Let's Argue! (About Babies!)

[Vishenka69]

I asked DH about cost of the epidurals and he said that often what the docs/hospital gets paid is 1/10th of what gets billed. He's not sure what his group bills for epidurals but they get on average $600 that has to be shared with CRNAs.

If he got paid anywhere close to $6000 for each, I wouldn't be on site but instead would be busy overseeing my staff in a mansion on some private island in the Caribbean.

[ladymoreta]

I asked DH, too, and he said it wasn't likely the cost of the medicine, but that it's a procedure, which gets billed higher. And that it doesn't all go to the anesthesiologist, of course.


Laurie

[SoonerTexan]

I asked DH, too, and he said it wasn't likely the cost of the medicine, but that it's a procedure, which gets billed higher. And that it doesn't all go to the anesthesiologist, of course.

I assumed none of the $2k charged by the hospital for "Anesthesia Supplies" went to the doc because he billed separately? Either way, the negotiated rates for both the anesthesiologist and the supplies were pretty low in the end.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I assumed none of the $2k charged by the hospital for "Anesthesia Supplies" went to the doc because he billed separately? Either way, the negotiated rates for both the anesthesiologist and the supplies were pretty low in the end.

It does make you a little scared for folks with no insurance. I mean who negotiates for them? It seems a little unfair that the insurance companies reimburse so little of what's actually billed but if you have no insurance, you have to pay the full amount? Shouldn't everyone pay approximately the same amount for a doctor's time, etc? This isn't meant to turn into a debate but I've always thought that was a little BS.

[ladymoreta]

I think if you don't have insurance, you can negotiate on your own. Plus, they probably assume patients without insurance won't pay, and write off some of it for the tax break.


Laurie

[scrub-jay]

I assumed none of the $2k charged by the hospital for "Anesthesia Supplies" went to the doc because he billed separately? Either way, the negotiated rates for both the anesthesiologist and the supplies were pretty low in the end.

Sometimes the CRNAs are billed by the hospital, but the anesthesiologist is billed separately. At our hospital, nursing staff was included in the hospital bill, not the Drs bill (except for the midwives, who were also billed separately).

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I think if you don't have insurance, you can negotiate on your own. Plus, they probably assume patients without insurance won't pay, and write off some of it for the tax break.

We tried that when DH's shots for Kenya weren't covered [student health care doesn't cover "preventative care" at all...total BS]. We were like, we know the bill is $600 but how much would insurance pay? We tried to negotiate for several weeks but eventually gave up and paid. And we're fairly savvy about these things! They agreed to a payment plan with interest and it wasn't worth it so we just paid it [we had money saved up to go to Kenya luckily and just reduced our budget by that much]. I mean I guess we could have just not paid it but I wasn't willing to take the credit hit or stiff the doctor from getting paid something for his services.

[MissCrabette]

Yeah, I tried to negotiate with a dentist once when he was no longer part of my insurance network. It was a no go. They wouldn't budge.

The reason I chose this guy even though I had insurance was because he had been my regular dentist, and this was a (minor) emergency. The guy I had seen previously that was in my insurance network was absolutely awful.

[MarissaNicole]

I hate how those without insurance (or denied by their insurance) who are willing to pay are penalized. It's like they have to pay the overpriced amount to make up for those who don't have insurance and won't pay a dime. Makes no sense.



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[MissCrabette]

Actually, I just remembered why I had to pay full price. It's my understanding that once a doctor signs with an insurance company, they cannot offer lower rates to non-members. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[ladymoreta]

Well that stinks. I guess I assumed wrong!


Laurie

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Well that stinks. I guess I assumed wrong!

I'm sure they would have been more amenable if it was a high dollar amount but in the grand scheme of medical bills $600 is small. And to be fair, they did offer a payment plan. But can you imagine if you had no insurance and had hundreds of thousands in medical bills? And then no one would negotiate with you?

I agree with Marissa, it seems like they penalize people who want to pay [which I think is MOST people] but give insurance much more negotiating power.

[SoonerTexan]

To be fair, the birth costs I listed didn't include my monthly premiums, which really aren't too bad at $150 month (but now are $250 thanks to N). So I am paying for part of those low prices somewhere else. Consider those like my parents who pay $1000/month premiums. It's not entirely apples to apples for those with insurance and those without.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

To be fair, the birth costs I listed didn't include my monthly premiums, which really aren't too bad at $150 month (but now are $250 thanks to N). So I am paying for part of those low prices somewhere else. Consider those like my parents who pay $1000/month premiums. It's not entirely apples to apples for those with insurance and those without.

I agree, it's not completely fair to say that those w/ insurance pay nothing but I do think it's bs that only insurance can negotiate.

[Thirteen]

I've got a new one:
For those of you who have had C-Sections - what are your thoughts on VBACs? Have you attempted a VBAC?
(I realized my first questions were somewhat exclusivist, and I wanted to apologize about that).
*I recently had an acquaintance deliver who saw a physician an hour away to "get her VBAC."