what I thought it meant. Grr. So don't feel bad, you're not the only one staying home for a really long time! No vacations or anything of that sort here either! The only way my sons are getting to take music and tae kwon do lessons is b/c our state has funding for homeschooloers, although limited. Anyhoo, you guys aren't alone. I think the US medical system is messed up right now for anyone - insured or not (no matter what anyone thinks the correct answer is, insurance practices and doctor's prices are whack). But that's jmho. :D

[Audrey]

I am so glad that I live in Australia, I have had 3 moles removed for free. it is so nice to go to the doctor without having huge bills
dentist isn't free though.


I'm in Canada. I've had a couple of moles removed for free as well.

Ah... the peace of mind of our lovely healthcare systems, eh? :D

[nestof3]

arcticmom,

I just wanted to mention that with all of my insurance companies, it was actually my responsibility to inform the insurance company about surgeries and hospital stays if I was in a state to be able to do so. This is a good thing for others to look into at this point with their policy so that they are informed. I'm not saying that's how yours was -- just sharing my experience with several different companies. It's called pre-authorization.

Also, we have friends who pay very little for a separate dental insurance program. You might want to see if you can find something like that.

[Frankie]

Dad had a heart attack in March, spent two weeks in the hospital. Was moved to skilled nursing facility until he developed pneumonia. Was in a different hospital a week. Then we finally got him into the VA, where he passed away. (Wonderful place.) The VA was totally free, as he was a WWII vet.

The two hospital visits alone, without doctors, tests, physical therapy, etc., were $240,000.

All told, dad's health care from March to May is gonig to cost well over a half million dollars. Medicare doesn't pay it all, not even close.

I thank God every single day that my father was the chairman of his union and fought like crazy for and won excellent insurance. His insurance picked up what Medicare didn't pay -- almost. We're still going to end up paying some out of pocket, but it could have been so much worse.

I was hospitalized while my Dad was (panic attack--go figure, after watching his heart attack and starting CPR and having my precious son in on that, too) and I had to pay about $2,000 out of pocket for my little episode.

It's scary. We have good insurance. But all it would take is ONE thing: one big medical issue, one accident, one -- anything, and we'd be in fiancal ruin.

Dad's bills have really opened my eyes.

He was lucky, because he had his excellent insurance. But the elderly shouldn't have to fork over their live savings due to illness. And the rest of us shouldn't have to rob Peter to pay Paul to get by with ordinary medical expenses.

[janainaz]

Well, we've paid like 600.00/mo for our family, and still gotten huge bills for our portions. I used to lose sleep over it and now ....I'm OVER it. We are doing our best and they can get their 10.00 a month for all I care. I can't keep up. I am apalled at the bills we receive for riduculous things, my jaw drops when I open the bill. I won't go into detail, it's just insanity. We are one income and can only do so much. I finally surrendered the anxiety - completely! No more.

[sandellie4]

Us, too. We pay $600/month for coverage, but our insurance doesn't pay for any of the therapies our children need (autism-related conditions are excluded). We are paying everything for our children out of pocket, so when my husband had a growth on his ear that had to be removed and biopsied, we were relieved that at least something would be paid. But then when we got the bill, it was outrageous. They can harrass us all they want, they're getting $100/month and no more. If anything really serious happens to any of us, there's no way we could pay. Sometimes I wonder why we struggle so hard to put a little away for our old age (we won't be retiring!). In one fell swoop it will be gone, no matter how careful we are with money and no matter that we save even when things are tight. We could not possibly save enough to get through the bad times if health were the reason. Sandy