Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Random Medical Stories

One
Here is how you put a sock on when you're not able to bend down to your feet (or cross your legs). It's pretty ingenious & I may continue to use it just for the fun of using a gadget.



Two
This was a sorry state of affairs. I was in my office & dropped my grabber. Rather than ask Dr. M to pick it up for me I went into the kitchen & got our other grabber. I guess if I'd dropped that one too I would have had to call for backup.


Three
I received this bill in the mail. On the back it said: Your insurance carrier has processed your claim. The remaining balance on the account is your responsibility. I was understandably a little bit freaked out.



I had been keeping an eye on the hospital bill on my insurance website, but it had not been finalized. I called my insurance company and was told that the amount that I actually owe is a little over $600. She called the hospital to find out why they sent a bill before they heard back from insurance & was told that it wasn't really a bill. It was just a notification. We both were a little bit skeptical. What do you think? Would you think this was a bill?

During my pre-op hospital visit they had me go ahead & pay the amount that they thought would be due after my insurance was processed - a little over $3,000. So they actually owe me money. They sent this not-bill 18 days after my surgery. How quickly do you think they'll process my refund?

Note: The care I received and the staff at the hospital was top notch. Even the food was good. However, I'm a little disappointed in the billing department at the moment!

10 comments:

  1. Considering that it says "Due upon receipt," yes, it's a bill. Shame on that hospital! I bet they terrify and confuse a lot of people that way.

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  2. I think $78K qualifies as a chunk of change! Here's one for you. After my mother's death in July of 2011, I was up in Illinois, doing a little extra traveling with a friend after the October burial of her ashes. I got a phone call one day just after we'd stopped for lunch. It was the hospital billing department, wanting to know why I hadn't paid a certain bill. When I asked for the date of the bill, the woman told me it was for services rendered in August.

    You can imagine what I told her. I thought my offer to send a copy of the death certificate was a nice touch.

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  3. It does look like a bill, and it would have freaked me out had I received it.

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  4. Billing departments of any medical thing is never on the same time. Insurance companies are ALWAYYYYYYYS slow in paying - I've had bills that I didnt pay that insurance paid MONTHS later & I'm always like, "What if I paid that?"... I've learned to always wait a bit to pay a bill.

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  5. looks like a bill to me but then I freak out every time I get something similar from the medical center where my doctor is. looks like a bill but if I would look at the bottom line where it says amount due 0.00 my blood pressure wouldn't shoot up.

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  6. Medical billing is always a nightmare and madness. Thank goodness you feel well enough to stay on top of it. Can you imagine someone quite elderly and alone getting that? Health care is such a shame in this country.

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  7. Scary!!! Hope the refund happens in a timely fashion.

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  8. I'm glad it was not a bill and you are not forced into any kind of 'Breaking Bad' situation to pay it...

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  9. Medical billing is crazy! Yet it's common practice that you get a service and they don't know how much it will cost you. Could you imagine going to a hair salon, asking for a wash, cut, color, and highlights - and they estimate it will cost $80, make you pay that...and then, much later, tell you that it actually cost $72?

    Anyway, I'm happy you don't have to pay that amount!

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  10. Looks like a bill to me.

    That sock thingy is really something.

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Thanks for stopping by - I'd love to hear what you have to say!

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