Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Good News for Medical Bills

Not sure if any of you have ever had to use medicare, but it's kinda weird how it works. Basically since we're not destitute they don't just automatically pay our bills. They did however, qualify us for the "medically needy with a share of cost" program. Basically our income was about $2000 over their threshold so any bills less than that we were responsible for. And it goes by a monthly calendar. So lucky for us the emergency room visit and the surgery were both in September. As of now it sounds like they've paid EVERYTHING for the emergency room and surgery. I can't even begin to express the weight that has lifted from me with this news. :D

So then we had to do two follow ups at the doctor and because of scheduling issues one was in October and one in November. The October visit was $1600 - just shy of the $2000 mark - making us responsible. However, the doctor gave us a self pay discount and sent me a bill for $600. WOW. I can't even believe they discount it that much. Then they called to tell me the November visit would probably also cost around $1500. DAMN. I just got the bill the other day - it was $100. ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS. So we had to pay out of pocket a total of $700. God bless this man. I just really love him.