Post by Daria Morgandorffer on Aug 29, 2012 8:59:41 GMT -5
My daughter has to have surgery on Tuesday to put her hip back in place (found this out approx one week ago). I just got a "courtesy call" from the hospitals insurance department where they informed me that the estimated total for her care will be approximately $3100 out of pocket.
Then she cheerfully asked me if I wanted to go ahead and take care of that today....
I wonder if the person was purposely obtuse. You would think working in a hospital billing department they would be a little more sensitive. Or maybe that is just what I think they should be.
I am not sure I am getting what your point is. You do not want to pay your part of the cost? You do not have the money to pay? You were surprised at the amount for which you were responsible? You did not like to be informed ahead of time of the amount that would come out of your pocket? You did not like to be asked for pre-payment? You have no emergency savings for such things and this is a hardship?
And, yes, many people do have that amount in savings/credit for emergencies. Recommended amount is 6+months of expenses. Life happens and it usually is expensive.
I am not sure I am getting what your point is. You do not want to pay your part of the cost? You do not have the money to pay? You were surprised at the amount for which you were responsible? You did not like to be informed ahead of time of the amount that would come out of your pocket? You did not like to be asked for pre-payment? You have no emergency savings for such things and this is a hardship?
And, yes, many people do have that amount in savings/credit for emergencies. Recommended amount is 6+months of expenses. Life happens and it usually is expensive.
I am not sure I am getting what your point is. You do not want to pay your part of the cost? You do not have the money to pay? You were surprised at the amount for which you were responsible? You did not like to be informed ahead of time of the amount that would come out of your pocket? You did not like to be asked for pre-payment? You have no emergency savings for such things and this is a hardship?
And, yes, many people do have that amount in savings/credit for emergencies. Recommended amount is 6+months of expenses. Life happens and it usually is expensive.
Hope it goes well for your daughter.
Like hell you do, lysugal. The sole point of your post was to be an asshole, and you know it.
I am not sure I am getting what your point is. You do not want to pay your part of the cost? You do not have the money to pay? You were surprised at the amount for which you were responsible? You did not like to be informed ahead of time of the amount that would come out of your pocket? You did not like to be asked for pre-payment? You have no emergency savings for such things and this is a hardship?
And, yes, many people do have that amount in savings/credit for emergencies. Recommended amount is 6+months of expenses. Life happens and it usually is expensive.
Hope it goes well for your daughter.
A lot of people DON'T have that kind of savings, precisely because of things like the cost of healthcare and housing and food and all those other pesky necessities rising at a pace that vastly overrides the rate of salary growth.
When you pay thousands of dollars in premiums, it's a little shocking to hear you also have to pay thousands in co-insurance costs for medical procedures as well, and is a massive sign that the current model is unsustainable.
It's not that we're all freeriders buying iPads instead of paying for medical costs and savings, it's that the entire system is broken. And the hospital billing depts are completely out of touch with what is feasible for the majority of healthcare consumers.
I know empathy for others is not one of your strength and you probably won't like that I quote Elizabeth Warren, but something like 90% of America is one large hospital bill away from bankruptcy.
It would be really hard to be friends IRL with someone who always makes you feel like an asshole.
No, lys, not everyone has $3000 sitting around waiting for an emergency. Some people use all their money to eat and sleep indoors. We can't all be you.
I am not sure I am getting what your point is. You do not want to pay your part of the cost? You do not have the money to pay? You were surprised at the amount for which you were responsible? You did not like to be informed ahead of time of the amount that would come out of your pocket? You did not like to be asked for pre-payment? You have no emergency savings for such things and this is a hardship?
And, yes, many people do have that amount in savings/credit for emergencies. Recommended amount is 6+months of expenses. Life happens and it usually is expensive.
Hope it goes well for your daughter.
A lot of people DON'T have that kind of savings, precisely because of things like the cost of healthcare and housing and food and all those other pesky necessities rising at a pace that vastly overrides the rate of salary growth.
When you pay thousands of dollars in premiums, it's a little shocking to hear you also have to pay thousands in co-insurance costs for medical procedures as well, and is a massive sign that the current model is unsustainable.
It's not that we're all freeriders buying iPads instead of paying for medical costs and savings, it's that the entire system is broken. And the hospital billing depts are completely out of touch with what is feasible for the majority of healthcare consumers.
Yes. Thank you.
And sure, we could scrape together enough liquid cash to pay this as a lump sum, but that would likely leave us living paycheck to paycheck for awhile and that seems like a much worse idea than spending 18 months paying this off interest free.
And Lyss's comments are unhelpful and unnecessary. We do have a 6 month E-fund and could easily pay 3,000 without it hurting but we'd still choose a payment plan to keep from depleting said fund.
I hope your daughter's surgery goes well and her recovery is quick and easy.
And Lyss's comments are unhelpful and unnecessary. We do have a 6 month E-fund and could easily pay 3,000 without it hurting but we'd still choose a payment plan to keep from depleting said fund.
This. A million times this. We have a good e-fund too, but if we had the option to pay a bill like this on a payment plan, darn sure we would.
And when did we get to the part where responsible adults, who have jobs and medical insurance can't be slightly annoyed at the cost of a necessary operation for their child? We're just supposed to pay tons for our insurance and then say, "Oh, okay. Thanks," when insurance doesn't cover a bill we figured they would.
I am not sure I am getting what your point is. You do not want to pay your part of the cost? You do not have the money to pay? You were surprised at the amount for which you were responsible? You did not like to be informed ahead of time of the amount that would come out of your pocket? You did not like to be asked for pre-payment? You have no emergency savings for such things and this is a hardship?
And, yes, many people do have that amount in savings/credit for emergencies. Recommended amount is 6+months of expenses. Life happens and it usually is expensive.
Hope it goes well for your daughter.
Fuck off. Thanks.
I loved this response because after I read the first line of lys, I thought exactly the same thing. Then I scrolled down, and there it was! I didn't even have to write it. So double ditto with a tritto on top!
It would be really hard to be friends IRL with someone who always makes you feel like an asshole.
No, lys, not everyone has $3000 sitting around waiting for an emergency. Some people use all their money to eat and sleep indoors. We can't all be you.
Dont you mean it would be hard to be friends with someone who is always an asshole? She doesnt make me feel like an asshole. She is an asshole, and probably has few, if any, friends.
And Lyss's comments are unhelpful and unnecessary. We do have a 6 month E-fund and could easily pay 3,000 without it hurting but we'd still choose a payment plan to keep from depleting said fund.
I hope your daughter's surgery goes well and her recovery is quick and easy.
We don't have quite 6 months but we have an e-find, too. I would definitely take the payment plan so that I could reserve the e-find for an actual emergency where they won't allow a payment plan.
I hope all goes well with your sweet girl's surgery. You're totally right to be annoyed. I can't even fathom if you didn't have insurance.
Is she trying to make a point about socialized healthcare here and how we should all be responsible for our own stuff and bootstraps/quiverful/damnlibrulz?
yes and no. she's pointing out that you're (daria) an irresponsible asshole for not being able to pay $3K up front, unlike she who has a million dollar liquid e-fund just sitting there, waiting to pay for a catastrophic healthcare disaster.
Another point in favor of the payment plan- my hospital grossly OVER estimated what my out of pocket would be. I cannot imagine the hell of having to be reimbursed by the inept billing staff at most hospitals