recieved our hospital estimate....boo on united health care!

[myajdw]

turns out we would have been better off doing the flat rate that the hospital offers for the uninsured!!!! how sad is that! they charge $2800 for that (for mom and baby)....not sure what my dr would've charged. but just for the hospital itself my estimate portion is $3500, and my ins company charges separately for mom and baby....that doesn't include for baby. plus we're paying $600 a month for our health ins, which we would've dropped when the rates went up ($400 freakin dollars) had it not been for the pregnancy.
okay so i just did ALL the math and now i'm just pissed....just for the hospital alone (for me and baby) it's going to be $7470, my dr was about $470....then the 9 months of ins (we pay 600, but i'm counting only the price increase of 400) was 3600. how was this ins even worth it?


geez....i just want to sit down and bawl right now. this is ridiculous, it seems like it would've been cheaper to just pay for all of it flat rate at tax time. i wish i would've known that sooner. the lady at registration said we could still do that...but i'm due next month and we just don't have that kind of $$ in our pockets right now. just when you feel like you're finally doing well $$ crap like this happens. this kind of health ins should be illegal, how is this helpful to us at all?

[offlikeapromdress]

We have UHC too but this is my second baby with it and I have never paid anything other than an ambulance bill for Sophia's trf to a better Nicu. That was $500. I didnt even get charged for her one week nicu stay or my one month stay prior to delivering. Sorry you will have to pay all that. I guess it just really depends on what your employer's plan covers. My DH works for a huge aerospace company so their benefits are really good!

[myajdw]

oooohhhh now that makes me really mad!!! my husband works for a huge nationwide company and that's their excuse for everything being so much!!!!! i talked to my mom and she told me to make some phone calls b/c this isn't right and somewhere along the lines something is wrong.
anyone else have any suggestions?

[bfoster2000]

You can find out a lot about consumer's rights at http://clarkhoward.com/ and they are generally pretty helpful if you contact them and explain the situation and ask them what your options are, etc. Also, you can try contacting the insurance commissioner in your state but they're usually not as helpful...you have to really stay on them. Good luck...that is just awful!

[ewebabymama]

Am I reading it right that your rates went UP $400 from $200 to $600? It sounds to me with that kind of rate hike that the employer is not paying any portion... I mean you can get private insurance for $600/month. If I were you I'd be calling your insurance company and your husband's employer to find out what is going on. Maybe with the rate hike your hospital is no longer in network or something? I don't know but I sure hope you get things figured out soon.

[myajdw]

yes they went UP $400 from $200 to get $600. the employer is NOT covering anymore than they were when it was only $200. the reason we stayed was b/c of the pregnancy since the pregnancy wouldn't be covered anywhere else. what happened (so says the ins company) was that last year with just my husbands company alone they rec'd 6 billion dollars in claims so they had to increase everything.
my mom and sister both said i need to call the ins company and ask some questions, my mom said to call a news station as well b/c something just isn't right and that maybe after that something will be taken care of properly.

[myajdw]

so i called the ins company and pretty much hit a brick wall....the charges are the charges is basically all i can get. i'm just a mess over this...i understand there's not really anything i can do about it and really they can't squeeze water out of a rock. well i've learned my lesson about health insurance.

[annes_cottage]

Lacey, that is just awful. I am so sorry!!! I would contact a news station like your mom said. Tell them what is happening. It is not fair at all. They will get to the bottom of it. I had something similar happen with prescriptions before. Sometimes with insurance they inflate everything. With out it I paid less than $10 for amoxicillin for my kids. Last insurance we had I had to pay $16 WITH the insurance!!!! I was NOT happy!!! I know that is nowhere compared with your amounts, but just showing I have seen the increase where insurance is not helping!! Maybe talk to medicaid in your area?? That is crazy!!

[Kellyd]

I used to work as a health care administrator- so what I'm wondering is why your insurance company isn't paying more of what the hospital is charging? And- don't go by what the hospital says it's charges are. Every insurance company negotiates what they will pay to the hospital for every procedure that is done- and it is usually MUCH less than what the hospital charges. Then, you only have to pay whatever portion they don't cover. You should have gotten a plan/benefit book each year from the insurer showing what they will cover and how. Look at it and see what it says- because unless they notify you of plan changes they have to follow what the written book says.

Next- don't agree to pay the bill until after you get the final statement from the insurance company. Under the EMTALA laws they cannot refuse services to you if you are in active labor. And- they cannot hold your or your baby hostage if you don't pay a penny when you are at the hospital. We've been told in advance of every birth (and we're working on #4) to bring payment with us to the hospital- and every time we just say we can't pay and we'll need to set up a payment plan once the insurance has paid all their portion.

Last- after you get the final insurance statement showing what you really owe (and if your hospital is contracted with your insurance they can't charge you more) if you really can't afford it- just call the hospital billing office and tell them you can't afford it. Ask for a Patient Finacial Aid Form and they will have to send it to you. It usese Federal Poverty guidelines to determine what portion- if any- you will actually have to pay.

[myajdw]

it is the insurance costs...i called and asked, this is what we'll have to pay