Costly DNC in US

savitharamesh07 · Oct 23, 2010

Hi all,
I am a resident of Texas . I am venting all my emotions here regarding the medical insurance policy in US.I am a mom of a 2 yr old and planned for the second child.I got concieved in July 2010 and in my 8 th week,doc found that baby's heart beat is gone.She gave me two options , one is the pill and the other is DNC.She said that pills cant be assured 100% as some people may come back to DNC.My DH was afraid to take a risk with pills.We were mislead by the nurse that it can be covered by insurance , and we will be paying very little amount.We are in 80-20 policy.

:bonkThe blender we did here is,we didnt chk the Insurance directly.The reason here is, we both were upset terribly and not in a position to ask anybody.So we went ahead and said yes to DNC, taking the nurse words.
The procedure took place as a OP and came back home after 3 hrs and started recovering.

:shock: After 2 weeks, the medical bills started pouring in .We were first shocked to have a $2000 bill from hospital.When we went and asked the indurance, they said its the actual amt we have to pay.With frustrations, we paid the amt.Now i got almost 10 bills and the total amt i am owing for insurance is $4000 (total).I heard that this is the amt for a delivery here.I am afraid whether, this is the end to the bills or i may get some more in future.
Totally lost interest in second child now.We lost money,health and hope.
I dont know wat to do.Still i am in debt.In India we wud have done it for just 4k, here it is in dollars.This is making lot pf probs b/w us.

I just want to tell my story as a lesson for others, who are new to US and want to vent my anger.Pls ask ur insurance before any procedure.
Note: Actually, my DH was here in US for 7 yrs.I came just 1 yr back .

DevikaS · Oct 26, 2010

I am so sorry for your loss.

Medical care is very expensive in USA. Just wanted to share I just had a baby & the bill was $35,000!!!!
Thank god for insurance.

Don't loose hope u will have another baby in your arms soon. Take care & hope u recover soon.

barbies · Oct 28, 2010

35000 ! Not for Normal or c-section I hope.. How much did u end up paying after insurance though?? Reallly eager to know.

DevikaS · Oct 29, 2010

It was a c-section. We paid 2000

peartree · Oct 30, 2010

Actually as far as I know the way insurance works in this country is like this. The bill amount that the hospital sends you is actually not the amount they would be getting! They would claim that amount to the insurance company and the insurance company would then get back to them saying certain costs will not be covered etc. Thus some negotiation will happen between the hospital and the insurance company. The hospital does not get paid the exact amount they show us on the bill. In any case, even the negotiated amount would be a lot to pay out of pocket!

Under the plan that we have, I had only a $30 co-pay during my visit for this pregnancy. After that, I did not pay anything for the other visits. At the hospital, I had a C-section birth and all I paid was $250. Nothing above that. But the amount the hospital had billed the insurance company was close to $33,000. I am pretty sure the insurance company would not have paid that much to the hospital.

Savitha

I am really sorry for your loss. But you mentioned that you are in 80-20 policy. My understanding from this is that your husband's employer gets 20% of his billing rate and 80% is yours. I used to work for a consultant company like that and I have noticed that the lower the rate the employer gets, the lower the kind of benefits they provide to the consultant. So it is possible that the kind of insurance that the employer has provided to you has a limited coverage. In any case, it is a good idea to call the insurance company to check the scope of coverage. Mostly, the nurses and the doctor have no idea of the scope of your insurance. Sometimes, it might just be cheaper to fly to India to get the necessary medical attention and come back. Hope you are doing better in terms of your health now. Take care.

Spiderman1 · Oct 30, 2010

Healthcare and Insurance is one of the most complicated topics in USA.

Its zillion billion times worse than the web that a spider can weave

gjaya · Oct 30, 2010

Hi,...The way the insurance works depends on how much was your deductible in the first place, it is always advisable to know the full details of your insurance policy.

In your case, I am assuming the $ 4000 was your deductible, i.e. you have to pay the $4000 first for any medical expenses, out of your own pocket, before the insurance kicks in...after that insurance will cover any medical costs incurred and most likely it will be 80-20 after the deductible is met, where your costs will be only 20% and the rest 80% will be paid by the Insurance company. You have a very high deductible, IMO. Is it employer provided insurance or your bought? Generally if its a 80-20 policy, the deductible is usually higher. So might be that is the case with you too. Its unfortunate but that is how it works over here in US.

Hope you are recovering well.