Sort of OT: Hospital Billing!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-25-2004
Sort of OT: Hospital Billing!
11
Wed, 01-26-2005 - 2:34pm

Last night at 9:30 my DH gets a call from the Hospital where he’s having his different procedures done in a few days and it’s a lady on the phone saying she’s calling him to pre-register him for his appointments. Then she says she’s going to need DH to give her a CC # so he can pay 500 dollars worth of deposits before his appointment?!!?! WTH?

She said that’s 250 a piece for each procedure! I have NEVER had ANY hospital call me before an appointment asking for $. So I told DH that if it’s the hospital procedure to get a deposit, that was fine but in return I’d like an estimate of how much we’re going to have to spend out of pocket because our insurance only covers 90% of procedures.

So he asks the lady and she says there’s no way she can know what the estimated amount will be out of pocket but that she still needs the deposit $ on a CC. So I basically told DH NOT to give her ANY info over the phone that something sounded “fishy”. DH called again this morning and the billing dept. gave him the same story. FINALLY I called and asked to speak to a manager. I come to find out that we CAN INDEED receive an estimate (waiting for the supposed estimate dept. to call me back) and that I can have the insurance company billed first and than MY bill can be sent out (which I always thought was customary anyway). I’m, pretty peeved at the hospital for trying to get $ from me BEFOREHAND considering that what if the 10% out of pocket turns out to be cheaper than the 500 I’ll be at THEIR mercy to cut me a reimbursement check. I think they’re trying to be sneaky. Then I found out while talking to a co-worker who used to work at one of their hospitals that if you give deposit $ BEFORE your appt. the billing rep. who calls you and signs you up gets a percentage of that $ as an incentive.?!?!? Did I mention that I HATE doctors and hospitals! lol.

So now I’m kinda bummed (a regular state for me lately, lol : ) because we were going to take some $ we’d been saving up to finally get me a new crown next month (my old one should’ve been replaced 3 years ago) BUT because DH REALLY needs these tests and I have NO CLUE what our 10% will be out of pocket, I’ll have to put the crown on hold AGAIN so we can use that $ on DH. I’m praying that his procedures won’t be more than what we have saved because I’m shuddering at the thought of having to put it on a CC : (. God I really hope not.

Anyway, just thought I’d share my latest drama of my day, lol – will it ever end? :D

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-26-2003
Wed, 01-26-2005 - 3:03pm

What a mess! I'm with you -- hospitals are becoming less and less about helping sick people and more about making sure they get paid. Granted, they need to be paid, but good grief! And paying incentives to get money upfront when it's not necessary is just wrong, imo. People have enough to deal with when they or a loved one is about to be hospitalized. BTW, you're not the first person this has happened to. It used to be (just a few years ago) that OBs and anesthesiologists would demand their fees upfront if a patient's maternity coverage was questionable. A lot of plans provide no coverage or just very skimpy coverage for childbirth. There were even anesthesiologists demanding CASH upfront from laboring women before they would give them epidurals. More than one dad had to make an emergency bank/ATM run, and more than a few women were denied epidurals altogether because they couldn't come up with the cash for whatever reason.
Un-freaking-believable! Thankfully, most of these doctors have moved away from this practice because of all of the heat they took for it.

Anyway, I hope that you feel better after having vented, and I definitely hope your DH's tests go well!

Hugs,
Elizabeth

 
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Wed, 01-26-2005 - 3:08pm

Wow! As I was reading your post and got to the part where the hospital called your Dh and asked for the CC number, but couldn't give an estimate of costs, etc, I really thought at that point you were being scammed in some way. That someone got your info from his doctor or the hospital and was trying to get your information, posing as a billing employee. I'm so glad you told your Dh not to provide any information that night.

I have never heard of a hospital or doctor asking for payment without providing an estimate. When I was expecting my son, I received an estimate on my first OB office visit showing how much a delivery costs and was told that I could begin making "payments" on the balance I would owe (minus insurance) at any point in my pregnancy. It was all in writing for me to clearly see.

I'm so glad you called them back and asked for the supervisor. Health issues are stressful enough without adding these billing problems.

I'm praying you won't have to put any of these expenses on your CC.

Pat

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-25-2004
Wed, 01-26-2005 - 3:37pm

"I'm so glad you called them back and asked for the supervisor. Health issues are stressful enough without adding these billing problems."

This is EXACTLY what I was thinking! Dear God I'm already stressed about what could or could not be wrong with DH, the last thing I need is to have billing problems BEFORE I even show up for an appointment.

And Holy Cow the story about some women not getting their epidurals because they wouldn't/couldn't pay while they were in labor....UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! That is barbaric.

I am appalled at this particular hospital's practice of trying to get payment a week or so BEFORE an appointment. And again I alwsys thought it was procedure to bill the insurance co. and then bill the patient for the remaineder AND at least have a freaking ESTIMATE of costs!

Anyway thanks as usual for hearing me vent :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Wed, 01-26-2005 - 5:34pm


"I am appalled at this particular hospital's practice of trying to get payment a week or so BEFORE an appointment. And again I alwsys thought it was procedure to bill the insurance co. and then bill the patient for the remaineder AND at least have a freaking ESTIMATE of costs!"

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I agree! I thought that was how it was supposed to work. You have your office visit/procedure, your insurance is billed, and then you receive a bill for the balance. By them doing that, you could clearly see your part of the cost, and you could set up a payment plan if needed. It was my understanding that as long as you pay "something" on a medical bill each month, they can't turn it over to collections. Asking for it in large sums, in advance, is kind of mean to the patients and their families.

Pat

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-18-2004
Wed, 01-26-2005 - 9:38pm

I understand hospitals wanting to get paid. But, I thought you gave them your insurance info and paid any copayment and then once insurance paid, you were billed the rest.

My DS has had numerous procedures done lately to check for hearing loss and speech delays (so far everything has turned out well), and all I have been asked is for my insurnace card. Since I have insurance through the military, no one can ask for a copay.

But, I still can't believe a hospital asking for $500 up front. What if the tests ran less than $500 and insurance paid. Would you have gotten your money back.

Yes, hospitals are getting worse. About eight years ago, my niece needed emergency surgery. The hospital was accepting payments because her parents (my SIL and BIL) had no health insurance. Well, about 6 years ago, my SIL had a mysterious illness. My MIL (a nurse) called the hospital and said they were bringing her in and she needed to be seen right away. The director of the hospital called back and said unless my SIL and BIL were willing to pay the remainder of the bill that day, my SIL couldn't be seen not even for emergency procedures. They ended up taking my SIL to a different hospital 45 minutes away
and it turned out my SIL was very near a diabetic coma. I shudder to think what would have happened to her if she hadn't gotten to the hospital in time. I would also like to string the hospital director up but no one will report him. By law, hosptials aren't allowed to turn down emergency patients for their lack of abitlity to pay, but he did. No one will report him because he runs the only hospital in a very small town. I can see this hospital asking for money up front.

I hate hospitals and the bureaucrats that run them. You can't blame the doctors, or the staff because they are just doing their jobs. However, you don't have to pay admissions clerks a "finders fee" to get money up front. That should be illegal!

Kellie

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Wed, 01-26-2005 - 11:46pm
Hospital billing departments have been shady for a long time indeed. About 15 years ago, a hospital in Cleveland put my brother in a drug-induced coma to study his seizure activity. It was supposed to be for two days, but they goofed and it was for almost two weeks. They sent my parents a bill for $50,000. My parents ignored it, and when it got ugly, my parents said they would pay the bill out of the winnings from the malpractice suit they were going to file as a result of this mess. Never heard from them again. But no matter what, i always ask for an itemized bill when dealing with hospitals. Nothing is worse than being asked to pay $50 for 2 regular run of the mill Motrin that you never even received. Some insurance companies will even give you a kickback if you notice incorrect charges on your bill, so it pays to check. I don't believe in sending money for something if I don't know what it is for!!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-2003
Thu, 01-27-2005 - 9:05am

Before you pay off the hospital bill with your CC, call the hospital/doctor's office and see if you can have a monthly payment plan once you have the bill in. If you or your H is working this shouldn't be difficult. Let them know how much you can pay each month toward the bill and let them know your financial situation, you want to pay the bill but this is what you can afford.

I was hit with huge medical bills last July. I wasn't able to pay them off, nor did I have that limit on my CC. What I did instead is call each of the different groups that had sent me a bill the minute I recieved the bill, and arranged a payment plan that's at 0% interest. I just let them know how much a month I could pay, and each month I pay them by a certain date. Some are good about sending me a monthly statement, others aren't - so keep info on the address, your account # etc. Don't put money unneccesarily on your CC at an interest rate, when you can arrange this 0% interest free. I promise you it was easy. I have some I only pay $10 a month on. It may take me 2 years to pay it off, but it's not on a CC and they are fine with the arrangement.

I hope your H's results are good.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-25-2004
Thu, 01-27-2005 - 11:00am

Thanks everyone for your responses! I wish I could say that this was the 1st time in my life I've had to deal with bad hospital billing procedures, but it's not. Unfortunatly as mentioned though this is the 1st time I've encountered them asking for payment upfront!

Now that I've figured out what their "practices" are - I'm going armed with the knowledge that they are shady and will be keeping my eyes open when we show up for these appointments to anything suspicious, as well as keeping my eye on the dr. - as I think there's something about him too that I'm not comfortable with.

As we "speak" I'm on hold with the hospital billing dept. trying to figure out what the freaking estimates are for the procedures taking into account the discoutn DH's work has worked out with this hospital! And of course NO ONE has a clue as to that apparently. OR they just DON'T WANT to give it (the correct estimate w/ discount) to me so I can hold them accountable to that amount later (this is conclusion I've come to as well as the conclusion my Insurance co. has come to)

UGH!!!!! - I HATE HOSPITALS! I'M going to need to end up there after all this is all said and done because THEY have given me a stress induced heart attack :P

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Thu, 01-27-2005 - 12:02pm

I've never heard of that...I work at a hospital and used to work in the billing and registration dept. Our hospital doesn't even ask for the copay upfront for anything unless they know EXACTLY what the copay will be! They ask for it on discharge or they bill you after your insurance is billed. For example, my insurance has an outpatient procedures copay (like for outpatient surgery) of $100 irregardless of the cost of procedure. If you start in the ER then get admitted there is no copay at all. If you are directly admitted as an inpatient with NO ER visit the copay becomes $250. So they will ASK for that upfront but they do not require it to be paid upfront if you have insurance.

I suspect this type of thing will be a growing trend, however. More and more hospitals loose revenue to unpaid copays and such and resorting a variety of methods to collect, including upfront if possible.

Interesting...

Also, if you ever have to go to the ER for anything, know that it is a violation of federal law for the ER to ask for, or even discuss, a copay or any other financial details upfront. They are required to treat you before they can discuss anything $ related. And, they cannot ask for insurance proof prior to your being seen by a nurse or doctor (prior to triage that is). Then, they can only ask to see and copy your insurance card. If you do NOT have medical insurance you are STILL entitled to medical care in an ER...no matter what! Most hospitals have options for uninsured ER patients... A lot of people think they can't go to the ER without insurance. The only exceptions are some hospitals (most notably Kaiser) have ER and Urgent Care under the same roof...if they direct you to Urgent Care after triage then they CAN ask for the copay upfront but NOT if you go directly into the ER.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Thu, 01-27-2005 - 1:02pm

You're right! As long as you call right away to set up a payment plan, and make those smaller payments each month, the balance of the bill cannot be turned over to collections.

When I was first married (age 19), I didn't know this, and I incurred a $3000 surgery bill. I could only afford $50 per month towards it, so I set up a payment plan and paid my $50 per month. One month, one of my payments hadn't posted to the monthly statement, so I called the doctor's office to inquire. I spoke to a VERY rude nurse who nastily said, "You know, you've been paying on this bill for a long long time. The doctor has done his job and fixed your problem. Don't you think it's only fair to pay the man for his work? I mean, he has expenses too, you know!!" Being 19, I panicked, and not wanting it to go to collections, etc, I put the remainder of my balance on a credit card.....at 14.99% interest! Only to find out later that I could have just ignored that nurse and kept making my $50 payments. Ugh! If I had only known then.....:-D

Pat

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