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I was recently billed $6500 for an MRI. I ended up being completely fine, but I'm really annoyed with what happened. An MRI is typically $500, but I went to UCL

by xenihn 9y ago

I was recently billed $6500 for an MRI. I ended up being completely fine, but I'm really annoyed with what happened. An MRI is typically $500, but I went to UCLA's radiology facility because I was referred there by a UCLA specialist at a clinic. The $6000 was a hospital fee that was tacked on because the radiology facility is located on hospital grounds. The explanation/itemization from UCLA is that it's because hospital equipment was used, but it wasn't any different from equipment at any other radiology center. My insurance paid most of it ($4000ish) and I'm "only" responsible for around $500, but I'm extremely soured by the experience. I've had major surgeries that cost around that much. An MRI anywhere else would have cost me $50 total. I feel completely bilked by UCLA and I wish I could avoid giving them any more money, but I don't have very many choices around their campus when it comes to accepting my insurance. It makes me never want to set foot in a hospital again unless I'm literally dying.

sjg007 9y ago
An MRI is considered lab imaging which is typically a flat rate copay line item. So was the $500 your copay + coinsurance (with the coinsurance on the hospital fee portion)? And the normal MRI copay is $50?
- xenihn 9y ago
  The $500 I owe is JUST for hospital fees. I paid $550 total.
rconti 9y ago
Something similar happened to me, except my insurance company helped me dodge a bullet. My doctor is at Stanford so when an MRI was recommended, they just scheduled me at their facility for an MRI in a couple of weeks. Well, a couple of days after my initial visit, my insurance company had someone call me and say "hey, just so you know, we authorized your MRI at Stanford, and we will cover it to the tune of 90%, but the price is higher than most in your area, so we want to make you aware of more affordable options." I'm a pretty stubborn person, and I hate feeling like my insurance company is trying to screw me, so I thanked him for his time and declined. Then, after a few minutes, I started coming to my senses. Yes, I have good insurance. Yes, they'll pay. That said, should I really have a $5000 MRI instead of a $750 one? Yeah, I can afford the $500 copay, but do I really want to? I'm used to just taking whatever services are recommended, but this time I went ahead and cancelled the Stanford MRI and took the $750 one instead. Saved myself some money, saved my insurance company a lot of money, and sent all of those dollars to a provider giving me a service at a reasonable cost. (sort of related, my wife was recently in an accident where she went to the Stanford ER and was in the hospital for almost a week, plus some surgery. We accidentally gave the wrong insurance info so of course I got an Explanation of Benefits from my insurance company a few weeks later, saying "you owe your provider: $200,000" which is quite a funny thing to receive. Maybe it it was $20k it would be stressful, but once it hits the hundreds of thousands you realize you're not going to pay for it anyway. Amusingly, I think it didn't even include the surgery, or at least not the anesthesia, so I'm quite sure the true cost was north of $300 or $400k, and wouldn't be surprised if it broke a half million dollars after followups)
- xenihn 9y ago
  Yeah, I wish my insurance had called me :( I can easily afford the $500 and I'm really grateful for that, but I feel like I was taken advantage of. How much did you pay in the end for Stanford ER?
  - rconti 9y ago
    I have no idea what Stanford cost. It was not on my insurance, it was on my wife (she was double covered at the time, it was a mistake to submit to my insurance rather than hers-- I didn't get the concept of primary=your insurance, secondary=someone else's insurance). So I've never seen the EOB for her insurance and supposedly we owe $0. I've never seen a bill, and I called Stanford to confirm there was once a balance for a visit on or about that date, and that the balance is now $0.
- ajtaylor 9y ago
  I had a heart attack a couple years ago. The initial bill was $225k. Thankfully, I have good insurance (thanks $job!) so my portion ended up being only ~$2000. The numbers get insane very, very quickly. In my case, I was only in the hospital 3 nights so those numbers could easily have been even bigger.

by xenihn 9y ago

sjg007 9y ago

An MRI is considered lab imaging which is typically a flat rate copay line item. So was the $500 your copay + coinsurance (with the coinsurance on the hospital fee portion)? And the normal MRI copay is $50?

xenihn 9y ago
The $500 I owe is JUST for hospital fees. I paid $550 total.

rconti 9y ago

Something similar happened to me, except my insurance company helped me dodge a bullet. My doctor is at Stanford so when an MRI was recommended, they just scheduled me at their facility for an MRI in a couple of weeks. Well, a couple of days after my initial visit, my insurance company had someone call me and say "hey, just so you know, we authorized your MRI at Stanford, and we will cover it to the tune of 90%, but the price is higher than most in your area, so we want to make you aware of more affordable options." I'm a pretty stubborn person, and I hate feeling like my insurance company is trying to screw me, so I thanked him for his time and declined. Then, after a few minutes, I started coming to my senses. Yes, I have good insurance. Yes, they'll pay. That said, should I really have a $5000 MRI instead of a $750 one? Yeah, I can afford the $500 copay, but do I really want to? I'm used to just taking whatever services are recommended, but this time I went ahead and cancelled the Stanford MRI and took the $750 one instead. Saved myself some money, saved my insurance company a lot of money, and sent all of those dollars to a provider giving me a service at a reasonable cost. (sort of related, my wife was recently in an accident where she went to the Stanford ER and was in the hospital for almost a week, plus some surgery. We accidentally gave the wrong insurance info so of course I got an Explanation of Benefits from my insurance company a few weeks later, saying "you owe your provider: $200,000" which is quite a funny thing to receive. Maybe it it was $20k it would be stressful, but once it hits the hundreds of thousands you realize you're not going to pay for it anyway. Amusingly, I think it didn't even include the surgery, or at least not the anesthesia, so I'm quite sure the true cost was north of $300 or $400k, and wouldn't be surprised if it broke a half million dollars after followups)

xenihn 9y ago
Yeah, I wish my insurance had called me :( I can easily afford the $500 and I'm really grateful for that, but I feel like I was taken advantage of. How much did you pay in the end for Stanford ER?
- rconti 9y ago
  I have no idea what Stanford cost. It was not on my insurance, it was on my wife (she was double covered at the time, it was a mistake to submit to my insurance rather than hers-- I didn't get the concept of primary=your insurance, secondary=someone else's insurance). So I've never seen the EOB for her insurance and supposedly we owe $0. I've never seen a bill, and I called Stanford to confirm there was once a balance for a visit on or about that date, and that the balance is now $0.
ajtaylor 9y ago
I had a heart attack a couple years ago. The initial bill was $225k. Thankfully, I have good insurance (thanks $job!) so my portion ended up being only ~$2000. The numbers get insane very, very quickly. In my case, I was only in the hospital 3 nights so those numbers could easily have been even bigger.