Monday, September 17, 2012

Medical Bills

My surgery EOBs and Bills have started coming in.  There is nothing I can do about the numbers.  I needed surgery.  It isn't something I could plan for and save up for.  So let's just add it to the debt number and work on getting it paid off.

  • Pre-op blood work - $12
  • Doctor - $189+$29 = $218
  • Hospital - $602
  • Anesthesia - $137

In total......$969

I will call the hospital and work out a payment arrangement so they don't send nasty grams to me. The bill has a few options, including 2-3 equal payments, pay in full, or call.  I picked call.

I am sure there will be a few more little bits and bobbles to add on.  There always are. 


I will be updating the sidebar tonight...and the medical stuff is nasty.  We received the updated bill for Bossy's supplies (which seems like they are billing quarterly now).  UGH.  I did discover how the company's mistakes are effecting us.  We have been ordering what we NEED, not just everything we can get.  Well, for the past several months, our received order has been WAY more than we have said we wanted.  And we get charged for all of that.  And it isn't returnable.  I finally found someone who understands this, and this month's order was the first one that was right in MONTHS.  We have enough supplies for the next 3 months (with one exception).  So hopefully our next quarter bill won't be as bad.

I am trying to get the surgery bills paid off before the end of the year, and hopefully bring the other medical bills down some.  It is just so hard when there are so many things that are pulling to get paid.  The credit card bill is the only one of these that has interest.  But I also want to be able to actually get rid of some of this stuff for good.  I am working on the dental bill....but also know that the kids will be going to the dentist in October.

We are about $1200 from our out of pocket max for the year.  At the rate we are going....we will hit it, but probably not until December.  All that will help with is loading up on meds while we don't have a co-pay.

So the plan....G-man has holiday pay in this week's paycheck, and will have overtime pay in the next paycheck.  Plus his 3-paycheck month in October. I am going to try and put as much aside as I can in the next 6 weeks, and pay bills at the end of October (minus what minimums I can do now).  By then I will have a better idea of how much money we have...what the bills are....and how we can pace ourselves.

Plus, I am hoping that maybe G-man will have some more overtime....and I am trying to bump up my hours at work a little.  It all helps.

This year's medical/dental has killed us.  My crown and my surgery were $3,000 combined.  Plus all the usual things, which are high to start.  Just keep plugging away.....
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6 comments:

  1. ~Carla~September 17, 2012 at 9:17 AM

    (((Mysti))) Sorry about the medical bills being added onto your debt. :( I'm Canadian so excuse the stupid question: Does your insurance not cover any medical expenses? It's different here I know as our taxes ay for our medical (most), but over & above regular expenses we have extra medical insurance to help with expenses.

    Hope you're able to work out a payment pan that you can live with!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MystiSeptember 17, 2012 at 10:34 AM

      That is WITH insurance. And we actually have GOOD insurance.

      Here is how it works:

      Doctor bills the insurance company. Insurance company and doctor negotiate a lower rate. (let's say the bill was $100, and they negotiate a final rate of $80)

      So now the bill is $80. Our insurance covers 90%....so the insurance company now will pay $72, and we owe the remaining $8.

      My surgery came out to $1000...which is 10% of the negotiated rate. So the real surgery cost was MUCH higher.

      In the US, this is how it works. Doctors overinflate the cost so that the insurance company will pay more...and the remainder becomes the consumer's problem.

      Delete
  2. Out My windowSeptember 17, 2012 at 11:49 AM

    I too am reeling from medical costs this year, it just doesn't seem fair when we are trying so hard to get out of debt. But hang in there good things are on the horizon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hawaii PlannerSeptember 17, 2012 at 1:13 PM

    It's so frustrating that you're working so hard to pay down debt, yet continue to have medical expenses. Fingers crossed that eases up for you soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownNovember 23, 2012 at 9:36 AM

    It's very important to be particular with what we only need at the moment. Some people wouldn't say anything about circumstances wherein they felt that they were cheated and it should not be. We should always voice out our grievances to avoid misunderstandings.

    Edwina Andreas

    ReplyDelete
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