Monday, November 26, 2007

Buying Babies

Planned c-section: $14,000

Twin A: $3,500

Twin B: $3,500

Dealing with the insurance company to get them to cover your bills correctly? Priceless!

Effing insurance company!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does that cover everything from anesthesia to room and board? Sometimes those bills come in separately, as do individual doctor's fees.

Sorry to hear they're being difficult.

Kate

Woman with a Hatchet said...

I'm afraid to find out, although I suspect you're right. I may be updating this with larger and larger numbers!

*grumble*

Missy said...

It is a racket! What they charge for a single item or pill! I was surprised they didn't keep count of how many squares of toilet paper used during my stay and charge me $5 for each one. I think #2 was about two years old before we paid off what the insurance didn't cover. Hope you are able to work things out.

Woman with a Hatchet said...

It took them 2 months to send the bill to the "wrong" insurance agency. The parent insurance agency, that is, who couldn't be bothered to send it on to the correct internal agency. So they bounced it.

Thus the carnival of phone calls begins....

Red Flashlight said...

Almost everyone I know has a similar story! The industry is out of control. They are administratively incompetent they aren't properly motivated to fix their problems. Actually paying the bills is not the profitable part of the insurance business. The profitable part is when their customers reliably pay their monthly bills, blissfully ignorant of what actually happens when they need to use their health insurance.

I once made more than 20 phone calls to various insurance company zombies over a single $30 bill for an office visit. (In addition to a series of additional calls to a collection agency and my doctor's office.) All because the insurance company didn't pay the doctor on time.

The collection agency actually apologized to me after we spent months cleaning up the insurance company's mess.

I can only imagine what happens to people to find themselves ensnared over more significant amounts! I hope they don't cause you too much grief.

Hatchet, you are uniquely qualified to document this issue. I'd love to hear the State Insurance Commissioner's response to a well crafted letter from your house.

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, the insurance company. Now that we have moved it is amazing that the only people that have our new address are those who send the medical bills! I got a letter from the hospital saying I had to prove the kids were on my medical insurance by getting their birth certificates. I wanted to say "I gave BIRTH in this hospital. I WORK in this hospital! Like I would lie about having twins!!" Don't feel bad about the c-section we saw the twins bills for the first month and they are at $800,000.

Woman with a Hatchet said...

Hava, you WIN! Most expensive babies, that is. Yeee-ouch!

I sure hope you don't have a 20% co-pay. ARGH!

Just make sure that if your insurance says you were supposed to have put them on your insurance AT BIRTH that you do so. Mine is trying to claim that they aren't listed on my personal health insurance and thus are not covered except that the maternity ins specifically says they're covered. Right now I have the hospital and ins co playing phone tag. Leave me out!

A whole whacking lot less than $800K, but still not chump change!

Ali said...

We have to call our insurance within 24 hours of Possum's birth or they won't cover a thing. Needless to say, I've told everyone and their dog to remind me to make that call...

Woman with a Hatchet said...

Ali, that's insane! Don't they think you'll have a little something more important going on?

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