I was just browsing through my billing at Vanderbilt and found my bill for my surgery on Jan 28.

GregP_WN
GregP_WN Member Posts: 742
edited July 2020 in General Cancer
My bill was 174,000.00 and my wonderful insurance appears to have paid 22K leaving us 152,000.00 to pay. No problem! Excuse me while I run out to the garden and dig up our coffee can. That's where we keep the "big" money.

Comments

  • Bengal
    Bengal Member Posts: 518
    edited April 2020
    Pardon my English but, HOLY CRAP!!! I cannot even imagine finding myself in that position. But, the silver lining, if you want to look at it that way, you're alive and doing amazing with you recovery.
  • LiveWithCancer
    LiveWithCancer Member Posts: 470
    edited April 2020
    Wow, Greg. That's ridiculous. I hate dealing with insurance companies.
  • Dawsonsmom
    Dawsonsmom Member Posts: 99
    edited April 2020
    This is outrageous!! Like you need this on top of trying to recover!
  • Carool
    Carool Member Posts: 787
    edited April 2020
    Xxxx them!
  • po18guy
    po18guy Member Posts: 329
    edited April 2020
    That calls for a little lighting up of the phone lines. If this was not necessary surgery, what was? Didn't the hospital clear it beforehand? In either case, doctor or hospital have staff that argue these issues daily. I would get their phones ringing.
  • CancerChicky
    CancerChicky Member Posts: 6
    edited April 2020
    It is just plain unbelievable what is charged for medical services and hospital bills. Who can afford this?
  • Molly72
    Molly72 Member Posts: 227
    edited April 2020
    Well, that should really put you on the road to recovery. How totally disgusting and immoral.
    Obviously the CEO of your insurance company is in the market for a nice little cottage in Palm Beach.
    Double what Carool sez!
  • pattip123
    pattip123 Member Posts: 1
    edited April 2020
    That's absolutely outrageous! WOW!
  • JaneA
    JaneA Member Posts: 335
    edited April 2020
    Does your insurance have a max-out-of-pocket? The max-out-of-pocket is designed to protect people from situations like this. You need to dig through the coverage documents and find out what your max out-of-pocket is.

    That figure is federally mandated.
    https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/out-of-pocket-maximum-limit/
  • Lynne-I-Am
    Lynne-I-Am Member Posts: 89
    edited April 2020
    Unfortunately Greg this is nothing new. In another life , forty years ago,I was in the medical field,I witnessed the anguish loved ones had when their family members were in ICU hooked up to life saving machines ( sound familiar ). Patients then were concerned about hospital bills and insurance coverage. I remember several times families Worried about having to sell their homes. Nothing has changed in all these years. How many of the Covid 19 survivors will be discharged from hospitals only to face financial ruin because of medical bills? As if losing income for several months is not bad enough. I am sorry you are facing this crappy situation and I hope that JaneA ‘s information provides some relief for you.
  • CASSIEME1
    CASSIEME1 Member Posts: 30
    edited April 2020
    outrageous
  • beachbum5817
    beachbum5817 Member Posts: 238
    edited April 2020
    Wow, this is unbelievable, and you are still facing more surgery. What will the total be then? Tell them that you will send them $50 a month until it is paid. I totally agree with Carool.
  • Throatless
    Throatless Member Posts: 10
    edited April 2020
    You hear about people that die because they can't get in to see their doctor or the hospital won't admit them because they don't have insurance. Something is going to have to change with our healthcare system. Those that have good insurance like working for the government or a large corporation think there's nothing wrong with it. But let them lose their job and then lose their health insurance, then get cancer and all of a sudden they are screaming that something has to be done.
  • GregP_WN
    GregP_WN Member Posts: 742
    edited April 2020
    The insurance that we have is terrible, but, it does get me in to see the oncologist and in to have surgery, etc. So it's worth a lot just for that. As far as what it pays it's terrible. I has a 5K deductable to start with, then it will only pay a certain amount. I've had it for 11 years since my 3rd diagnosis. I was surprised to even be able to get any insurance since I had already had cancer twice at the time. It's expensive, costing us a little over 1K a month for me and Donna. Generally speaking, it will usually pay about half of what the bill is when it's all done. I don't think they are done paying on this one yet. They do have a financial assistance program there so I'm not too worried about it. But it's just a crime to have to pay that much in premiums for insurance and still have this much left to pay.

    I had to go to the emergency room three times in the last 3 months and that is worse yet. Very little gets paid.
  • Carool
    Carool Member Posts: 787
    edited April 2020
    Greg, this is even more outrageous. We do need some kind of Medicare for All, but with an option to continue private health insurance if someone chooses to do so.
  • Dkatsmeow
    Dkatsmeow Member Posts: 37
    edited April 2020
    It seems outrageous, but my surgery in 2015 ran about $300,000.00. I am sure my company loved that year for medical expenses! Fortunately i am only responsible for $5000.00 of it. That is my annual deductible, or about $100 a week.
  • BuckeyeShelby
    BuckeyeShelby Member Posts: 196
    edited April 2020
    Hey Greg. First I'm with Jane -- you don't have a max out-of-pocket? I can only think of 2 of our hundreds of groups that don't have a max. Second, was there no contractual write-off? If you go in network, most of the time the provider has to write-off a portion of the billed amount as a discount. Ok, this little med insurance employee is going back to auditing customer service calls now...
  • Russ
    Russ Member Posts: 15
    edited July 2020
    As some of you know...I am a 19 year 4 month pancreatic cancer survivor, but then it returned in March 2019 as a carcinoid tumor/stomach cancer. My surgeon recommended that I DO NOT take anymore radiation. When I had pancreatic cancer I did 24hr chemo non-stop for 5 weeks, and 5 days a week of radiation during the same 5 weeks. So this time I did 2 weeks of chemo, via pill form, and that was enough. I was getting red hand and red feet just as I did 20 years ago. I have yet to run across anyone who had the same side effect as red hands. It is very painful to the point I can hardly lift a utensil to eat. The skin on the palm of my hands was soon replaced by new skin. i have beaten this time as I did 20 years ago...only then it was a lot tougher. Hang in there and fight it. My best to all of you...Russ
  • beachbum5817
    beachbum5817 Member Posts: 238
    edited July 2020
    @Russ, I am glad to hear that you are doing well. You are a miracle. I hope that one day there will be a standard of care for pancreatic cancer that works for anyone who is diagnosed with this horrible cancer. I wish you many more years of survivorship.
  • Russ
    Russ Member Posts: 15
    edited July 2020
    Thank you beachbum5817 I appreciate your thoughts, and I wish you good health and many more years of survivorship. My best to you and everyone on WhatNext...Russ

Categories