Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Money

Make money your god and it will plague you like the devil.

The rich are the scum of the earth in every country.

I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.

The easiest way for your children to learn about money is for you not to have any.


So we get the bill one day last week for Avrie's little urgent care/emergency room visit. $1,778.90. Needless to say we're a little ticked. She had NOTHING wrong with her. NOTHING. They gave her fluids before they even tested her for dehydration. Had they not gotten their cart ahead of their horse she wouldn't have needed the fluids and it would have saved us $1,074.00. Granted we ONLY have to pay 20% we'll ONLY have to pay about $400. Well, that's $400 we could have spent on airfare. Grrrr. So I'm trying to be positive about money because that's how it comes to you, right? I always hated people with that philosophy. Like, don't worry, be happy. Until the bank comes and takes your house. Then you can just be happy you have a big enough cardboard box.

Does anyone know if we can dispute this bill because of services that weren't needed?

17 comments:

Mindy said...

You could try to dispute the bill. I would. If that fails you could always set up a payment plan - it seems like most hospitals allow this.

Jenny said...

I hate those bills. Hospitals can charge whatever they want, I've found. And if it's the third Tuesday of the month an hour before an eclipse, they get to charge double. I hate clinics and doctors and hospitals right now. We have a saying at our house: "It's only money, right? There's less where that came from." Sometimes, that's all you can say.

Cheri said...

I would try and dispute it, unless she wasn't dehydrated because of the iv. We had a fairly large charge on one of Elliot's Dr. visits, for a nebulizer treatment. We had bought the nebulizer, and knew how to use it. They charged as if they had given him the treatment, when really they just let us use the exam room to give him the treatment OURSELVES, before we left. I had to call a lot of people, but finally got the charges (it was a couple hundred) reversed!

Anonymous said...

Hey Shannon. It might be hard to get the cost reversed - I would talk to your insurance company first - due to the fact that they may say the MD believed her to be dehydrated, etc. However, give it a whirl... it will be a lot of time but in the end may be worth it.
FYI..laser for only the upper lip (i have to do like my whole face) may run like 50 bucks a time, you have to go two-three times in 12 weeks and then once per 6 months to a year. Almost permanent but not totally.

Anonymous said...

we're in the same predicament here. i took tyler in to the ER because I KNEW he had a fracture in his leg. (we have been through this before) unfortunately because he has a lack of sensation due to the Spina Bifida, he wasn't feeling any pain over it. but the leg was swollen, hot, etc. the ER DR did nothing. i had to convince them to do an xray. they said there was nothing showing on the xray. then 2 days later, i took him to his orthopedic surgeon and he diagnosed the fracture just based on observation alone, and did an xray to confirm it. arg. the ER wants to charge us over $700for nothing. oh and it was one of those nights that was sleeting horribly bad. took me 2 hours to drive what normally would have been 40 mins. i've been thinking the same-if i should call the insurance company or hosp and tell them what happened.

Cheri said...

Shannon G....I think the threat of a lawsuite would convince the ER to reverse those charges!!

Melissa said...

Hi Shannon...I stumbled across your blog off of a link of another page. I love visiting your blog and reading about your family! I have a 3 year old and 21 month old, so it's fun to listen to other mom's stories! Email me at tmmrnak1@juno.com...I'd love to add you as a viewer to our blog as well! It'd be fun to get to know you better!
Melissa

Sara, Justin, Simon and Max said...

wow, that stinks! i had a charge just recently for a test i didn't ask for and i called...they didn't take the test off, but they gave me a discount.

Shannon said...

well i'm going to dispute for all i'm worth =) i feel a bit bad though because they were really awesome, great service, kept the kiddos happy with movies and popsicles, etc.

Anonymous said...

Oh good grief. I work in the medical field and it never ceases to amaze me that people want all the services, equipment, and expertise at the drop of a hat then complain when they have to pay for it. It is unfortunate and unacceptable when the medical system fails to identify a problem (fracture) or charge when they don't perform the service (nebulizer) but whatever happened to the "better safe than sorry" attitude- the one you would have been thankful for had the situation been the dire case of dehydration that you and evidently the doctor first assessed. Really- when you were rushing your child in to the ER were you calm and collected and sure that their services were not needed??? If you are in the medical arena and knew they were jumping to conclusions I hope you told them and then I do hope you can get the charges reversed. Be reasonable and be thankful you don't have to use they Canadian Medical System.

Shannon said...

yeooowchy grouchy. wanna pay my bill?

Jen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jen said...

Amusing there, oh, "Anonymous" one, that you go off on such a rant yourself, but don't even have the guts to make yourself known. At least have some class and give yourself a name when you're going to tear into someone's experience. Because the fact of the matter is...it's their experience, not yours, and who are you to wander over to their side of the street and reprimand them for what they've shared? Why don't you just stay on your own side of the street and worry about YOUR business.

And, yes, the reality is that you DO have the freedom to be able to comment on their experience but at least be an adult about it all and write your name. "Anonymous"...sheesh. How tacky.

And, Shannon...I deleted the comment above this one. I had a lot more I wanted to write but then I decided that, in this situation, less is definitely better. ;)

Jen M.

Melissa said...

I think that 'anonymous' does not have children or has never had such an experience!!

Anonymous said...

For Anonymous and anyone else that cares: I should clarify that I have no problem paying for the xray since I asked for it. It's the way the Dr handled it and what he DIDN'T do that is the problem.

Shannon said...

"Really- when you were rushing your child in to the ER were you calm and collected and sure that their services were not needed???"

Pretty much, honestly. We had taken her to an Urgent Care only because family had talked us into it. The Urgent Care doctor didn't hear anything in her lungs. He thought she might benefit from some fluids because of some bags under her eyes. So he referred us to the ER, which was the only place open to give fluids. We didn't rush her to the ER because we feared something was direly wrong. I don't in any way think I'm qualified to be a medical professional but I do think people take their kids to the doctor for ridiculous things. With a little observation and understanding of how the body works and what helps it get better, common viruses can be treated at home, much more safely than at the doctors. We are such a drug obsessed society...CVS on every single corner. Take a pill for this, take a pill for that. It's pathetic. Take control of your own body.

While I do agree with you, some people do abuse the system, I am not one of these people. I was not happy when they repeatedly stabbed my baby because they couldn't get the IV in and then found out it was unnecessary.

I no longer allow anonymous comments so if you'd like to reply, strap on a pair.

Jenny said...

Woohoo!! Go Jen! Well said. I can't believe the nerve of some people. Even if you were "rushing" to the ER, the fact remains that they overcharge. Who could afford even a simple check-up without insurance these days? I've had enough of the medical "experts." As Shannon said, sometimes it safer to treat things at home. I can't even express all I'd like to. That anonymous comment really got me fired up. Does "anonymous" really think that popsicles and movies justifies paying through the nose? Have a couple kids, anonymous, and then try paying for these things on a single income. Let me know how it goes.