US health insurance
Aug 12th 2021, 10:20 am
#136
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: East Seaxe
Posts: 72,527
Re: US health insurance
Australian sherry! Excellent. Yes, it was a no-brainer and still would be anyway since after six months of Cobra I would have been on my own and wouldn't have been able to take up the plan from work. And to be fair to them, it was a Covid layoff and they did give me a decent severance payment. It's the US health care "system" that's screwed.
Aug 12th 2021, 4:55 pm
#137
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,110
Re: US health insurance
The marketing blurb from the Medicare Advantage Plan offered a $50 gift card for completing a colonoscopy. Instead of this, we received a bill for $275. Well, when I say "we", I mean wife as I am too much of a coward to volunteer for a colonoscopy.
Apparently the colonoscopist snipped a couple of polyps while traversing this avenue, which changed the billing code. But to be fair, we received a comprehensive report with a series of pictures in full technicolor detailing the exploration and operational measures undertaken in this labyrinth. This is perhaps superior to NHS service, I have no personal experience.
Apparently the colonoscopist snipped a couple of polyps while traversing this avenue, which changed the billing code. But to be fair, we received a comprehensive report with a series of pictures in full technicolor detailing the exploration and operational measures undertaken in this labyrinth. This is perhaps superior to NHS service, I have no personal experience.
). (Maybe I asked, 'will she be anaesthetized?' - all I remember is, the doctor was being very specific and I was being too general, obviously!). During the actual procedure, I asked one of the nurses what the deal was and she said "we use Propofol". When I looked totally befuddled, she said "Michael Jackson" with a smile ... this is the drug Michael Jackson was addicted to and used (illegally) to put himself to sleep most nights (and killed him!).
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...n-201111073772
Propofol: the drug that killed Michael Jackson
"Like many sedating anesthetics, propofol lowers blood pressure and suppresses breathing, so the heart function and breathing of patients need to be constantly monitored. “I won’t leave a patient unattended for a second,” said Dr. Aglio."I believe this is the reason the UK don't administer it during colonoscopies - it's considered an unnecessary risk. Well, that, and it whacks the cost of the procedure way up, since you have to have attending nurses/specialists just to keep a close eye on the patient due to the propofol (in addition to whatever surgery is taking place). I'm very happy to take that risk (and pay that price, if needed) so as not to be aware of what they are doing!
Aug 13th 2021, 6:21 am
#138
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2018
Location: California
Posts: 254
Re: US health insurance
Also perhaps because, having accompanied a patient both here and in the UK, whereas here they had to make arrangements to escort the patient to my car, in the UK they could simply discharge the patient.
The cost here for us was way more than $275 or $4,500- I can't remember how much it was, but it was in 5 figures and knocked out our OOP of $7,000 in one go.
The cost here for us was way more than $275 or $4,500- I can't remember how much it was, but it was in 5 figures and knocked out our OOP of $7,000 in one go.
Aug 27th 2021, 7:10 pm
#139
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,110
Re: US health insurance
Two very recent updates / incidents ...
1) My girlfriend had very sophisticated retinal surgery in July ('vitrectomy', to fix retinal detachment; they poke the eyeball with three or four micro-tools and scrape / manipulate the inside-back of the eye). Total of about 4 hours in the hospital, 1 hour actual surgery. Bills so far - $44,000 for the hospital, $3,000 for the eye surgeon. $47,000 total so far.
2) My girlfriend had an emergency appendectomy (appendicitis) last weekend. Taken to ER, surgery at midnight, held overnight due to the appendix having 'leaked'; discharged the next day. Performed 'laparoscopically' - using a 'robot', minimally invasive. Bills so far - $110,000. She ended up back in ER on Wednesday, due to potential complications, but was discharged without additional surgery. Lots of poking, IV inserted, EKG taken, Blood-work done - probably cost another several thousand ...
The QUALITY of care was absolutely outstanding in both cases. She's now over 65 so on 'Medicare', and we don't expect to have to pay for much of this. Also, as discussed at length, actual payments by insurance are likely going to be less than 50% of these numbers. I'll try to update when final bills are seen.
1) My girlfriend had very sophisticated retinal surgery in July ('vitrectomy', to fix retinal detachment; they poke the eyeball with three or four micro-tools and scrape / manipulate the inside-back of the eye). Total of about 4 hours in the hospital, 1 hour actual surgery. Bills so far - $44,000 for the hospital, $3,000 for the eye surgeon. $47,000 total so far.
2) My girlfriend had an emergency appendectomy (appendicitis) last weekend. Taken to ER, surgery at midnight, held overnight due to the appendix having 'leaked'; discharged the next day. Performed 'laparoscopically' - using a 'robot', minimally invasive. Bills so far - $110,000. She ended up back in ER on Wednesday, due to potential complications, but was discharged without additional surgery. Lots of poking, IV inserted, EKG taken, Blood-work done - probably cost another several thousand ...
The QUALITY of care was absolutely outstanding in both cases. She's now over 65 so on 'Medicare', and we don't expect to have to pay for much of this. Also, as discussed at length, actual payments by insurance are likely going to be less than 50% of these numbers. I'll try to update when final bills are seen.
Aug 27th 2021, 9:57 pm
#140
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: US health insurance
The QUALITY of care was absolutely outstanding in both cases. She's now over 65 so on 'Medicare', and we don't expect to have to pay for much of this. Also, as discussed at length, actual payments by insurance are likely going to be less than 50% of these numbers. I'll try to update when final bills are seen.
As I'm on Medicare now, it's actually quite revealing how little Medicare seems to pay in contrast to my prior insurance. This is with "original" Medicare as opposed to an Advantage plan.
Aug 27th 2021, 11:27 pm
#141
BE Commentator
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 8,424
Re: US health insurance
The word “assignment” takes on a new meaning, no?
Aug 28th 2021, 9:19 pm
#142
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,110
Re: US health insurance
I just found this article: https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/med...-medicare-plan "The good news is all UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans have a maximum out-of-pocket limit. Regardless of your health needs, you will never pay more than the out-of-pocket limit set by Medicare each year. In 2020, the limit is $6,700, although many UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans set the limit below what Medicare allows."
So this suggests that her absolute max out-of-pocket for the year won't be over $6,700 (adjusted for 2021).
She has something that is called "Medicare Advantage Secure Horizons Focus (HMO)" - and looking that up, it seems her max OOP is $3,200. Her monthly premium for this is $64 (on top of the other Medicare premiums).
Honestly, given the amount and quality of the care she received, I suspect she'll gladly pay that amount.
Aug 28th 2021, 9:56 pm
#143
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: US health insurance
Colonoscopy discomfort is bad enough with the Propofol, I could not imagine one without it.
I have no idea how much a colonoscopy costs here per patient, while the government doesn't run healthcare, they are the single payer for it, but I wouldn't say its socialized because most providers are private for profit companies, the government just happens to be the sole insurance provider and chooses not to have monthly premiums or co-pays but at one time we did in BC have monthly premiums based on income and family size, but they did away with that and added a payroll tax instead so shifted the burden off people onto companies.
My GP office is owned by a private for profit company traded on the Toronto stock exchange, with a major Hong Kong investor backing the company and they also own a company in the US that provides anesthesia services at ambulatory surgical centers, and they have subsidiaries in medical record keeping around the world, really quite an extensive portfolio this company has, but if you asked many Americans they would be convinced the government runs it all here.
I have no idea how much a colonoscopy costs here per patient, while the government doesn't run healthcare, they are the single payer for it, but I wouldn't say its socialized because most providers are private for profit companies, the government just happens to be the sole insurance provider and chooses not to have monthly premiums or co-pays but at one time we did in BC have monthly premiums based on income and family size, but they did away with that and added a payroll tax instead so shifted the burden off people onto companies.
My GP office is owned by a private for profit company traded on the Toronto stock exchange, with a major Hong Kong investor backing the company and they also own a company in the US that provides anesthesia services at ambulatory surgical centers, and they have subsidiaries in medical record keeping around the world, really quite an extensive portfolio this company has, but if you asked many Americans they would be convinced the government runs it all here.
$275! In US medical terms, that's the price of a band-aid! I would pay that just to shut them up. I just looked at my bills from that time. I was initially billed $3,800, which they reduced to $1,496 through some 'insurance rates'. That was for the doctor who performed the procedure. Then I got a bill for $675 from the 'surgery center', which they reduced to $263. So total initial billing around $4,500, reduced to around $1,700. I didn't pay a penny!
My g/f just had serious eye surgery (retinal detachment). During the pre-op consults, I asked "will she be sedated"; "no", he said, "we can't do that" - which sounded horrific since they stick needles and tools into the eyeball! But then he said, "you won't be aware of a thing, we will xxxx" (and unfortunately, I can't remember the term xxxx ). (Maybe I asked, 'will she be anaesthetized?' - all I remember is, the doctor was being very specific and I was being too general, obviously!).
During the actual procedure, I asked one of the nurses what the deal was and she said "we use Propofol". When I looked totally befuddled, she said "Michael Jackson" with a smile ... this is the drug Michael Jackson was addicted to and used (illegally) to put himself to sleep most nights (and killed him!).
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...n-201111073772
I believe this is the reason the UK don't administer it during colonoscopies - it's considered an unnecessary risk. Well, that, and it whacks the cost of the procedure way up, since you have to have attending nurses/specialists just to keep a close eye on the patient due to the propofol (in addition to whatever surgery is taking place). I'm very happy to take that risk (and pay that price, if needed) so as not to be aware of what they are doing!
My g/f just had serious eye surgery (retinal detachment). During the pre-op consults, I asked "will she be sedated"; "no", he said, "we can't do that" - which sounded horrific since they stick needles and tools into the eyeball! But then he said, "you won't be aware of a thing, we will xxxx" (and unfortunately, I can't remember the term xxxx
). (Maybe I asked, 'will she be anaesthetized?' - all I remember is, the doctor was being very specific and I was being too general, obviously!).During the actual procedure, I asked one of the nurses what the deal was and she said "we use Propofol". When I looked totally befuddled, she said "Michael Jackson" with a smile ... this is the drug Michael Jackson was addicted to and used (illegally) to put himself to sleep most nights (and killed him!).
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...n-201111073772
Propofol: the drug that killed Michael Jackson
"Like many sedating anesthetics, propofol lowers blood pressure and suppresses breathing, so the heart function and breathing of patients need to be constantly monitored. “I won’t leave a patient unattended for a second,” said Dr. Aglio."I believe this is the reason the UK don't administer it during colonoscopies - it's considered an unnecessary risk. Well, that, and it whacks the cost of the procedure way up, since you have to have attending nurses/specialists just to keep a close eye on the patient due to the propofol (in addition to whatever surgery is taking place). I'm very happy to take that risk (and pay that price, if needed) so as not to be aware of what they are doing!
Last edited by Jerseygirl; Aug 28th 2021 at 10:12 pm. Reason: Reduced large blank space
Oct 4th 2021, 3:39 am
#144
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,110
Re: US health insurance
....
2) My girlfriend had an emergency appendectomy (appendicitis) last weekend. Taken to ER, surgery at midnight, held overnight due to the appendix having 'leaked'; discharged the next day. Performed 'laparoscopically' - using a 'robot', minimally invasive. Bills so far - $110,000. She ended up back in ER on Wednesday, due to potential complications, but was discharged without additional surgery. Lots of poking, IV inserted, EKG taken, Blood-work done - probably cost another several thousand ...
The QUALITY of care was absolutely outstanding in both cases. She's now over 65 so on 'Medicare', and we don't expect to have to pay for much of this. Also, as discussed at length, actual payments by insurance are likely going to be less than 50% of these numbers. I'll try to update when final bills are seen.
2) My girlfriend had an emergency appendectomy (appendicitis) last weekend. Taken to ER, surgery at midnight, held overnight due to the appendix having 'leaked'; discharged the next day. Performed 'laparoscopically' - using a 'robot', minimally invasive. Bills so far - $110,000. She ended up back in ER on Wednesday, due to potential complications, but was discharged without additional surgery. Lots of poking, IV inserted, EKG taken, Blood-work done - probably cost another several thousand ...
The QUALITY of care was absolutely outstanding in both cases. She's now over 65 so on 'Medicare', and we don't expect to have to pay for much of this. Also, as discussed at length, actual payments by insurance are likely going to be less than 50% of these numbers. I'll try to update when final bills are seen.
and
So my take on this is, the hospital charged $104,669.87, and the Insurance Company simply 'adjusted' that to the tune of $90,205.178 ... reducing the hospital bill to $14,164.09. $14k sounds about right! As an example, the charge of $4.9k for 'Laboratory' was just a few blood / urine tests. 'Pharmacy' charge of $5.1k was for the few medications used during the visit (and possibly surgery). 'Room and Board' of $9.3k was for her stay in the hospital from about 1am till 4pm the same day. If she didn't have insurance, I'm sure these charges would have been written off / down similarly. So what is the point of such incredibly marked-up prices? Is it for tax write-off purposes? It seems a bit pointless to charge such high rates when I don't think anyone ever pays these amounts. I doubt even the richest man on earth would pay these prices!
Oct 4th 2021, 4:40 am
#145
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: US health insurance
Doctors billed extra on top?
I remember in 2002 being in the hospital, I thought the 32,000 hospital bill was bad, but then I started to get bills from doctors, I don't even recall seeing some of the doctors, all those added another 10,000 or so, all said and done it was like 43,000 and holy they even itemized every flipping latex glove they used, of course heavily marked up.
I had insurance but they were of the opinion the doctor screwed up and I didn't need to be hospitalized so refused to cover, flash forward to 2004 and I was fed up, saw a lawyer, 2 choices, I could fight the insurance company and win most likely but it would cost a lot more than the money owed, or I could file bankruptcy, so bankruptcy it was, $1,500 bankruptcy made it all go away, then I moved to Canada and didn't have any negative effect from the bankruptcy, the hospital did send a lawyer to my hearing to dispute but the judge pretty much told them too bad so sad.
Wasn't my first choice, but I couldn't pay that much money off, the hospital were being pricks about arranging a reasonable repayment, had they just worked with me, they would have gotten something rather than nothing.
My wife on the flip side when she was 20 in NYC at film school and had her first manic episode ended up in a NYC hospital for 3 months, her bill was fully paid by some charitible organization.
Seems hit or miss if you can get a charity to cover your bill.
I kind of wish BC sent informational bills to us after treatment, not to pay but just to make people aware of the cost of healthcare, although I doubt that surgery costs the BC government 6 figures,
Anesthesiology appears to reimburse the doctor $35 to $50 per 15 minutes here depending on complexity, for basic rate, if they need to other stuff like resucitation they can bill more, but that is the basic per 15 minute rate the doctor can bill.
Surgeon for an appendix removal payment is 480.30, if laproscoptic the doctor can also bill 50% of the laproscoptic fee.
No idea what the cost of supplies and such in the hospital are, but gives an idea of what the doctors can bill base rate anyhow, there is a lot of stuff doctors can bill the province for that may not in addition to the base rate.
If the appendix is perforated with abscess or generalized peritonitis the surgeon can bill 505.30 instead of 480.30
You get a basic ward room without cost in BC, but if you want a TV, phone, semi-private or private room you have to pay extra for those. Its kind of amusing as when admitted someone will come around to upsell you a TV and phone rental package.
I remember in 2002 being in the hospital, I thought the 32,000 hospital bill was bad, but then I started to get bills from doctors, I don't even recall seeing some of the doctors, all those added another 10,000 or so, all said and done it was like 43,000 and holy they even itemized every flipping latex glove they used, of course heavily marked up.
I had insurance but they were of the opinion the doctor screwed up and I didn't need to be hospitalized so refused to cover, flash forward to 2004 and I was fed up, saw a lawyer, 2 choices, I could fight the insurance company and win most likely but it would cost a lot more than the money owed, or I could file bankruptcy, so bankruptcy it was, $1,500 bankruptcy made it all go away, then I moved to Canada and didn't have any negative effect from the bankruptcy, the hospital did send a lawyer to my hearing to dispute but the judge pretty much told them too bad so sad.
Wasn't my first choice, but I couldn't pay that much money off, the hospital were being pricks about arranging a reasonable repayment, had they just worked with me, they would have gotten something rather than nothing.
My wife on the flip side when she was 20 in NYC at film school and had her first manic episode ended up in a NYC hospital for 3 months, her bill was fully paid by some charitible organization.
Seems hit or miss if you can get a charity to cover your bill.
I kind of wish BC sent informational bills to us after treatment, not to pay but just to make people aware of the cost of healthcare, although I doubt that surgery costs the BC government 6 figures,
Anesthesiology appears to reimburse the doctor $35 to $50 per 15 minutes here depending on complexity, for basic rate, if they need to other stuff like resucitation they can bill more, but that is the basic per 15 minute rate the doctor can bill.
Surgeon for an appendix removal payment is 480.30, if laproscoptic the doctor can also bill 50% of the laproscoptic fee.
No idea what the cost of supplies and such in the hospital are, but gives an idea of what the doctors can bill base rate anyhow, there is a lot of stuff doctors can bill the province for that may not in addition to the base rate.
If the appendix is perforated with abscess or generalized peritonitis the surgeon can bill 505.30 instead of 480.30
You get a basic ward room without cost in BC, but if you want a TV, phone, semi-private or private room you have to pay extra for those. Its kind of amusing as when admitted someone will come around to upsell you a TV and phone rental package.
We received a bill recently. $200 is her part, so far! Here's an extract from the bill.
and
So my take on this is, the hospital charged $104,669.87, and the Insurance Company simply 'adjusted' that to the tune of $90,205.178 ... reducing the hospital bill to $14,164.09. $14k sounds about right! As an example, the charge of $4.9k for 'Laboratory' was just a few blood / urine tests. 'Pharmacy' charge of $5.1k was for the few medications used during the visit (and possibly surgery). 'Room and Board' of $9.3k was for her stay in the hospital from about 1am till 4pm the same day. If she didn't have insurance, I'm sure these charges would have been written off / down similarly. So what is the point of such incredibly marked-up prices? Is it for tax write-off purposes? It seems a bit pointless to charge such high rates when I don't think anyone ever pays these amounts. I doubt even the richest man on earth would pay these prices!
and
So my take on this is, the hospital charged $104,669.87, and the Insurance Company simply 'adjusted' that to the tune of $90,205.178 ... reducing the hospital bill to $14,164.09. $14k sounds about right! As an example, the charge of $4.9k for 'Laboratory' was just a few blood / urine tests. 'Pharmacy' charge of $5.1k was for the few medications used during the visit (and possibly surgery). 'Room and Board' of $9.3k was for her stay in the hospital from about 1am till 4pm the same day. If she didn't have insurance, I'm sure these charges would have been written off / down similarly. So what is the point of such incredibly marked-up prices? Is it for tax write-off purposes? It seems a bit pointless to charge such high rates when I don't think anyone ever pays these amounts. I doubt even the richest man on earth would pay these prices!
Last edited by scrubbedexpat091; Oct 4th 2021 at 4:53 am.
Oct 4th 2021, 5:18 am
#146
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,110
Re: US health insurance
Oh, I suspect we'll see a steady flow of additional bills! The doctor who did the surgery has already had her come back twice for follow-ups in her office. And there was her return to ER 3 days later which hasn't shown up yet.
That's an interesting cautionary tale!
That is funny! They certainly didn't ask her what type of room she wanted! It was a massive room, with private toilet / shower, TV, huge windows and a nice view. And they kept calling while I was there to ask her what her food choices were for the next meal! The food looked pretty good, actually - I had a quick taste of it since my g/f was not in the least bit hungry ... a nice piece of salmon!
I thought it was really tacky that, soon after admission (and before much was done about her 'condition') a lovely lady came by to 'settle the bill'. Pages and pages to sign (very difficult with all the intravenous stuff in her arm), and then they ask for a payment method (this is for the $90 fee that was listed above). So I had to fish around for her credit cards while she lay there in agony! During her second ER visit a few days later, they did this again. I got slightly annoyed with them when they were pushing her to sign page after page, and said 'do we really have to do this now?' to which she replied, 'you can verbally attest if you wish' ... now she tells me ...
I remember in 2002 being in the hospital, I thought the 32,000 hospital bill was bad, but then I started to get bills from doctors, I don't even recall seeing some of the doctors, all those added another 10,000 or so, all said and done it was like 43,000 and holy they even itemized every flipping latex glove they used, of course heavily marked up.
I had insurance but they were of the opinion the doctor screwed up and I didn't need to be hospitalized so refused to cover, flash forward to 2004 and I was fed up, saw a lawyer, 2 choices, I could fight the insurance company and win most likely but it would cost a lot more than the money owed, or I could file bankruptcy, so bankruptcy it was, $1,500 bankruptcy made it all go away, then I moved to Canada and didn't have any negative effect from the bankruptcy, the hospital did send a lawyer to my hearing to dispute but the judge pretty much told them too bad so sad.
Wasn't my first choice, but I couldn't pay that much money off, the hospital were being pricks about arranging a reasonable repayment, had they just worked with me, they would have gotten something rather than nothing.
...
I had insurance but they were of the opinion the doctor screwed up and I didn't need to be hospitalized so refused to cover, flash forward to 2004 and I was fed up, saw a lawyer, 2 choices, I could fight the insurance company and win most likely but it would cost a lot more than the money owed, or I could file bankruptcy, so bankruptcy it was, $1,500 bankruptcy made it all go away, then I moved to Canada and didn't have any negative effect from the bankruptcy, the hospital did send a lawyer to my hearing to dispute but the judge pretty much told them too bad so sad.
Wasn't my first choice, but I couldn't pay that much money off, the hospital were being pricks about arranging a reasonable repayment, had they just worked with me, they would have gotten something rather than nothing.
...
I thought it was really tacky that, soon after admission (and before much was done about her 'condition') a lovely lady came by to 'settle the bill'. Pages and pages to sign (very difficult with all the intravenous stuff in her arm), and then they ask for a payment method (this is for the $90 fee that was listed above). So I had to fish around for her credit cards while she lay there in agony! During her second ER visit a few days later, they did this again. I got slightly annoyed with them when they were pushing her to sign page after page, and said 'do we really have to do this now?' to which she replied, 'you can verbally attest if you wish' ... now she tells me ...
Oct 4th 2021, 6:08 am
#147
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: US health insurance
Oh, I suspect we'll see a steady flow of additional bills! The doctor who did the surgery has already had her come back twice for follow-ups in her office. And there was her return to ER 3 days later which hasn't shown up yet.
That's an interesting cautionary tale!
That is funny! They certainly didn't ask her what type of room she wanted! It was a massive room, with private toilet / shower, TV, huge windows and a nice view. And they kept calling while I was there to ask her what her food choices were for the next meal! The food looked pretty good, actually - I had a quick taste of it since my g/f was not in the least bit hungry ... a nice piece of salmon!
I thought it was really tacky that, soon after admission (and before much was done about her 'condition') a lovely lady came by to 'settle the bill'. Pages and pages to sign (very difficult with all the intravenous stuff in her arm), and then they ask for a payment method (this is for the $90 fee that was listed above). So I had to fish around for her credit cards while she lay there in agony! During her second ER visit a few days later, they did this again. I got slightly annoyed with them when they were pushing her to sign page after page, and said 'do we really have to do this now?' to which she replied, 'you can verbally attest if you wish' ... now she tells me ...
That's an interesting cautionary tale!
That is funny! They certainly didn't ask her what type of room she wanted! It was a massive room, with private toilet / shower, TV, huge windows and a nice view. And they kept calling while I was there to ask her what her food choices were for the next meal! The food looked pretty good, actually - I had a quick taste of it since my g/f was not in the least bit hungry ... a nice piece of salmon!
I thought it was really tacky that, soon after admission (and before much was done about her 'condition') a lovely lady came by to 'settle the bill'. Pages and pages to sign (very difficult with all the intravenous stuff in her arm), and then they ask for a payment method (this is for the $90 fee that was listed above). So I had to fish around for her credit cards while she lay there in agony! During her second ER visit a few days later, they did this again. I got slightly annoyed with them when they were pushing her to sign page after page, and said 'do we really have to do this now?' to which she replied, 'you can verbally attest if you wish' ... now she tells me ...
Yes the payment/billing person is annoying in US hospitals, probably the most annoying aspect, its much similier here, just show them my drivers license, they look me up, ask a few questions to make sure phone, address, GP info is all up to date, discharge the nurse just relays any information the doctor may have left, prescriptions and related, they did have me sign a discharge sheet that the nurse explained everything to me, and I understood, but nothing like the US, and another upside, I have to yet ever sign pages of legal releases that seem so common in the US, hospitals, they waste no time seeing how much they can extract from you.
Luckily I was always mobile so if I got too hungry, I would go to the hospital pharmacy store in the lobby and buy snacks, or go to the cafeteria which had better food, but obviously have to pay for that food, a couple times I went to the ER and ask for a sandwich they have those for patients who are admitted between meals, those are pretty good, I spent 8 weeks in the place so I got to know the Abbotsford hospital pretty well.
Note to anyone who visits Canada, make sure you either have travel medical or your US medical covers you, because Canadian hospitals while cheaper than the US, are still quite pricey for those who are not a resident, BC for example the ER walk in the door fee is $700-$800 for non-residents, plus any lab fees, doctor fees, ect, and while cheaper than the US, its not exactly cheap and also in BC they usually wont direct bill insurance either so you may need to pay upfront for care depending on severity and nature of the healthcare need.
Ground Ambulance is $848 for non-BC residents.
Last edited by scrubbedexpat091; Oct 4th 2021 at 6:19 am.
Dec 2nd 2021, 4:14 am
#148
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,110
Re: US health insurance
I thought I'd update this existing thread with some info on MRI's.
I need to have an MRI due to some weird 'head' issues. I had one back in 2016, and just went with the doctor's referrals. It was a "brain MRI, with and without contrast". The billed price was about $2,400, and the 'negotiated' price was about $1,200, which I had to pay due to not having met my minimums. Due to numerous complications this time (I'm in California right now, and my insurance only covers me in AZ) I started calling around to find out what it would cost me without insurance. Also, I was totally freaked out last time by claustrophobia, being sucked into a narrow enclosed tube, so this time I researched some of the alternatives. Turns out there are 'open' MRIs and even 'stand up MRIs'. The 'open MRI's have a much larger 'bore' and narrower 'length' dimension, and the 'stand up' MRIs are even better - you sit or stand upright between two 'planes', and can watch TV while the MRI occurs (see pics below).
Seems like there is a thriving 'cottage industry' of private MRI operations that are charging a lot less than the major providers. I was quoted $450 'cash price' for a basic brain MRI (without contrast) and $675 with contrast, in the Bay Area. The 'stand up' place wanted about $800 'direct pay' (no insurance). I called a few outfits in Arizona, and they were typically half the price - the cheapest quote I got for a basic MRI was about $250, 'cash price'. Since I've not met my deductibles, it's all going to come out of my pocket anyway so I'm just going to go with 'cash price'. I don't know much about MRIs, but I know that a qualified technician has to 'interpret' the information, and create a report (I think this is the radiologist). I confirmed that the radiologist fee is included in the price quoted. I can only hope the training / qualifications of the radiologists are all comparable!
I got my doc to prescribe me some valium even though I'm going with the 'open' type ...
This is the 'open' MRI that I looked into:
and this is the 'standup' MRI:
I'll be doing this next week so will report back on what it was like ...
I need to have an MRI due to some weird 'head' issues. I had one back in 2016, and just went with the doctor's referrals. It was a "brain MRI, with and without contrast". The billed price was about $2,400, and the 'negotiated' price was about $1,200, which I had to pay due to not having met my minimums. Due to numerous complications this time (I'm in California right now, and my insurance only covers me in AZ) I started calling around to find out what it would cost me without insurance. Also, I was totally freaked out last time by claustrophobia, being sucked into a narrow enclosed tube, so this time I researched some of the alternatives. Turns out there are 'open' MRIs and even 'stand up MRIs'. The 'open MRI's have a much larger 'bore' and narrower 'length' dimension, and the 'stand up' MRIs are even better - you sit or stand upright between two 'planes', and can watch TV while the MRI occurs (see pics below).
Seems like there is a thriving 'cottage industry' of private MRI operations that are charging a lot less than the major providers. I was quoted $450 'cash price' for a basic brain MRI (without contrast) and $675 with contrast, in the Bay Area. The 'stand up' place wanted about $800 'direct pay' (no insurance). I called a few outfits in Arizona, and they were typically half the price - the cheapest quote I got for a basic MRI was about $250, 'cash price'. Since I've not met my deductibles, it's all going to come out of my pocket anyway so I'm just going to go with 'cash price'. I don't know much about MRIs, but I know that a qualified technician has to 'interpret' the information, and create a report (I think this is the radiologist). I confirmed that the radiologist fee is included in the price quoted. I can only hope the training / qualifications of the radiologists are all comparable!
I got my doc to prescribe me some valium even though I'm going with the 'open' type ...
This is the 'open' MRI that I looked into:
and this is the 'standup' MRI:
I'll be doing this next week so will report back on what it was like ...
Dec 2nd 2021, 4:24 am
#149
Account Closed
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 0
Re: US health insurance
I thought I'd update this existing thread with some info on MRI's.
I need to have an MRI due to some weird 'head' issues. I had one back in 2016, and just went with the doctor's referrals. It was a "brain MRI, with and without contrast". The billed price was about $2,400, and the 'negotiated' price was about $1,200, which I had to pay due to not having met my minimums. Due to numerous complications this time (I'm in California right now, and my insurance only covers me in AZ) I started calling around to find out what it would cost me without insurance. Also, I was totally freaked out last time by claustrophobia, being sucked into a narrow enclosed tube, so this time I researched some of the alternatives. Turns out there are 'open' MRIs and even 'stand up MRIs'. The 'open MRI's have a much larger 'bore' and narrower 'length' dimension, and the 'stand up' MRIs are even better - you sit or stand upright between two 'planes', and can watch TV while the MRI occurs (see pics below).
Seems like there is a thriving 'cottage industry' of private MRI operations that are charging a lot less than the major providers. I was quoted $450 'cash price' for a basic brain MRI (without contrast) and $675 with contrast, in the Bay Area. The 'stand up' place wanted about $800 'direct pay' (no insurance). I called a few outfits in Arizona, and they were typically half the price - the cheapest quote I got for a basic MRI was about $250, 'cash price'. Since I've not met my deductibles, it's all going to come out of my pocket anyway so I'm just going to go with 'cash price'. I don't know much about MRIs, but I know that a qualified technician has to 'interpret' the information, and create a report (I think this is the radiologist). I confirmed that the radiologist fee is included in the price quoted. I can only hope the training / qualifications of the radiologists are all comparable!
I got my doc to prescribe me some valium even though I'm going with the 'open' type ...
This is the 'open' MRI that I looked into:
and this is the 'standup' MRI:
I'll be doing this next week so will report back on what it was like ...
I need to have an MRI due to some weird 'head' issues. I had one back in 2016, and just went with the doctor's referrals. It was a "brain MRI, with and without contrast". The billed price was about $2,400, and the 'negotiated' price was about $1,200, which I had to pay due to not having met my minimums. Due to numerous complications this time (I'm in California right now, and my insurance only covers me in AZ) I started calling around to find out what it would cost me without insurance. Also, I was totally freaked out last time by claustrophobia, being sucked into a narrow enclosed tube, so this time I researched some of the alternatives. Turns out there are 'open' MRIs and even 'stand up MRIs'. The 'open MRI's have a much larger 'bore' and narrower 'length' dimension, and the 'stand up' MRIs are even better - you sit or stand upright between two 'planes', and can watch TV while the MRI occurs (see pics below).
Seems like there is a thriving 'cottage industry' of private MRI operations that are charging a lot less than the major providers. I was quoted $450 'cash price' for a basic brain MRI (without contrast) and $675 with contrast, in the Bay Area. The 'stand up' place wanted about $800 'direct pay' (no insurance). I called a few outfits in Arizona, and they were typically half the price - the cheapest quote I got for a basic MRI was about $250, 'cash price'. Since I've not met my deductibles, it's all going to come out of my pocket anyway so I'm just going to go with 'cash price'. I don't know much about MRIs, but I know that a qualified technician has to 'interpret' the information, and create a report (I think this is the radiologist). I confirmed that the radiologist fee is included in the price quoted. I can only hope the training / qualifications of the radiologists are all comparable!
I got my doc to prescribe me some valium even though I'm going with the 'open' type ...
This is the 'open' MRI that I looked into:
and this is the 'standup' MRI:
I'll be doing this next week so will report back on what it was like ...
Recently I had another one but it was after surgery and I was still fairly dopey and full of morphine.It was actually a tunnel but I honestly don't remember a thing about it
Good luck
Dec 2nd 2021, 5:39 am
#150
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,110
Re: US health insurance
Good call on getting Valium. I did the tunnel one years ago, well I actually didn't do it because it freaked me out and I asked them to stop. We found an open one but I still had a Valium mostly because the first experience had made me really nervous.
Recently I had another one but it was after surgery and I was still fairly dopey and full of morphine.It was actually a tunnel but I honestly don't remember a thing about it
Good luck
Recently I had another one but it was after surgery and I was still fairly dopey and full of morphine.It was actually a tunnel but I honestly don't remember a thing about it
Good luck
. I have a question no one seems to be able to answer ... if you are having, say, a breast MRI or a stomach MRI, do they still put you in 'head first'? It seems totally illogical / unnecessary that they will put you in head first; they should be able to put you in 'feet first', leaving your head un-restricted, and thus not causing claustrophobia.