Hospital bill!!!!!!!!!!!

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 14:25:41 -0500, "JennP"
wrote:

Just thought I'd share this in case I'm missing something.

*room total med/sur/gy/2bed 514.50
*magnesium hydroxide 30ml 2.05
*acetaminophen 325mg, tablet .67

Huh? You can buy about 50 of them for this, used to be able to get
more, before they introduced the package size limites.

*ibuprofen 800mg 1.75
*ibuprofen 800mg 1.75

Uh ditto.

Yikes.

And yes, the charged you for something you never had, which is fraud.

/me blesses the NHS again.

Megan
--
Seoras David Montgomery, 7th May 2003, 17 hours. http://seoras.farr-montgomery.com
EDD 11th March 2005 (another boy!)

JennP wrote:
So I give birth in my friend's car *outside* the hospital with no
assistance at all and I discover that my insurance company was billed
for a "normal delivery and maternity".

Isn't that ridiculous. With Luke I was billed for the standard three days
for my room and three days for infant room. Luke didn't spend 10 minutes in
the nursery and we were both discharged the next afternoon so were only
there one night. With Hunter I was billed separately for the infant
nursery (3 days) even though he roomed in all three days. He spend 2 hours
in the nursery to warm him up.

--
Nikki

In that case I would talk to a local TV news station! I'm serious, it's
totally outrageous!
"Hillary Israeli" wrote in message
...
In ,
JennP wrote:

*they didn't use!! No wonder our insurance premiums are so high! Should I
*call the insurance company about this? I feel like I should do
*something*.

I'd call, but don't expect much. I called my insurance company when I
noticed they'd been billed for IV catheterization and IV fluids during my
second delivery. I never had anything of the sort. The insurance company
basically said "thanks for caring but whatever" and did nothing about it.

--
Hillary Israeli, VMD
Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is
too dark to read." --Groucho Marx

"JennP" wrote in message
...
So I give birth in my friend's car *outside* the hospital with no
assistance
at all and I discover that my insurance company was billed for a "normal
delivery and maternity". Curious, I called the hospital and asked for an
itemized bill. I recieved the bill and discovered that the insurance
company
was billed $1300 for "normal deliveries" in addition to all the regular
maternity stuff (which I expected).

Here's the kicker...not only was my insurance company billed for giving
birth *inside* the hospital but there is a line item for $246 for FETAL
MONITORING WITH DELIVERY!!!!!!! Um, I know telemetry units can work well,
but I don't think that they have started installing them in 10 year old
Jeep
Cherokee's!

My deductable is $500 regardless because I stayed overnight, so I'm not
upset about paying that. I'd have to pay it no matter what. But the
hospital
just automatically billed them for a birth they didn't assist with and EFM
they didn't use!! No wonder our insurance premiums are so high! Should I
call the insurance company about this? I feel like I should do
*something*.



Do something. Absolutely. They bill for "anything they can get away with"
and yes, it is part of why your premiums are so high.

Jenrose

Yes, but while it breaks it down in an itemized way on your bill, they (the
billers) just punch in one code in their compuetr and that code contains
sub-codes, like the ones you see. It could have just been one of thise
automated things and I would definitely speak to the hospital about it and
let them know that you'll be calling your insurance company. They will
probably send a revised bill (if they care enough) and then a refund will be
processed (sometimes it gets sent to the patient, and it's then up to you
what you do with it (ie spend it, or send it to the hospital - though no
doubt they'll be calling you if that does happen!) and it *should* all
happen behind the scenes and you'll know nothing about it! HTH


"JennP" wrote in message

As for the codes, "normal deliveries" has it's own line item and code as
does "fetal monitoring with deliveries". My room has it's own code and
line
item along with all the other post-partum care.

JennP.

"CY" wrote in message
news:ZriEd.18789$yW5.17984@fed1read02...
Yes, but while it breaks it down in an itemized way on your bill, they
(the
billers) just punch in one code in their compuetr and that code contains
sub-codes, like the ones you see. It could have just been one of thise
automated things and I would definitely speak to the hospital about it and
let them know that you'll be calling your insurance company.

Honestly, I'm hoping it was just a mistake. There might not be a way (or
commonly used way) to bill maternity seperate from L&D. I imagine this
doesn't happen all that often. I do know there was a woman who had the same
thing happen about a month before at the same hospital. Her baby was
actually born on the highway and they drove in. I wonder what happened in
that circumstance.

They will
probably send a revised bill (if they care enough) and then a refund will
be
processed (sometimes it gets sent to the patient, and it's then up to you
what you do with it (ie spend it, or send it to the hospital - though no
doubt they'll be calling you if that does happen!)

Do you mean insurance company?

and it *should* all
happen behind the scenes and you'll know nothing about it! HTH

Thanks.

JennP.

"Hillary Israeli" wrote in message
...

I'd call, but don't expect much. I called my insurance company when I
noticed they'd been billed for IV catheterization and IV fluids during my
second delivery. I never had anything of the sort. The insurance company
basically said "thanks for caring but whatever" and did nothing about it.


Since the hospital has already been paid for my bill, I'm not expecting
much. But I do think they should be informed.

JennP.

"A&G&K&H" wrote in message
...


Perhaps the fetal monitoring was actually done by ESP ?
Amanda

Well, my midwife did know I was on my way!

JennP.

"Buzzy Bee" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 14:25:41 -0500, "JennP"
wrote:

Just thought I'd share this in case I'm missing something.

*room total med/sur/gy/2bed 514.50
*magnesium hydroxide 30ml 2.05
*acetaminophen 325mg, tablet .67

Huh? You can buy about 50 of them for this, used to be able to get
more, before they introduced the package size limites.

*ibuprofen 800mg 1.75
*ibuprofen 800mg 1.75

Uh ditto.

Yikes.

And yes, the charged you for something you never had, which is fraud.

/me blesses the NHS again.

I know. Aren't the prices outrageous? Two bucks for one dose of milk of
magnesia! Crazy.

JennP.

In R_gEd.18647$yW5.10716@fed1read02,
CY wrote:

*In that case I would talk to a local TV news station! I'm serious, it's
*totally outrageous!

Well, the kid born during that delivery is over 2 yrs old now, so I don't
think they'd care at this point really, and hey, who's got the
time/energy/presence of mind to deal with these issues at the time?? I'm
amazed I managed to call the insurance company, quite frankly. Too bad
they didn't care. But what is the news story going to be:

"Hospital overcharges insurance company; Insurance company doesn't care!"

I don't know. Does it really grab you?

-h.

--
Hillary Israeli, VMD
Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is
too dark to read." --Groucho Marx