We got our bill for my hospital stay. When we saw it we were a little surprised. We have an EPO where our co-pay for inpatient hospital visits should be $150 with 100% covered after that. But the bill was for $506.
I called today to check it out.
The first guy told me that the bill was right. That the $506 was our % we had to pay. I didn't know exactly what our plan was, so I hung up and called Matt. He said that was wrong since 100% was supposed to be covered after the initial $150.
So I called again.
The next lady was just as clueless as the first guy, but when I explained what I understood our coverage to be, she transferred me to a claims resolution dept.
After taking one look at the statement, that lady said, "Oh, they definitely read this wrong and charged you incorrectly. You're supposed to only be charged a one time $150 co-pay. They charged you $150 for every day you were there."
So, the moral of my story is: when in doubt, check it out. If it seems you're paying too much for something, you just might be.
(Oh, and they charged us $56 for being in a private room. The hospital only offered private rooms. Don't get me wrong, given a choice of a shared room that's 100% covered or upgrading to a private for $56, I'd have chosen the private room, but it seems odd that they don't cover a private room when private rooms are the only option in the hospital!)
6 comments:
Wow. That is great coverage. Maybe it's good that you didn't have your first baby while at BYU. Back when I was there, it only covered 80% of the bill, and the other 20% was about $1200. But for Lily we only had a $5 co-pay for all maternity fees! So I guess that it made up for it.
Blast those insurance mix-ups! What a royal pain! I've spent quite a bit of time on the phone myself trying to work with both the hospital and the insurance company. Because, cha, like I'm going to pay a $2800 hospital bill -- and this just for the baby's stay and care -- when he was in fact really and truely covered by the insurance policy. Definitely, though: when in doubt, check it out.
How nice, though, that you have such magnificent insurance! Our policy for Garrett's birth wasn't horrible, but it certainly isn't as good as our current policy. Our next baby will likely be much cheaper.
It is good insurance, but now that we have Dean the yearly premium doubled (since it would cover all children regardless of how many we have). I was totally grateful for the insurance since my total stay would have been about $8500 without it.
Enjoy that insurance while you have it. We really miss it. Our ins. here, well, it sucks. Those were the good old days of only paying a copay of 150 for a c-section that cost thousands.
Yeah, our baby bills have gone up with each baby! I used to say, I'm so glad for insurance, now I say why is the hospital so much? then I say well they can because it's just an insurance co paying, and why are people suing so much. I guess insurance would always be helpful for long hospital stays and expensive procedures. It's pretty much a vicious cycle and I know I have to grin and bear it.
Celia,
Hey, its Michelle here! That is so fun to see your sweet baby Dean! I am so so happy for you! I was going to see if I can get your address for Christmas cards? Talk to you soon!
Michelle
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