pricescopenewbie
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2015
- Messages
- 301
Hello Dear PSers, i was wondering if I could seek any advice here on a $4000 medical bill I recently received after an ER trip. I am pregnant and back in last Dec when I was about 6-7 month pregnant I blacked out a few times. On the last day of 2015 I fainted again so I called my OB/GYN. she said it usually was related to my pregnancy but there was a chance of blood clog etc and since their office was closed that day she suggested me to go to ER for a check. I panicked after hearing the words "blood clog" and went to the ER afterwards. and recently my medical bill came in with a total charge of about $17000, and I have to pay about $4000 after my insurance company paid off their part.
After looking into the bill and comparing it with the medical record I obtained from their hospital, I think some charges are not very reasonable. but I have no experience working in a health care organization or medical billing office. so i wonder if anyone here would kindly help and give advice. I appreciate it a lot in advance!
here is the bill (the orignal charge before insurance company paid for their part):
about $11000 for a CT scan - Angio chest w/PE potocol
about $430 and $130 for isovue-370 75ml and sodium chloride 1000ml respectively, both are IV injection (i am not sure which is charged for which though)
$2000ish for lab tests which include an urine test (urine color, pH, protein, blood, bacteira, mucus, glucose, RBC, WBC etc), 2 blood chemistry tests which seem to be a repeat of each other (sodium, potassium, chloride, CO2, AST, ALT, etc), a hemotology test (WBC, RBC, Hgb, MCV, etc)
$500ish for diagnostic medical exam - as far as i recall they are meanly for blood pressure and Vent. rate.
about $3000 on emergency room services
I searched online and found websites such as clearhealthcosts.com and healthcarebluebook.com where you can search for a reasonable range of medical charges. for example, a normal range for a CT scan - Angio chest is about $600-ish on both websites instead of a jaw-dropping $11000. I started to feel I might be charged too much after finding out this information.
I would hope to get some idea from PSers here if you have similar experience, or if you are familiar with the medical system so I can have an unbiased opinion how reasonable this charge is.
My biggest concern is:
is everything charged in a normal range?
is there a difference on the charges between an ER vs. normal medical care?
is there a difference on the charges between an insured vs. uninsured patients?
is there anyway i can dispute with the hospital if the charge is not reasonable?
With a newborn baby on the way (actually due in a week), we definitely will receive another big bill for delivery and prenatal visits (from another hospital though). it will be a big burden on our shoulder having to pay this big amount for this ER visit. Most importantly, I don't feel comfortable to pay if it is not charged properly. on the other hand, though, we will have to pay it in full if it is properly charged no matter how big the bill is. So I would really appreciate it for your advice! thanks in advance and hope to hearing from you!
After looking into the bill and comparing it with the medical record I obtained from their hospital, I think some charges are not very reasonable. but I have no experience working in a health care organization or medical billing office. so i wonder if anyone here would kindly help and give advice. I appreciate it a lot in advance!
here is the bill (the orignal charge before insurance company paid for their part):
about $11000 for a CT scan - Angio chest w/PE potocol
about $430 and $130 for isovue-370 75ml and sodium chloride 1000ml respectively, both are IV injection (i am not sure which is charged for which though)
$2000ish for lab tests which include an urine test (urine color, pH, protein, blood, bacteira, mucus, glucose, RBC, WBC etc), 2 blood chemistry tests which seem to be a repeat of each other (sodium, potassium, chloride, CO2, AST, ALT, etc), a hemotology test (WBC, RBC, Hgb, MCV, etc)
$500ish for diagnostic medical exam - as far as i recall they are meanly for blood pressure and Vent. rate.
about $3000 on emergency room services
I searched online and found websites such as clearhealthcosts.com and healthcarebluebook.com where you can search for a reasonable range of medical charges. for example, a normal range for a CT scan - Angio chest is about $600-ish on both websites instead of a jaw-dropping $11000. I started to feel I might be charged too much after finding out this information.
I would hope to get some idea from PSers here if you have similar experience, or if you are familiar with the medical system so I can have an unbiased opinion how reasonable this charge is.
My biggest concern is:
is everything charged in a normal range?
is there a difference on the charges between an ER vs. normal medical care?
is there a difference on the charges between an insured vs. uninsured patients?
is there anyway i can dispute with the hospital if the charge is not reasonable?
With a newborn baby on the way (actually due in a week), we definitely will receive another big bill for delivery and prenatal visits (from another hospital though). it will be a big burden on our shoulder having to pay this big amount for this ER visit. Most importantly, I don't feel comfortable to pay if it is not charged properly. on the other hand, though, we will have to pay it in full if it is properly charged no matter how big the bill is. So I would really appreciate it for your advice! thanks in advance and hope to hearing from you!