https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 16 Apr 2026 06:58:30 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679614 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 13:17:03 +0000 Littlebit7 2679614@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: no the patient wouldn't pay the difference in most instances (PPO, HMO). This is the invisible stuff you don't see when you have an insurance that you pay a co-pay and then minimal payments after that. You might get a small co-insurance bill (10-20% of those agreed upon rates depending on the insurance) You would get a much larger bill if you were on a HDHP and had to meet a certain deductible. But you'd only be paying the agreed-upon contracted rate, either the $45 or the $5. And there are a heck of a lot of insurances that reimburse @ $5, not the $45 nowadays. And some insurances figure out their reimbursement numbers based on percentages, so for example they will reimburse the urinalysis @ 75% of the total charge, so hospitals will jack up their charges to take advantage of that (again making up for those insurances that only reimburse at 5%) whereas the true cost of the urinalysis has remained the same. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679613 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 13:17:01 +0000 Anagram 2679613@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: not always. It depends on the insurance. My insurance, for instance, has amazing coverage for childbirth related bills. We only pay a 1 time copay, no percentages or leftover amounts. So what my insurance pays is what the hospital gets. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679610 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 13:15:21 +0000 Anagram 2679610@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For my 2nd birth, I had a fast labor and was at work an hour away when I went into labor--so long story short, I got to L&amp;D just as I was ready to push and had LO2 within 10 minutes. No time to even put on a gown or get an IV or anything.</p> <p>Then I had a totally routine 2 day hospital stay--no complications. LO2 had no complications. No time in the NICU.</p> <p>So imagine my surprise when I got an online EOB and saw that the hospital charged 3 bills:</p> <p>-Labor: $27,000<br /> -Postpartum care: $12,000<br /> -newborn care: $14,000</p> <p>I was like.....27k for WHAT? The doctor stitched me up after, and I was in an OR for an hour for skin-to-skin time because they I delivered in there because they didn't have time to get a regular labor room ready. I've heard they have to pay for OR time, so I could see a charge for that. But 27k for a med free, IV free, complication free, 10 minute labor and delivery?</p> <p>In the end, my insurance company negotiated them down to:<br /> Labor: $1200<br /> Post partum care: $2000<br /> Infant care:$6500</p> <p>I paid $10 copay for everything combined. Crazy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679608 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 13:13:06 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2679608@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Littlebit7: But if the bill is $50 and some insurances pay $45 and some only pay $5, in either case, is the patient responsible for the difference? So wouldn't there be nothing to adjust for (assuming all patients paid their bills)?</p> <p>I always speculated that it was more due to an inflation to help cover patients that didn't pay? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679602 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 13:07:30 +0000 Littlebit7 2679602@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>they also have to charge an inflated rate because some insurances will reimburse 100% of the bill, yet some insurances will only cover 25% or less. Its a stupid game of numbers. If a routine urinalysis should really in normal life cost $50, some insurances will reimburse $45, many will reimburse $5. So to make up for all of the insurances that only reimburse $5, they inflate the rate to $100, and those insurances that cover 95% of the inflated rate make up the difference for the poorly-reimbursing insurances. Its dumb. But if you look at the differences between reimbursements in the actual insurances, the differences are mind-boggling. So I'm not exactly sure that the hospital is to blame; they are simply playing the game. Except somewhere along the way the rules got TOTALLY screwed up. A hospital, as crazy as it sounds, does need to make a profit. Its a business. Just look at all of the recent NYC hospital closures as an example. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679576 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 12:25:16 +0000 gingerbebe 2679576@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS1 was in NICU for 3 days and I was in the hospital a total of 6.5 days and I remember the bill being pretty massive (like 6 figures) BUT I had also gone through a brain surgery and 3 weeks in neuro ICU 2 years before where my bill was well over a million dollars so it didn't seem that high to me at the time.</p> <p>Thankfully our insurance was awesome. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679575 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 12:23:45 +0000 FaithFertility 2679575@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: I completely agree as to the care and I would pay it all over again for the care he got!</p> <p>I just think the inflation must be crazy high and I totally wonder exactly what that inflation is?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679536 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 11:39:34 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2679536@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: Oh, I don't deny that I would pay whatever if I had to, but the sticker shock when you get a bill for 70K is painful. Especially when you consider the negotiated rate the insurance company paid is significantly lower, which means the hospital can and does still make money charging less than what is billed. Now, I think that's a problem with the insurance world we live in, not necessarily the fault of the medical providers, but as someone whose parents pay cash for their medical services, it is even more frustrating to see the inflated costs. They do often get a discount of anywhere from 10-25% for paying cash at the time, but not everyone can do that. </p> <p>That said, I would pay it all again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679527 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 11:35:32 +0000 chibee 2679527@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: agreed - I would never want to compromise quality care for cheap cost, but it's unrealistic to think people without insurance can afford a 70k bill! I had an amazing experience with Jack's NICU stay - I completely fell in love with the nurses and the care they provided for him, so I didn't really mind fighting about the cost a little bit after but still... 14 months to resolve... just glad it's over with! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679519 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 11:26:47 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2679519@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@chibee: Yes, there is a total unfairness in some of the billing. Hospitals "charge" an inflated rate because they know insurance will pay it. I just think some people have very unrealistic expectations for what world class care actually costs. </p> <p>Like if you know someone will pay $50 for a steak dinner, sure charge that much. But its also nice that they also charge just the "at cost" rate for those that can't pay. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679518 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 11:26:30 +0000 snowjewelz 2679518@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@FaithFertility: Oh last time I saw the bills from the hospital (no NICU just regular delivery) and they are insane! This time I just paid deductible so I never saw anything itemized. But I was told I might get a bill for DD's short NICU stint too. Healthcare is crazy. For half my pregnancy I had a high deductible plan (aka worst plan ever) and had to pretty much pay OOP for most things and all those bills were just INSANE. Like how can anyone afford to be healthy?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679515 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 11:24:57 +0000 chibee 2679515@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: the costs usually ARE inflated greatly. what the hospital billed me and what they actually negotiated with the insurance company differed by over 30k. Of course NICU care is necessary and I'm so grateful for the care he received while he was in the NICU, but I reviewed the itemized bills when i asked for jack's full medical records and reviewed very carefully and some costs are pretty outrageous. I just thank god that I had great insurance. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679500 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 11:12:46 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2679500@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ok, flip side of the coin. Say you had to hire/set up your own care providers for a sick newborn. </p> <p>1. Qualified staff around the clock. Find at least 2 good nurses, what do they make per hour that they are there with your child. 4 days x 24 hrs x highly qualified rate = $$$ Plus add in doctor care to set up treatment plan. Lower amount of hours needed for consultation but even higher rate. </p> <p>2. Equipment. NICU has some of the best equipment </p> <p>3. Testing and labs. Yes, to POAS is cheap and easy, but it does cost money to have someone bring you the necessary test, read and record the results, etc. </p> <p>4. General facilities and overhead. And yes I'm sure there is profit in here as well. </p> <p>I just dont understand how people DONT see how these costs are actually probably very reasonable for world class care. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679496 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 11:07:33 +0000 chibee 2679496@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Jack was in the NICU for 7 days and the bill was $70,000!!! The hospital kept failing to send over medical records to the insurance company and I ended up retrieving it myself to send it to them, it took approximately 14 months to resolve that claim. Such a pain! My friend's twins were in the NICU for several months and their bills were over 1 million each! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679487 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 11:00:04 +0000 winniebee 2679487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's crazy. I had a one night stay for L&amp;D for a stillborn baby and the bill was $20k. We have a high deductible plan so I had to pay like 5k. It sucked. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679467 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 10:34:07 +0000 FaithFertility 2679467@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: couldn't imagine! Or even long teterm stay/care </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679462 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 10:30:03 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2679462@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our twins were in the NICU for 8 days and their total bills were over 50,000 each. Thankfully we had awesome insurance at the time and paid pennies on the dollar for that, but still. I cannot even imagine what the cost would be for a micro-preemie. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679441 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 10:07:58 +0000 FaithFertility 2679441@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@psw27: That's great our insurance ended up covering his<br /> I also got my copay back for my epidural that I didn't end up having $200 so that was nice I guess....lol </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679435 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 10:04:43 +0000 psw27 2679435@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son was in the NICU for 12 days and we refer to him as the $100,000 baby. He needed very little intervention (no ventilation, etc.) but just the stay was a crazy amount of money. Thankfully, we have great insurance and paid very little - the most expensive thing we paid for was his circumcision LOL. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679428 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:57:25 +0000 caterw 2679428@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ugh. I am so sorry mama. Hospital bills are the worst. It's just so crazy to me that the 45 total minutes the doctor was in the room is worth like $3000... plus all the other expenses too. Thank god we have insurance or we would be paying the bills off for years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679423 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:52:07 +0000 FaithFertility 2679423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@kiddosc: That's awful!!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679421 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:51:13 +0000 jhd 2679421@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@FaithFertility: that is insane! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679420 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:51:11 +0000 kiddosc 2679420@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's so crazy. If you look at what the insurance company pays it's significantly less too. So they charge those without insurance, the people that are probably least likely to be able to afford it, so much more than they charge the insurance companies. American healthcare is so messed up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679416 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:46:38 +0000 FaithFertility 2679416@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jhd: I once was admitted into hospital due to fainting and for an itimizedd bill and a pregnancy test was $280?!?!?!? What why??? You just dipped a stick in urine???? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679414 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:45:07 +0000 jhd 2679414@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@FaithFertility: it's absolutely terrifying to think about paying those kinds of bills without insurance. I don't understand it either. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679411 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:43:09 +0000 FaithFertility 2679411@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jhd: Ughhhh I guess it just makes me sad to think many have these bills and can't afford them!!! It's a lot of money! I know those nurses/Drs and all are fantastic and deserve great pay for what they do but that just seems so high!!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679409 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:41:12 +0000 jhd 2679409@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our son spent 3.5 weeks at our home NICU before being transferred to another hospital out of state. We got a bill for $120,000 from our hospital when my insurance said they would not cover it. Eventually we got it worked out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nicu-bills#post-2679408 Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:38:26 +0000 FaithFertility 2679408@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>3 months later and the bills are rolling in!!!!<br /> DS was placed in NICU for 4 days due to shallow breathing and fluid in lungs</p> <p>I just received 2 bills<br /> One is 27,000 :shocked: Looks like the hospital bill for his stay in NICU</p> <p>Also a bill for 2,300 for xrays I am guessing over those days.....</p> <p>The amount to me is crazy!!!! He had the best care but I just can't see where 27,000 comes from?!?!?!</p> <p>Thankfully we do have insurance and are paying no where near this.....but still paying over 2,000 </p>