Just got the bill from my ER visit. I was very curious how high it would be since I had both a cat scan and an ultrasound. Here's the breakdown:
CT scan: 4,199
urgent care: 780 (I'm guessing this is the ER doctor's fee)
imaging services: 1,302 (ultrasound)
laboratory: 580 (bloodwork)
pharmacy: 0.26
supplies/devices: 85
treatment/observation room: 60
Total: 6,934.26
Insurance payments: -3,368.89
Copay: $10
Patient responsiblity: $690.91
My health plan says I have to pay 10% of any emergency room visit or hospitalization -- very interesting to find out that this is 10% of the bill the hospital issues rather than 10% of the amount the insurance company has negotiated with the hospital. Looks like the insurance company has negotiated about a 50% discount.
Thank goodness I have insurance -- without it this would be a very major blow. Or what if I had a high-deductible plan with an HSA? This one visit could easily wipe out any savings I had built up. I'm trying to picture myself saying to the ER doctor, "A CT scan is really expensive, do we really have to check for appendicitis? Let's just do an ultrasound first to see if something else is causing the pain."
Cost of ER visit
May 7th, 2007 at 01:24 am
May 7th, 2007 at 02:49 am 1178506155
May 7th, 2007 at 01:30 pm 1178544625
May 7th, 2007 at 04:09 pm 1178554189
Ima, I'm curious now -- would you have paid less for the same situation by refusing the tests, or would you have been able to negotiate a lower rate with the hospital?
May 7th, 2007 at 04:16 pm 1178554587
May 7th, 2007 at 04:33 pm 1178555580
Then, ask them if they'll give you a discount for paying your portion in full.
When my wife had surgery last year, our portion of the bill was over $4,000. I got the itemized bill and found an error of over $1,000. Then they agreed to give me a 35% discount for paying in full. So from over $4,000, my final payment was about $2,100.