Thursday, November 09, 2006

TGFI

Thank God For Insurance.

Got the bill for my unexpected overnight stay in the hospital from my lap few weeks ago; Just the hospital for room/board/pharmacy while admitted. This does not include the surgeons or the x-rays and such. The grand total was over $22K

And, then I got the payment summary from the insurance company:

Amount billed by provider: $22,218.00
Amount saved by using a network provider : $20,426.00
Amount we paid: $1,612.80
Patient Responsibility: $179.20


Or, the diagnostic testing that identified the gallstones….

Amount billed by provider: $3,026.00
Amount saved by using a network provider : $2,033.59
Amount we paid: $793.93
Patient Responsibility: $198.48


I mean, the costs do still add up, but it would be much, much worse without insurance. I really don’t know how people do it if they don’t have insurance or good insurance. Granted, I pay a fair amount for the top of the line coverage offered by my employer. I just had to renew my coverage for 2007 and I really debated on whether to add Max to my dental overage as it added about $300/year, but decided to do so just in case. It would be cheaper to not add him if he just had 2 office visits next year, but it could get quite costly if he had some accident or such that damaged his teeth. I waffled and waffled and finally decided to pay the money up front and to look at it as a blessing if I didn’t need to use the coverage for anything other than routine care.

I have been bemoaning my insurance this last year because they took away the really plush plan that I loved where I could alternate between HMO and PPO as I wanted. Loved that plan. Still very sad I no longer have it. So, while I can’t say I heart my insurance, I’m very, very happy I have it.

TGFI!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's too bad you don't live in Sweden. You wouldn't have to worry about medical insurance because its all part of one's taxes. When you go to the doctor you pay about 120 (less than fifteen dollars or so; I can't recall the current exchange rate) kronors per visit and then when you have put in about 1800 kronors over the course of the year, the rest of it is free. In fact, you are given a free card. Similar case with medications too. Too bad they never passed that universal health care package when Clinton was in office. Everyone should have the right for low cost health care without having to worry about whether they'll lose their house if they don't have the money to pay the medical bills.