Hospital Bill - Sticker Shock

tlp8rb

If anyone needs some motivation to get and/or stay healthy, I've got some for you.

My sedentary, overweight husband had a heart attack some six years ago. He lost weight, started to walk every day, etc. Well that only lasted about a year.

Now, all these years later, he is scheduled for a triple bypass in just a few weeks. Mind you, he hasn't been near an operating room yet. He did spend 48 hours in the hospital having tests, etc., and is seeing three different cardiologists. To date, our medical bills are in excess of $21,000.00. I don't even want to think about what the total is going to be.

All this could have been prevented had he stayed slim and kept up the exercises. :mad:

catcrazy

Ouchy - gotta love Britains NHS. Although with the current PM that might all change!

Hope all goes well for your hubby.

egbkid

wow...that is terrible. I am glad i am in Canada; although some things are not covered, things like that are. Makes me feel a bit shameful for whining about having to pay 60$ for an eye exam, 200$ for glasses and 500$ to have my wisdom teeth pulled.

nomoremuffintopness

hopital bills are insane. i had my first baby 4 months ago and she was 4 weeks early, she had to stay in the NICU for 2 whole weeks. her bill alone was over $100k before insurance, our portion is $21k... but still how will I ever pay that off? thats including my stay & surgery

srcurran

Almost five weeks ago I had a $17,000 hysterectomy. I cannot believe how tough the recover has been. And I was relatively fit going into it. I don't want to feel that helpless or that vulnerable again. I was so weak. I hated it. It has motivated me to try to never have to have any kind of surgery again.

catcrazy

hopital bills are insane. i had my first baby 4 months ago and she was 4 weeks early, she had to stay in the NICU for 2 whole weeks. her bill alone was over $100k before insurance, our portion is $21k... but still how will I ever pay that off? thats including my stay & surgery

That IS insane. You should be enjoying your baby not fretting over how to pay a medical bill. I really am counting my blessings for the NHS right now.

Congratulations on your precious baby girl.

jodie_t

I agree CatCrazy, it has its faults here and there, but generally we don't have to worry about health care, My daughter just had a problem pregnancy and baby still in special care 2 weeks later, baby had to have an op and will need some serious backup for quite a while - daughter had scans once a fortnight and excellent care during her pregnancy, and baby is getting 1st class treatment. This has all cost us nothing - ( well except our taxes !)

catcrazy

I agree CatCrazy, it has its faults here and there, but generally we don't have to worry about health care, My daughter just had a problem pregnancy and baby still in special care 2 weeks later, baby had to have an op and will need some serious backup for quite a while - daughter had scans once a fortnight and excellent care during her pregnancy, and baby is getting 1st class treatment. This has all cost us nothing - ( well except our taxes !)

Yep it has its faults but never to the point of an ill person not seeking help because they can't afford it...thats obscene in my book!

Hope your grand baby is doing ok. Worrying time!

nomoremuffintopness

hopital bills are insane. i had my first baby 4 months ago and she was 4 weeks early, she had to stay in the NICU for 2 whole weeks. her bill alone was over $100k before insurance, our portion is $21k... but still how will I ever pay that off? thats including my stay & surgery

That IS insane. You should be enjoying your baby not fretting over how to pay a medical bill. I really am counting my blessings for the NHS right now.

Congratulations on your precious baby girl.

Thank you; shes amazing and so worth it. However, I seriously dont know what to do. It will take my wole life to pay that off. And I am not qualified for financial assistance because I make "too much". Its really unfair. Im waiting to her back if they will help me at all, but I dont have my hopes up. We've been making really small payments which is all we can afford. Its really hard! And when people say you dont have to pay hospital bills and that they wont go on your credit, well that is completely untrue. Wish me luck.

jodie_t

Isn't Obama trying to sort this out? What happened to that?

Ahzuri

hopital bills are insane. i had my first baby 4 months ago and she was 4 weeks early, she had to stay in the NICU for 2 whole weeks. her bill alone was over $100k before insurance, our portion is $21k... but still how will I ever pay that off? thats including my stay & surgery

That IS insane. You should be enjoying your baby not fretting over how to pay a medical bill. I really am counting my blessings for the NHS right now.

Congratulations on your precious baby girl.

Thank you; shes amazing and so worth it. However, I seriously dont know what to do. It will take my wole life to pay that off. And I am not qualified for financial assistance because I make "too much". Its really unfair. Im waiting to her back if they will help me at all, but I dont have my hopes up. We've been making really small payments which is all we can afford. Its really hard! And when people say you dont have to pay hospital bills and that they wont go on your credit, well that is completely untrue. Wish me luck.

Yup they sure will, my husband has some crappy credit because of his medical bills. No one should go into debt because they need the ER, need to have a life saving surgery or have a baby. I know it might sound bad but I am now thankful that I lost my job and had to move when I was pregnant because there was no way in hell I could have afforded to pay out of pocket for Prenatal care and the c-section I had (that I DIDN'T want!) Now I just have to figure out something to do about my daughters insurance since she no longer qualifies for Medicaid (over a year old and we make 400 too much) I can let myself go with out insurance but she still needs check ups and vaccinations, hopefully we qualify for Peachcare for Kids