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Nightmare at St. Mary's

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NMB

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Cali

I went to St Mary's Medical Center in SF (at the encouragement of my boyfriend) at 4 am for a bladder infection. I never filled out my paperwork because the lady at the front said my boyfriend knew my info as she took me in the back to get a urine sample. I didn't even get to read the paper work or what the "fine" print stated because the nurse waved her hand at me and said it's just saying we can treat you and your gonna pay us, when she brought it in for me to sign. After I was treated i went back to the front and asked if I had to pay anything and the lady stated, no they send you a bill....and they have a way of finding you.
I later got the bill which ended up being over $1200. I was charged for antibiotics I didn't receive, a pregnancy test I didn't authorize or was not informed about (I also never received any results), and a level 3 ER charge with no further explination. I called billing and was told to send a fax explaining my whole experience, comments on the bill, and what I wanted done. I have sent the fax and am waiting for a response. In the meantime, I received the doctor's bill which also has the level 3 charge. I searched every where for the definition and what constitutes a level 3 ER charge. From what I have found it seems like an absurd charge for a bladder infection and that my treatment didn't meet the criterion for that charge. What is the next step in fighting this battle?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?
 


moburkes

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Cali

I went to St Mary's Medical Center in SF (at the encouragement of my boyfriend) at 4 am for a bladder infection. I never filled out my paperwork because the lady at the front said my boyfriend knew my info as she took me in the back to get a urine sample. I didn't even get to read the paper work or what the "fine" print stated because the nurse waved her hand at me and said it's just saying we can treat you and your gonna pay us, when she brought it in for me to sign. After I was treated i went back to the front and asked if I had to pay anything and the lady stated, no they send you a bill....and they have a way of finding you.
I later got the bill which ended up being over $1200. I was charged for antibiotics I didn't receive, a pregnancy test I didn't authorize or was not informed about (I also never received any results), and a level 3 ER charge with no further explination. I called billing and was told to send a fax explaining my whole experience, comments on the bill, and what I wanted done. I have sent the fax and am waiting for a response. In the meantime, I received the doctor's bill which also has the level 3 charge. I searched every where for the definition and what constitutes a level 3 ER charge. From what I have found it seems like an absurd charge for a bladder infection and that my treatment didn't meet the criterion for that charge. What is the next step in fighting this battle?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?
To pay the bill before it gets sent to collections, and to call, and tell them you will HOLD, while they look up the answer for you.
 
Unfortunately, your charges don't sound out of line for an ER visit. You will get a an ER facility charge, a charge from the physician as well as any tests, billed individually, even if it was one blood or urine sample taken from you.

Sounds like the only thing you might be able to dispute are the antibiotics you claim you didn't receive..but even the pregnancy test was most likely part of the urinalysis/blood test you had. When you are pregnant, you can't always have the same course of treatment.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
A pregnancy test is standard procedure in the ER for all women of childbearing age. If it was positive, I expect they would have told you. But since they need to know whether you were pregnant in order to know how to treat you, and they were testing your urine anyway, they did the test. ER docs see all kinds of patients and not all of them are honest nor do they all necessarily KNOW 100% whether they are pregnant so they test everyone to be sure. I agree that nothing sounds out of line other then possibly the meds you didn't receive.

Do you have health insurance? If so, send them the bill. If not, have you looked into whether you qualify for medicaid? Otherwise you can call and discuss your situation with the billing department and try to work out a payment schedule.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Have you ever had a UTI hit you at 4am??? I have and I will definitely say that the ER was a reasonable course of action, waiting until my doctor's office opened was NOT an option! Besides the pain, seeing blood where there is not supposed to be blood is just scary :eek: I do agree that the emergency room should be avoided if possible even if you DO have insurance (most plans have $50 or $100 copays for ER to deter unnecessary visits), but if there is an actual or perceived emergency, for god's sake GO and worry about the cost later!
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
No, I didn't. Insurance or not, a UTI needs to get taken care of ASAP, not just because of the symptoms but because if it's not treated it can lead to a kidney infection which could land a person in the hospital and would end up costing a lot more then $1200.
 

ellencee

Senior Member
The ED charge(s) is within the norm/national average; pay it.

Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreen's, most other open-all-night stores with a pharmacy section have Urostat (stops pain and stains undies orange) and Cystex (an over-the-counter antimicrobial, essentially a non-rx antibiotic; also has pain relief additive). Total cost: less than $10.

Preventative measures: no sex before/outside of marriage; and, women should urinate after having sex to 'wash out' baddies that shouldn't be there, whether they had sex within marriage or not.

Let's see--my advice, if implented, costs about $12 and that includes the necessary tissue and flushing water.

So, ladies--make sure at all times, you have Urostat and Cystex in your medicine box, then you can avoid the 4 AM trip to the store. (Feel free to send me the $1188 you saved by following my advice.)

:)
EC
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Someone's marital status is irrelevant with regards to UTI risk. Sex with anyone or anything (including toys if they're not sterile) introduces bacteria into the area. Having a monogamous partner does not, in this case, decrease the risk. Women should always pee after sex, as stated. I've only had a UTI the once, now I remember to go after sex every time and I haven't had one since! Will Cystex actually kill the infection even without antibiotics?
 

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