PC's Medical Bills ...

[shellyd67]

PC's medical bills are starting to trickle in ... They are close to $ 5,000 so far.

DH and I both said that PC is walking, healthy and came thru this remarkably and we would give up everything for her health and well being but I still am alittle stressed about all these bills.

We have Aetna insurance and they are so strict and consider her surgery experimental. I am going to try and appeal some of these bills and see what happens.

I am thrilled with the care PC was given and will pay every last penny owed but I am so bent at Aetna right now. Our premium for a family of four monthly is $1100.00 dollars !!

Geeze ... Just venting ...

[Shari]

Hugs. Its such a broken system.

Be sure to call the facility and ask for every type of grant or financial aid you can think of. I found out (one month after the time limit) that I could have received financial assistance for Wee's accident, and they'd have paid it 100%. But I didn't know.... They won't advertise it, but call the financial department and start asking questions.

[shellyd67]

Unfortunately, everything is based on income limits and DH's salary is above those limits of course !

[StepTo2]

Hugs from here, too.

Just keep in mind that as long as you pay them a little at a time... They can't do much.

But - that's AFTER you do what Shari suggested! And appeal, of course.

[susiestar]

I am so sorry. Get HR involved with the Aetna disputes. I found that they could get a LOT more done than I could. We had Aetna back when dh was employed and it was why we had to switch away from the neuro we now have = they didn't pay him for over 2 YEARS so he was forced to stop seeing patients with that kind of insurance. They are LEGENDARY for this. My SIL runs and ins co (not the broker but runs/handles everything) and says she has more problems with them than any other company = she deals with all kinds of ins.

Also get an itemized list of ALL expenses from the hospital and double check it all. For every hospitalization I was able to find hundreds of $$ of things that I was billed for but didn't use. Nine IV setups one time, all sorts of other stuff, etc.... NOT sayng to not pay your bill, but don't pay for what you didn't get.

No matter WHAT they tell you, as long as you pay $5 per month on the bill they can't take you to court. may take years to pay it off, but t is the law. They also can't harrass you. If they give it to a bill collector and they are rude, tell them you are recording the conversation and reporting it to the FCC (Fed Communication Commission). It will make them back WAY off b/c each complaint is very costly to deal with for the company, and free for you. Mostly if you are paying the $5 the hospital won't pester you though.

[Dammit Janet]

I would contact the insurance company and the hospital like others have said. Even though you said things are income based, with some of this being experimental, they may reduce some of the bill. Plus you can fight the insurance company on that experimental deal. Get PC's doctors to write in that it was the correct procedure for her. Just fight it. Plus like Susie said, go over the bill with a fine tooth comb. I have noticed on my bills that I get charged for all kinds of things that are outrageous. 2 urine tests on the same day? Really? No way. Thankfully medicare catches stuff like that and denies it.

[susiestar]

PLEASE don't assume that your income means you are not eligible for help. Ask anyway, and don't be afraid to call several times to see if there are new things they have found. Often they will say no the first time or two and then they will either find something or realize that you didn't just go away and they will let you know. Also go ahead and apply even if they say you won't qualify - often they don't really know what the income limits are so they say no when it may or may not be true.

You also might do a google search to try to find grants on your own to help with the costs. I know that there are all sorts of infomercials hawking federal grants, and mostly their books are out of date by a long shot, but there are still grants for experimental things. Was this experimental b/c it was a new technique or b/c they used a new product or device? If it is a device, contact the manufacturer and ask if they can help with the bill. Even if it is a widely used device, if this is a new treatment or the device has been tweaked then they may be able to help with the costs. Chances are they will NOT advertise this, but it may be on their website or you may be able to call and ask them about it. To find the info on the corporation, try the various databases for businesses, like Hoover's, etc....

I am glad the surgery went well and helped, no matter what Aetna says. Be SURE to appeal Aetna's decision as many times as you can b/c they are notorious about denying everything the first time or two and then approving it if you appeal enough. It gets them out of paying for a substantial number of claims. I really wish that old Grisham novel about an ins co who denied every claim the first time was just fiction. They don't outright tell employees to do that, but they sure give them lots of incentives to deny claims - they just don't say it outright b/c that would leave proof of their nasty tricks, kwim?

If she, or ANY of you, have muscle pain problems, ask the dr to rx lidoderm patches. They are lidocaine patches and are used on adults and kids. They cost about $200 a box (30 patches) but they ARE covered by most aetna plans. You can wear up to 3 patches per day, 12 hrs on, 12 hrs off. They are INCREDIBLE for muscle pain, arthritis, etc... They can be cut into shapes and have been super handy for splinters, etc..... I started using them and now both my folks, my dau, my inlaws and stepmil's daus all use them. I got Star and her mom to use them and they were also amazed and impressed with how they worked. They don't make you sleepy or high in any way, just take care of the pain and let you get on wth life. For the ins premiums you pay, might as well get what you can. These will store for quite a long time w/o any problem as long as they don't get too hot. If you have the ability to get 3 mos worth by mail order, t can be a great thing to have on hand.

[Shari]

Ps - The Amish negotiate prices all the time, since they are cash customers (and don't think for a minute that those people are poor - no way, quite the opposite). They frequently pay less than 60 cents on the dollar.

I'm sorry your bills are high, and they'll likely be high no matter what. Its stinks and it shouldn't be that way! You are right to focus on what you got, though, and its a healthy pc! No matter what the cost.