Why YSK: Most hospitals send a summary bill (for example pharmacy: $5,000) hoping you’ll panic and just pay it. These are usually full of errors or huge markups. Before you pay anything, call the billing department and ask for an itemized bill with CPT codes. This will not only force a human to review it, but it also gives you the ability to spot BS. I tried this last year and the bill dropped by about 30% literally just because I asked, so don’t let them rip you off.
We live in Denmark. My wife lost her job at a senior home due to stress. 3 years later, breast cancer diagnosis followed by a quick operation. Shes waiting for the radiation sessions now. In the US, we would probably have gone bankrupt. Sorry for you guys.
I had a spontaenous pneumothorax in my late 20s, only reason I had insurance was because it was the year of the Obamacare mandate. I was unemployed so the state I was in gave me free insurance. I had about $330k worth of surgeries and paid … $19 for an optional medication.
Would have definitely bankrupted me.
And my mother, who is buried under her own medical bills, told me “you should have been bankrupted.”
She apologized later but that’s the mentality. We don’t speak anymore.