Do you know how much a tonsilectomy costs????? The surgeon's time would cost us $89...OK, not too bad...the hospital portion...$&))! $700!!!!! That would be OUR portion. The total is $3500. I don't understand that really because that's almost twice as much as Tyler's overnight stay. That can't be right can it?
Oh it gets better. In addition we have $150 to $300 deductible depending on when we do it. Plus I don't even know how much the anesthesia would be. So the plan would be to wait until July when we plan for that with Joe's FLEX funds (Cafeteria plan, which I LOVE by the way...except you can't change your election amounts unless someone dies or you have a baby!). But if we do that the kids could have strep two or three more times by then. And it's risky with the economy because I'm not sure what SUU is doing with their benefits. I would bet our deductible will go up or coverage go down in July.
I just can't believe how much the hospital charges. I don't know whether I'm madder about that or the fact that we have to pay so much even with supposedly good insurance.
I'm going on my soapbox here for a minute too...so watch out! The other thing is if we didn't have insurance we could probably get medicaid and have it paid for 100% or get financial assistance from the hospital and not have to pay anything either. Not that we would ever do that. But it just makes me mad. We both work dang hard. Joey took a lower paying job in part because of the benefits. And here we are...looking at nearly two grand by the time it's all said and done for a two hour procedure. On top of which our insurance will pay much more. The healthcare system is messed up. But I don't know what to do about it. So we'll probably just bite the bullet, and pay through the nose hoping for the kids sake it's worth it. We didn't want our credit cards paid off anyway.
6 comments:
I hear ya. We have to pay up the nose for anything we get. But look at the bright side, at least you have the option whether or not to get the surgery! (That might not be so in a few years under ObamaCare). We've always had to pay a lot with our self-employed insurance, but lately I've noticed that everyone is paying more and more. I don't know the answer, but I am grateful that we can get what we need if we need it.
In April of 2007 Sam had a REALLY bad bike accident. We had no insurance, no medicaid, paid for everything ourselves in payments for almost the whole next year. We didn't get financial assistance from the hospital either. She had to have a cat scan and at least 2 head x-rays done. Between the hospital and the doctor 's bills we paid out $1566 total. If we had insurance, our insurance company would have been charged at least two or three times that amount, just because they could.
We prefer, rather than paying into an insurance plan, to set aside the money we would be paying to it into a personal savings account instead because we save a lot of money that way, can use every penny of what we put into it (and get interest accruing as well), and hospitals and doctors bill differently to cash patients than to insurance companies. For Sam's accident an insurance company would have been billed for every pain pill and gauze pad used, we weren't, and it's because the hospital gets those things in such bulk amounts that the prices individually are negligible, but an insurance company will pay $2 for a Tylenol without batting an eye...
I'm sorry friend, I REALLY feel your pain. We have been dealing with strep throat for nearly a week now and it SUCKS. I'm sorry about the insurance, I'm recently feeling your pain on that one too. When I was lifeflighted before the girls were born it was a 10 min ride across town but yet it was a $15K bill (thankfully we didn't have to pay all that). I don't get it, I can take a 1 hr helicopter ride in Hawaii for $100 and get to see the entire island but if all I see is Sandy & SLC it is $15k, that makes no sense. Hang in there friend. Make Tyler pay you back when he becomes the millionarie we know he will be.
Oh, Kristy, I am SOOO so so sorry. It sucks to have sick kids--repeatedly!--and then to ALSO have to pay like crazy to make them healthy!! We'll be praying for you guys.
Operating room is extremely expensive. They have a staff of well trained people in there to take care of him. That's why it costs so much. Our hospital is really pretty good about workign with you, even if you have insurance. And maybe you can use the money in July to pay the remainder of the hospital bill, even if it isn't new. I don't know if it will work that way, but it may be worth checking. Goodluck with it, and speedy recovery from all illnesses to you.
I am so sorry. That just stinks. I do have to say you will be very glad that you get it done. Once I finally got AJ's done he has never had strep throat since that, so that is real nice. Good luck and hang in there.
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