I am not a patient person.
It has been 5 months.
Send me the bill.
Send me the bill.
Lets negotiate a fair price.
I'll pay it off.
Move on with our lives.
By this time it is already almost 6pm yesterday and the lady at the hospital that I needed to speak to was gone for the day. I left her a message. She called back this morning. She was very sympathetic to our situation and did the extra step in her job and called the IC and said she would then call me back. She just called me back and she was able to straighten out our claim. Basically, we owe roughly $8k for our dead babies delivery. This just plain sucks. I knew it was going to be about that much, but to walk away from the hospital with no baby, it just seems a like A LOT of MONEY! The nice lady at the hospital transferred me the woman in billing to see if I can get a further discount off of this number. Well, this lady (who's voice was filled with indifference, like she could care less about her job and the people she is talking to) that you have to make less than $29k between the 2 of us to qualify, oh and yes that is BEFORE taxes. Well, I will go ahead and admit that we make a little more than that!!
So what am I to do. Do I put us on a payment plan and have to see it come out of our bank account for the next 2 years. Or do we suck it up and pay all the money and think about what a huge waste it was and our bank account will be depleted. I know we are going to have to pay some money, and we have had the most wonderful outpouring of love from family and friends supporting us financially. I have held this money in a separate account just for this purpose, but I feel that I should still be respectful of those gifts and make sure we are not just throwing it aimlessly at the hospital and giving it to our IC.
This post is by no means a beg for money. I hope that no one reads it this way. This is just what I am dealing with and this blog is my dumping ground. Most of the time when I put this "stuff" here I am able to move on and focus on other things or in some cases get my head around what is bothering me.
A few prayer requests:
Pray that I have the strength to not yell at the lady in billing.
Pray that we are able to find ways to find more money in our budget.
Pray that they will be willing to negotiate with us some.
Pray that if I do have to pay this that I can come to peace with paying it and move forward and that we will be able to save this money up again for our hopeful future babies.
I guess this is what it boils down to. That money was lovingly saved, music equipment sold, things that we went without so that we would be able to pay for their birth and walk away with the most precious babies in our arms debt free. And now yes we can still walk away debt free, but our arms are still empty and that hurts. We just wanted those babies and I would have paid more than 8k for them if I could have. I still would.
Try for compassionate grounds to get a reduction. Also, if you are willing to pay a lump sum, usually they will honor that with a discout as well. There are "buzz" words that must be used to trigger a dicount, find out what they are and use them.
ReplyDeleteDon't give up quite yet, ask specific questions. And, it sounds like the first lady was helpful, ask her specific questions and maybe she can help.
The last stop is to talk with a "manager" you know the people at the bottom keep their job by collecting the cash...but maybe a manager has more discretion to give a discount.
Also, sadly, sometimes men get more respect, so after trying several of the above options you could ask your hubby to try again.
And, somethings are regulated by the state, you might want to call them and find out what your legislated options are if you can't get anywhere with the billing dep't at the hospital.
I'm sorry that "salt" is being poured into the wounds. May God's grace be sufficient for you.
MJ
I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this. I was hoping for your sake this was all done and you could move on and not have this as a constant reminder. I wish i was rich so i could pay it for you. I think you should pay in a lump sum so you don't have the stress of it for the next few years. GL with whatever you decide to do (((hugs))
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteBILLING DRIVES ME CRAZY! It takes forever to get our bills for ANYTHING! I hate it :(
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you're dealing with this on top of the loss of your babies, that is awful! Hope that they are able to work with you. I came across your blog while seeking out other parents who have dealt with infant loss. My husband & I just lost our daughter a little over a week ago 23wks into my pregnancy. so sorry you know this type of grief & pain all too well.
ReplyDeleteLove your picture at the top of your page by the way. I also have a necklace I received to remember my daughter by, I cherish it deeply.
I am so sorry for your loss. I just found your blog thru Kelly Stamps. I don't know if you have finished with the hospital yet but here is my advice. Check your insurance. The hospital will tell you you owe money. You need to deal with the insurance company. If a claim was overpaid, the hospital will refund it and start again. You pay NO bills from the hospital untill you have the explanation of benefits from the IM. That will tell you what you owe. You don't pay a penny more. Do you know what your insurance covers? Were you in or out of network? What type of maternity plan do you have? Hospitals are very good at double billing. This means that they have a contracted rate for a service with the IM. The IM pays the reduced rate and then the hospital bills you....NOT allowed. If the bill is $1000 and the contracted rate is $500 they cannot bill you for the rest!!!
ReplyDeleteI know this is confusing but read your insurance plan. Find out exactly what your coverage it. Do not pay the hospital anything without the EOB from your insurance. I hope it works itself out quickly and easily
I work in hospital billing and I also just lost a pregnancy. I might be too late to give advice, but here goes...
ReplyDeleteThe previous commenter states "Hospitals are very good at double billing." First of all, your hospital cannot bill you for the "contracted allowance," which is the amount of money they are contractually obligated to write off based on their contract with your insurance company. The only thing that the hospital can bill you for is your copay/deductible/out-of-pocket balance as determined by your insurance company. Before you can be sent a bill for any balance, your insurance company has to finalize the processing of your claim and send an "Explanation of Benefits" (EOB) to the hospital showing (1) total charges filed for the births, (2) total paid by the insurance company, (3) total of "contractual allowance" which the hospital will write off per their contract with your insurance, and (4) patient responsibility, which is your copay/deductible/out-of-pocket balance per your policy. You can never be billed for the "contractual allowance." If you are being billed for this, the easiest way to handle it is to call your insurance company and their representative(s) will contact the hospital and make them correct it. (It saves you from having to deal with the hospital billing staff, and it also allows your insurance company to document this issue for future reference.)
I am very sorry for the loss of your twins and I wish you a very swift resolution to the billing problem.