Conversation with doctor:
Doc - Today you will be getting some lab work done. Would you also like to do your AFP test?
Me - Um, sure. (anything for my baby, right?)
Doc - Ok. Just sign this paperwork and I'll send you down to the lab.
So...I signed it, went on my merry way, had two shots, and was outta there in less than 15.
FAST-FORWARD 1 month...
Today I opened a bill for 1,985 buckeroos! Come to find out, my insurance does NOT cover genetic testing (which is, apparently, what AFP stood for). I talked with my doctor who, of course, could give a rat's fat one that I have to come up with 2 grand.
Spoke with the insurance company to file an appeal which will probably amount to a minimal 50 dollar discount.
So, I am left wondering...what does "insurance" mean, anyway? Every time I go to the doctor I feel like I am at a restaurant with no prices on the menu, then I get a 2,000 dollar bill for my burger and fries!
I think I will just hide out at home and deliver the baby myself. Seriously...experiencing the miracle of life should not be this expensive!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Oops! My bad... a 2,000 dollar mistake...
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18 comments:
Are you Kidding ME!!!! That is insane. I tell you insurance is one thing that boggles my mind. I am still trying to have claims adjusted from last January.
That is CRAZY!!! You need to move to Canada where health care is FREE!! It doesn't cost a cent to have a baby here unless you want a private room, then it's $50. $2,000 for 2 shots...what a rip off!!
Hey, I learned how to deliver a baby when I got EMT certified. I'm up for the challenge! Not like I really want to get that up close and personal with you and your unmentionables, but whatever I can do to help a friend....I won't charge you anything either. That's the best part!
Amen! With all the money we pay in premiums and then deductibles it seems insurance is useless until your baby goes into the ICU and you only have to pay $$3500 of the $15,000 bill. So, let's just hope for the best, right?
Keep up with the appeals, I just got a check for $475.00 back from my Dental Insurance. I completely forgot about the HOURS I spent on the phone with the insurance company and then the letters I had to file, but it all paid off! Yeah!
Thanks for the heads up, I think I'll be denying the AFP - I already had to pay $154.00 for the triple screen. I think I would cry if I got a bill for $2000.00 YIKES!
What the crap is up with that. I think I would jog my large prego butt down to that doctors office and stick him with a FRIGGIN large ace needle right in the neck.....than jog my butt home and deliver that baby myself. How hard could that be? Hee, Hee
HDW
ooh--not good. I hate when I see an envelope from Blue Shield in the mail. I just hand those to Darin and say, "here".
Good luck!
ali that is so bad. i feel for you. i have got my fair share of those bills...and been on the phone fighting insurance companies. it seems like there is always a glinch in that sort of thing. i keep telling myself to ask how much things are because i have run into this problem a lot. but i never do. it seems rude or something and then i get a bill and i get so mad. ughhh.
Having lived on both sides of the border (Canada and US), I can say both systems have their flaws. Canadian health care is not "free", the cost is simply shifted to your income taxes which are significantly higher than what is paid in the US. Frankly, I've never been happy with either health care system. We had a HMO with Quiksilver for the first two babies and paid next to nothing for their births, but on the third child we had a PPO and it ended up costing us thousands of dollars.
I know exactly what you mean. We have paid for two babies, and one with Insurance. It sure is easier to just pay and not have to worry about insurance. I think Insurance really is for like a big emergency. I am so sorry that happened to you. Good luck with the appeal!
I hear you LOUD and CLEAR. Don't you love how you find out how great your insurance really is when the big bills come rolling in! I feel so sad for you that this was an opps! That really stinks.
YIKES! That is just terrible. I sure hope that it all works out alright. I don't think I ever got that option for that test. Your doctor should have told you, so send the bill to him!
oh ali. $2000! You'd better get that appeal to work out or there goes your pottery barn nursry.
Insurance is pointless. I just got a bill for Lucy.....she's 5 months old, but they claim they "underbilled" me before.
Ok maybe not pointless becuase I did get TWO epidurals and I'm glad they were both covered.
If you do deliver at home please have Troy do play by play on the blog.
sorry that was the most random commenting ever.
Ali, this blog made my blood boil! First off, I hate the AFP test. When I had Katie... it came back NEGATIVE! It was totally suppose to read positive. Then so many of my friends AFP tests came back positive and their babies were fine. I won't ever take that test again. Second, I think it should totally say in your chart that the AFP test was not covered, so you could make a choice with that information. I would fight that one so hard. You have so many rights, but the insurance comp. does not want you to know about them.
Good luck & don't give up. Keep us posted on how it turns out.
That SUCKS!! Sorry Ali
I can't believe that. Keep us posted on the outcome.
You are right - and I'm mad at that Dr. They should have warned you! I hope that insurance straightens it out and if not - hopefully the Dr. will understand and knock some of the price off. You know its didn't cost that much for the lab to process! What a meanie!
i got that test last year with my baby and if i remember right, my doctor told me that the state of california covers that test for everyone... look into it at a state level, hopefully they haven't passed any new laws... ps. i'm in love with ALL your photos!!
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