HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Aghast at cost of shot

Support Forums
>
Fibromyalgia
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 2/24/2012 7:47 PM (GMT 0)
Holy guacamole!  shocked

Last night I opened a bill from the dr's office where I got my steroid injection a couple of weeks ago.  Then I about spit out my burrito.  The total cost was almost $3,000 and our share is almost $1,000!  I was incredulous.  My poor hubby, who's trying to make ends meet in a slow season, didn't even want to think about it   cry  so I can't bellyache to him.  My SIL and her son have had these, I can't believe she left this little detail out.

I called their office this morning just to confirm that it was right.  Yep.  The even better news is, I'll be getting a separate bill from the doctor who tortured me.  Apparently, they usually explain everything (like the cost) to the prospective shot-ee ahead of time, in a letter or over the phone.  But since I got it right after an appointment, it was rushed and they left that little detail out.  I figured probably $100 at most, and felt guilty even about that.  I did ask someone when I was signing papers, but she didn't know. 

Now I feel like a real rube for not pressing the issue beforehand.  NO WAY would I have done it if I'd known, especially because I already knew I would need surgery - this was just to help with pain beforehand.  Well, if it's helped at all, it's not much, and I'm still sore where he stuck me! 

I guess it just means we'll hit the deductible faster.  Gee, I can't wait for the actual surgery bill - 30% of which we'll have to cough up.....don't get me started on our healthcare system...  skull  

Debbie  

 

 

Posted 2/24/2012 8:07 PM (GMT 0)
Holy Moly, Debbie.  I know all about the shock of getting a bill that seems so outrageous.  The hubby had kidney stones, went to the ER where they wheeled him away for what they told me was an 'x-ray'. (they knocked him out with morphine and he doesn't even remember that day or what they did to him.)  Anyway, the x-ray turned out to be an an MRI with contrast  and two CT scans as the first two were 'inconclusive'.  They couldn't see the stone so they sent him home and told him to go to the urologist the next morning.  That bill was over $4500 and we didn't have health insurance.  The urologist took a plan old x-ray that cost $40, saw two stones, sent him home to pee in a strainer.  I about had a stroke when I saw the bill for those three scans as they never told me that's what they were going to do...-x-ray' does NOT mean MRI or CT scan to me!  We were told to report the hospital to the State Attorney General and we did as they are supposed to inform you of any test of that nature and cost.  It got us nowhere.  What our lawyer said to do was pay them $5 a month for the rest of forever...which we did!

It's a crime.  To this day I wonder if they even took all those scans as he has no memory of any of it and I wasn't there.

And don't get me started on Health care in this country either...LOL!

Huggies

Donna

Posted 2/24/2012 10:26 PM (GMT 0)
Wow, what a shock. I once was billed for charges above "reasonable and customary" because my surgery took longer due to hospital equipment malfunction. Yep, the hospital equipment (laparascopic camera) malfunctioned while I was in surgery, and they tried to bill me for the extra operating room, anesthesia, etc. costs that insurance wouldn't pay because the surgery took so long. I fought that one, and eventually I won.

That stinks about the steroid injection. The crazy thing is, I wonder if you had called ahead if you would have even been able to get a price beforehand. I've had trouble many times trying to price a procedure before I had it done; it seems like it's just an arbitrary number that no one seems to know.

Hopefully, the hospital will accept small payments over a long period of time.
Posted 2/25/2012 12:23 AM (GMT 0)
Any time you have x-rays, go to the Medical Records department (or it's probably called the information technology department now) and sign a request to get a copy of the report. Even though you have the test done in Radiology, they cannot issue a report to you, so you have to go to Medical Records.
Posted 2/25/2012 1:17 AM (GMT 0)
Donna, that's awful! It really does make you wonder if they did what they billed you for. And even if they did, it's pretty weird to knock someone out for MRIs and CAT scans! It's creepy! At least your lawyer gave you some decent advice. (I've heard that before, that as long as you're making regular payments, you should be ok.) I guess we should start thinking of medical care in the same category as auto repair, where they're supposed to give you an estimate before they do any work. Cynical but true.

Linda, good for you for fighting the extra charge! I never think of checking out why something is billed above and beyond. But that's a good thing to remember. I wonder, too, if anyone in that office could have given me the price before I had the injection. They probably would have said it depends on my insurance. I'll bet there is no set price....arbitrary, like you said. What a racket healthcare is!

Debbie
Posted 2/25/2012 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
Holy Moly I am in total shock. I should stop complaining about our somewhat imperfect health system here as I had 7 shots here and paid nothing as it was 100 % covered, my surgery will be the same. I am totally blown away that you have to pay so much. I need to sit down and absorb this......sorry all I can say is sorry.
Posted 2/25/2012 5:01 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Rose. It is mind-blowing! And this is on top of high health insurance premiums.

Debbie
Posted 2/25/2012 11:04 AM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry this is the case for you. I don't have issues like this in Australia because I'm on a low income card and these things are free. My advice would be to speak to Director of the agency and ask for their protocol and then write a letter of complaint and see how far you get. If unlucky, I would then follow others advice and pay about $5 per month as surely they have a legal obligation to advise the cost of a procedure/injection prior to getting it. Most of the time when I ring and am a new patient, I get advised of the cost and what I will have to pay out of pocket without even asking. I wish you good luck :)
Posted 2/26/2012 10:20 PM (GMT 0)
Did you undergo sedation to get it done? Even getting 2 or 3 injections at once my bill has never been over $500.
Posted 2/27/2012 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
No, I didn't! (I wished I had until the bill came. That would probably have doubled it.) I'm not through fighting this yet!
Posted 2/27/2012 3:00 AM (GMT 0)
Another suggestion: you might want to ask for an itemized bill. They should be able to provide you with a list of everything you paid for from the syringe to the doctor's fee. At least you will be able to look and see exactly what that $3000 was for and make sure there aren't any mistakes.

I was shocked the last time I had surgery to see that one generic Lortab cost me $9.00 in the hospital. We stopped on the way home and filled a prescription for 10 or 15 (I don't remember exactly) of the same pill for $4 (no insurance involved). Sheesh. rolleyes
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply