On Aug 14th I went to the hospital for an orbital surgery to place an implant in my left eye. This procedure is long overdue, and the surgeon said I should get it done before bad things happen 10 years down the road.
So I went in, and after the surgery the doctor wanted to place me in observation overnight, even though I felt fine enough to recover at home on my own. It was supposed to be an outpatient thing, but the surgical team felt better if they could monitor me for a night. Went home the next day at 10am with a bunch of medicine.
A month after the surgery, the bill came. It was $8,000+, and insurance covered some of it, leaving me with $2,500 out of pocket. Okay. Not too bad. I was told before I agreed to be operated on, that the procedure would cost around 8-9k.
Yesterday, an "updated" bill came. This time, all of a sudden the total is now $38,247, and my responsibility after insurance is $22,511. And this is the same bill - no additional hospital visits. The itemized bill was a bunch of gibberish and medical codes, so I couldn't tell from the bill if I had a colonoscopy or if I had birthed a child.
I can't afford $22,511. I might as well drop out of school. How did 8k estimated become more than 4 times the amount? I talked to the billing department today, but they couldn't explain what my bill was until they "talk to my surgeon", who won't be in till Monday. "We'll note your concerns, have a nice day."
My insurance said they're "generous" to cover as much as they did, because they think it's a "cosmetic" thing. I explained to them it's a medical necessity, but they said they're going off what was on the claim that was sent to them. The problem isn't so much the insurance, it's the bill itself.
Will I go to jail?
So I went in, and after the surgery the doctor wanted to place me in observation overnight, even though I felt fine enough to recover at home on my own. It was supposed to be an outpatient thing, but the surgical team felt better if they could monitor me for a night. Went home the next day at 10am with a bunch of medicine.
A month after the surgery, the bill came. It was $8,000+, and insurance covered some of it, leaving me with $2,500 out of pocket. Okay. Not too bad. I was told before I agreed to be operated on, that the procedure would cost around 8-9k.
Yesterday, an "updated" bill came. This time, all of a sudden the total is now $38,247, and my responsibility after insurance is $22,511. And this is the same bill - no additional hospital visits. The itemized bill was a bunch of gibberish and medical codes, so I couldn't tell from the bill if I had a colonoscopy or if I had birthed a child.
I can't afford $22,511. I might as well drop out of school. How did 8k estimated become more than 4 times the amount? I talked to the billing department today, but they couldn't explain what my bill was until they "talk to my surgeon", who won't be in till Monday. "We'll note your concerns, have a nice day."
My insurance said they're "generous" to cover as much as they did, because they think it's a "cosmetic" thing. I explained to them it's a medical necessity, but they said they're going off what was on the claim that was sent to them. The problem isn't so much the insurance, it's the bill itself.
Will I go to jail?
Last edited by a moderator: