4 ms·

Wow great timing, I just got a $22,000 bill 2 hours ago for a surgery that UHC approved 2 months ago (in a written letter from them) because they refused to pay

by m_ke 2y ago

Wow great timing, I just got a $22,000 bill 2 hours ago for a surgery that UHC approved 2 months ago (in a written letter from them) because they refused to pay.

bslalwn 2y ago
What are your options? I suppose you are liable to pay for the surgery fully and then you have to sue your insurer to try and get the money back?
- m_ke 2y ago
  I have no idea, I tried calling the number on the bill but it gave me a dialer with 8 options of "if you're calling about a bill from X which is now part of Y, please dial N". When I selected 8, which was "all other" I got a canned message telling me to call between 9-5 on a week day. I'm definitely not paying it
aaomidi 2y ago
I’m so sorry. No one should have to deal with this stress. It might be worth reaching out to your state (local, not federal) rep and also your state’s insurance commissioner.
insurancesucks 2y ago
I'm on the hook for $128k for a no complications birth and 5 days my newborn had to be on a CPAP machine after blue cross denied the claim. I picked the plan only after confirming all our providers were in network, but failed to check if the building where the delivery was occurring was in network. The plan at this point is to just ignore it and hope it goes away, since they can't put it on your credit anymore.
- xenospn 2y ago
  This is the equivalent of going to a restaurant and having the waiter spit in your empty plate and charging you for it. How insanely ridiculous
- deepfriedchokes 2y ago
  If it doesn’t affect your credit, why would anyone pay? Sounds ripe for an act of mass civil disobedience.
  - antisthenes 2y ago
    I personally believe it is our civic duty and non-payment is the most effective non-violent way to show our opposition to the system.
- apexalpha 2y ago
  >I picked the plan only after confirming all our providers were in network, but failed to check if the building where the delivery was occurring was in network What? I'm sorry what kind of kaska-esque system is this?!
  - ProllyInfamous 2y ago
    >what kind of kaska-esque system is this?! It's the system that us Americans are tricked into believing is the best and nOt sOciAlIsM. Certainly USA healthcare is "the best" — if you can afford it! My personal belief is that the kafkaesque nature of so many systems is designed to keep people destitute and despondent — to quote ole TedK: "our system keeps people demoralized because a demoralized person won't fight back." ~"We'll keep them poor and tired; if they're poor they can't afford to fight back, and if they're tired they won't have energy to..."~ —Jeff (Jonestown Massacre) Having dropped out of a US medical school (almost two decades ago), I can assure you things have only gotten worse (from a bottom 80% POV). My best method of pyhhric victory is to not reproduce, earn just enough to live minimally (i.e. lessen tax burden/revenue), and never pay for health insurance. YMMV — I quit, a long time ago.
mrangle 2y ago
Start by calling billing and telling them what happened, and that you effectively don't have insurance and will be self-paying (said for the purpose of negotiation, not what you may or may not actually do). They should discount it by a lot.
- denverllc 2y ago
  Healthcare providers have starting saying it's "insurance fraud" to say that you don't have insurance when you do. My guess: they know they can get more money from the insurer than the individual (or a combination of both!) so they want to scare you from not allowing them to negotiate with the insurers.

by m_ke 2y ago

Wow great timing, I just got a $22,000 bill 2 hours ago for a surgery that UHC approved 2 months ago (in a written letter from them) because they refused to pay.

bslalwn 2y ago

What are your options? I suppose you are liable to pay for the surgery fully and then you have to sue your insurer to try and get the money back?

m_ke 2y ago
I have no idea, I tried calling the number on the bill but it gave me a dialer with 8 options of "if you're calling about a bill from X which is now part of Y, please dial N". When I selected 8, which was "all other" I got a canned message telling me to call between 9-5 on a week day. I'm definitely not paying it

aaomidi 2y ago

I’m so sorry. No one should have to deal with this stress. It might be worth reaching out to your state (local, not federal) rep and also your state’s insurance commissioner.

insurancesucks 2y ago

I'm on the hook for $128k for a no complications birth and 5 days my newborn had to be on a CPAP machine after blue cross denied the claim. I picked the plan only after confirming all our providers were in network, but failed to check if the building where the delivery was occurring was in network. The plan at this point is to just ignore it and hope it goes away, since they can't put it on your credit anymore.

xenospn 2y ago
This is the equivalent of going to a restaurant and having the waiter spit in your empty plate and charging you for it. How insanely ridiculous
deepfriedchokes 2y ago
If it doesn’t affect your credit, why would anyone pay? Sounds ripe for an act of mass civil disobedience.
- antisthenes 2y ago
  I personally believe it is our civic duty and non-payment is the most effective non-violent way to show our opposition to the system.
apexalpha 2y ago
>I picked the plan only after confirming all our providers were in network, but failed to check if the building where the delivery was occurring was in network What? I'm sorry what kind of kaska-esque system is this?!
- ProllyInfamous 2y ago
  >what kind of kaska-esque system is this?! It's the system that us Americans are tricked into believing is the best and nOt sOciAlIsM. Certainly USA healthcare is "the best" — if you can afford it! My personal belief is that the kafkaesque nature of so many systems is designed to keep people destitute and despondent — to quote ole TedK: "our system keeps people demoralized because a demoralized person won't fight back." ~"We'll keep them poor and tired; if they're poor they can't afford to fight back, and if they're tired they won't have energy to..."~ —Jeff (Jonestown Massacre) Having dropped out of a US medical school (almost two decades ago), I can assure you things have only gotten worse (from a bottom 80% POV). My best method of pyhhric victory is to not reproduce, earn just enough to live minimally (i.e. lessen tax burden/revenue), and never pay for health insurance. YMMV — I quit, a long time ago.

mrangle 2y ago

Start by calling billing and telling them what happened, and that you effectively don't have insurance and will be self-paying (said for the purpose of negotiation, not what you may or may not actually do). They should discount it by a lot.

denverllc 2y ago
Healthcare providers have starting saying it's "insurance fraud" to say that you don't have insurance when you do. My guess: they know they can get more money from the insurer than the individual (or a combination of both!) so they want to scare you from not allowing them to negotiate with the insurers.