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My daughter might be lactose intolerant. Not sure, but after she has milk or ice cream she gets sick. She's staying with my parents as I had to relocate about 800 miles away. (She will be joining me the end of the month).
So, it's time for her yearly physical, and my mom mentions our suspicions to her doctor. Doctor agrees, and says OK, rather than putting her thru going to an allergist and getting tested, let's just do a blood test. OK, fine.
So, off they traipse across the street to the hospital. (Now this hospital was just bought out in January, they closed it as a hospital, and it's just a lab slash urgent care facility. Whole towns pissed over the whole deal, it was announced as fate accompli, deal with it. Given the town raised the money in the first place to build it 50 years ago, feelings are a little high, ya know?) Nobody we know has been there yet, haven't heard anything good or bad yet. They take a few vials of blood, no big deal. It's a limited scope test just looking for a few things. So, life is good.
Until yesterday. I get the bill, which has the lovely note that I've already been billed, and I need to pay this asap. She was just there May 25th. I haven't seen anything else from them, and the amount alone is making me hit the roof. What's pissing me off even more is the explanation of benefits from my insurance. Their bill says I owe $1100
And then the explanation of benefits says the original charge was $2500. 
This is for a limited scope test that should not have been anywhere near that much. Only reason I'm not getting hit for the full $2500 is my insurance called bulls##t.
I'm calling her doctor tomorrow so she knows how much they charge. It's a little town with a higher than average unemployment rate. With the hospital firing 90% of the staff and a few other major employers closing, not many people have anything to fall back on. Main reason I moved 800 miles for a job.
Like the title says, thank God I have a health spending account, and I've been saving up for major dental work. Still, drained my account big time for this little adventure.
So, it's time for her yearly physical, and my mom mentions our suspicions to her doctor. Doctor agrees, and says OK, rather than putting her thru going to an allergist and getting tested, let's just do a blood test. OK, fine.
So, off they traipse across the street to the hospital. (Now this hospital was just bought out in January, they closed it as a hospital, and it's just a lab slash urgent care facility. Whole towns pissed over the whole deal, it was announced as fate accompli, deal with it. Given the town raised the money in the first place to build it 50 years ago, feelings are a little high, ya know?) Nobody we know has been there yet, haven't heard anything good or bad yet. They take a few vials of blood, no big deal. It's a limited scope test just looking for a few things. So, life is good.
Until yesterday. I get the bill, which has the lovely note that I've already been billed, and I need to pay this asap. She was just there May 25th. I haven't seen anything else from them, and the amount alone is making me hit the roof. What's pissing me off even more is the explanation of benefits from my insurance. Their bill says I owe $1100
And then the explanation of benefits says the original charge was $2500. This is for a limited scope test that should not have been anywhere near that much. Only reason I'm not getting hit for the full $2500 is my insurance called bulls##t.
I'm calling her doctor tomorrow so she knows how much they charge. It's a little town with a higher than average unemployment rate. With the hospital firing 90% of the staff and a few other major employers closing, not many people have anything to fall back on. Main reason I moved 800 miles for a job.
Like the title says, thank God I have a health spending account, and I've been saving up for major dental work. Still, drained my account big time for this little adventure.
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