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This is what the EF is for...

March 28th, 2014 at 06:43 pm

I am home today recovering from a very minor, simple surgical procedure I had to have (I won't go into it, but it took about 10 mins). Actually I'm recovering from the anesthesia (I got IV sedation rather than be put to sleep which freaks me out); the thing was so minor I don't even have any pain.

Anyway, I was at the surgery center (my dr. wouldn't do it in his office; I asked) for 2 1/2 hours total, and as I said the procedure was just 10 minutes. And the bill? It's going to be about $2900. I knew this ahead of time. Yes, I have insurance; my deductible is $2500, the rest is insurance co-pay (so you can imagine how much the real bill is).

We have the money to pay it, due to the EF, but I am going to ask for an itemized bill anyway. I am also going to call my insurance company and ask if they have arranged a price for something like this since they often do. And I am rearranging our budget, putting underspend categories into the medical "bucket" so we can minimize the hit to the EF.

Any other ideas? Or just pay it and be thankful I have insurance?

Posted in Frugal Living | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “This is what the EF is for...”

  1. snafu Says:
    March 28th, 2014 at 06:58 pm 1396033111
    1396033111

    Smart to get an itemized statement as hospital billing is notorious for errors, billing for items not used, wrong procedures, double entries etc. I hope your insurance co operates with procedure code and cost. I suggest noting who you talk to, date & time. There is a healthcarebluebook.com based on location which might help.

    Anytime I've had

  2. snafu Says:
    March 28th, 2014 at 07:00 pm 1396033257
    1396033257

    ...

    sorry, I don't know what's causing dropped words

  3. creditcardfree Says:
    March 28th, 2014 at 08:01 pm 1396036883
    1396036883

    Sounds like you have a good plan. I hope you feel better soon!

  4. ceejay74 Says:
    March 28th, 2014 at 08:04 pm 1396037050
    1396037050

    When I had dental bills of $5000+, I took out credit cards with bonus offers, paid the bill with those, so at least got part of the expense recouped. Chase Sapphire has an offer to spend $3K and get 40K points (enough for $400 cash back, plus you'll get an extra $30 for spending $3K).

    They come pretty quickly after you apply, so you'd definitely have time to do it before the bill was late.

  5. Bluebird Says:
    March 28th, 2014 at 09:35 pm 1396042535
    1396042535

    Possibly ask for a discount if the total is paid in full vs. payments? It doesn't hurt to ask.

  6. Shiela Says:
    March 28th, 2014 at 11:30 pm 1396049453
    1396049453

    Get well soon.

  7. TashaC. Says:
    March 29th, 2014 at 12:22 pm 1396095746
    1396095746

    I'm grateful to insurance as well. And its cool that you are using up most of your deductible early in the year so you'll have the rest of the year for co=payments only!

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