• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Questioning a Bill

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Hot Topic

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California


I just received a large bill from a 7 hour stay at a local hospital emergency room. I was charged $80.00 for a IV Start (NDL/Cath). The nurse inserted a tube into a vein and told me that "they" were going to want to hydrate me (I have kidney stones). I was never connected to an IV bag, and after 7 hours, the nurse removed the tube.

I was charged $3,334.00 for an ER/TX Room Level IV. Is this "medspeak" for coming to the hospital emergency room and being treated?

I tried to call for an explanation; however, the number given out on the bills is not for patient inquiries about bills as stated. It's recorded information about health plans.

Thank you.
 


Antigone*

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California


I just received a large bill from a 7 hour stay at a local hospital emergency room. I was charged $80.00 for a IV Start (NDL/Cath). The nurse inserted a tube into a vein and told me that "they" were going to want to hydrate me (I have kidney stones). I was never connected to an IV bag, and after 7 hours, the nurse removed the tube.

I was charged $3,334.00 for an ER/TX Room Level IV. Is this "medspeak" for coming to the hospital emergency room and being treated?

I tried to call for an explanation; however, the number given out on the bills is not for patient inquiries about bills as stated. It's recorded information about health plans.

Thank you.
I was floored when I saw the hospital bill for my daughter's accident. It was on $900 thousand. She stayed three weeks.

Your $3300 bill does not really surprise me.

I hope you're feeling better.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
The IV start service has nothing to do with anything being hooked up to it. You would have been charged separately for any drugs or bags of hydration. An IV line was inserted, the charge is proper.

And yes, the ER room charge is the hospital's charge for seeing you for the level of care you required. You will get a separate bill for the doctor who saw you (though it will be considerably less).
 

Hot Topic

Senior Member
The IV start service has nothing to do with anything being hooked up to it. You would have been charged separately for any drugs or bags of hydration. An IV line was inserted, the charge is proper.

And yes, the ER room charge is the hospital's charge for seeing you for the level of care you required. You will get a separate bill for the doctor who saw you (though it will be considerably less).



Thanks for the warning, ecmst12. In future, I'll know that the insertion was a way for the hospital to get more $$$$$ out of me and not just a (probable) trainee's mistake.
 

nj1

Junior Member
Bill again

1. I had been in a ER, I received a bill from the doctor but the bill was sent from another state. I had treatment in TX, and the bill was sent from OK. Is that reasonable? Have any of you had the same experience?

2. The hospital bill showed ER level 2, doctor bill shoed ER level 3. Do you know how could they define the level?

Thanks,
NJ
 

tranquility

Senior Member
As to #2, I have no idea. On #1, be careful.

Many ER doctors bill through out-of-state billers. There is nothing wrong with this. However, because of the way billing is handled, if you're not careful you may end up paying more than you are legally required to. I know in my wife's many ER visits, I had this problem with a couple of hospitals.

The mismatch can come in when you go to a participating provider for your insurance. There is a contractually negotiated amount the insurance companies pay to a participating provider. When you go to someone out of network, you may have a higher co-pay (per the insurance company rules), but the insurance company also pays the doctor based on some other definition. (I forget the magic words, but, a market price.)

The amount the doctor gets in network is almost always less than that out of network. There is often, um, confusion (a "confusion" which is very convenient to doctors) about who the insurance company pays, the doctor working for the participating provider (making him a participating provider) or the doctor who is working on his own.

The only way to tell if this is happening is to look closely at your EOB forms and see what amounts are paid and what amounts you owe and compare that to what you would expect.

ReRead edit:

Start your own thread. Sorry for answering.
 
Last edited:

ecmst12

Senior Member
Thanks for the warning, ecmst12. In future, I'll know that the insertion was a way for the hospital to get more $$$$$ out of me and not just a (probable) trainee's mistake.
It was neither. It is normal protocol for all patients in the hospital to have an IV put in, especially in the ER where medication might need to be given very quickly.

NJ1 should not be hijacking someone else's thread.
 

davidmcbeth3

Senior Member
I was floored when I saw the hospital bill for my daughter's accident. It was on $900 thousand. She stayed three weeks.

.
How did you pay, cash? Really, under Obama's plan your daughter would be under the ground, covered with dirt. No one is worth almost a billion dollars (except me of course :) )
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top