So, could you just bring your own meds for postpartum pain and avoid the cost of all that? All they game me was ibuprofen and loricet, which is basically Tylenol. Oh also stool softener.
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I don't think they would allow it if you are staying at the hospital.
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Could I hide it?
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I doubt that would fly. If, God forbid, something crazy happened, you would definitely want them to know which meds were in your system. But bring Tylenol for DH. They can't give meds to him.
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I brought Tylenol for my husband but they wouldn't even let me take my vitamins there. I didn't get charged for anything like that though - i just pay a hospital overnight stay fee with my insurance
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I don't think we had to pay separately for the meds if that's what you were thinking? I just got dosages given to me by the nurses and a prescription from my Dr. to pick up when we got home.
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So this is how it works in our hospital: the Dr can write an order that allows you to take your own meds. The nurses keep your pill bottles in the med room and mark on your chart when they give them to you (so it's controlled - they know when and how much you had everything).
However, the only time this makes a cost difference (so I've heard) is if you're an overnight "observation" pt who is staying less than 24 hrs, which you don't when you give birth. I've only worked in this one hospital and only in one state, so I don't know how yours would work. You could take to your OB about it beforehand though!
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I don't think we paid for my meds...I just was given motrin and colace.
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For the people that think you didn't pay for meds, your insurance did and at a rate that would surprise you. Most often detailed bills are not provided to patients unless requested.
My I'd bracelet contained a bar code. Every time a procedure was done or item provided to me I was scanned just like at the grocery store.
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@MamaG: same here! For what was basically OTC products I had a 2,000 dollar pharmacy bill! WOW!! Luckily my insurance is 90/10 so that amounts to 200 dollars. I also had a bracelet.
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i brought my own synthroid, because they were giving me the generic and I was taking the brand. The nurses let me take it, i just told them when I took it.
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I wouldn't. I don't think I would risk trying to take something without them knowing, in case something happened.
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I think this has been in the media a lot more because of the "Bitter Pill" article by Time Magazine recently (I'd link to it but since I read it the article is now for Time subscribers only, so not everyone can read it anymore). It was a very detailed article about health care costs and how they're calculated. On the very first page one of the first anecdotes was about a cancer patient who was paying all sorts of extreme costs for his care, including $1.50 for each individual generic Tylenol (so if he took 4 at once, that was $6). Of course that added up over his treatment, esp considering you can get a bottle of 100 Tylenol at Sams club for about the same price as one from the hospital.
The fact is, everyone who goes to the hospital is paying for every service/pill/treatment they receive. Hopefully, for most insurance will cover it, but why should insurance be paying $1.50 a pill either?! that makes our monthly premiums higher, which we do pay for out of pocket. Just because we don't see the line-item detail on the bill doesn't me we aren't paying for it.
I agree that you shouldn't be taking meds without your doc/nurse knowing about it, but letting them know you have your own pills could save a SMALL amount of money. It may not be worth it to save $15 worth of overpriced Tylenol, but it does bring up the question of how costs are developed in hospitals
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I didn't see a bill for either LO because my hospital stay was covered under my initial $10 prenatal visit co-pay (I have great insurance). However, I was given a bottle of Motrin and Colace to keep at my bedside and instructed on how often to take them; they did have a standing order for Percocet if I felt that it was needed.
If you can bring your own then I say go for it. I have a friend who recently had outpatient surgery at the hospital despite her chart saying "no narcotics" they brought her one (can't remember which) and when she refused, the nurse told her that her insurance was already billed for it so was she sure she didn't want it. Apparently the pills get billed upon dispensing at that hospital regardless of whether or not the person takes it. She requested that it be removed from her bill because it was against what her chart stated.
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@Mrs. Sketchbook: I know some people are saying you don't pay for them but the drugs they gave me while at the hospital sure were on my bill! Sure, insurance pays for a portion of the bill but my insurance only paid 80% of my bill so, maybe some people just have better health insurance.
I think like you and wish I could have taken my own ibuprofen, as well...
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@bunnylove08: I brought my own Synthroid too, but they made me take theirs. I was mad!
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@belleoftheballe: I took it early and when they came with the meds i told them i've already taken it
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@bunnylove08: They were very firm that I couldn't take my own. It was partially my fault because they asked me when I was in labour if I took any medications and if I brought them with me. I was in the middle of a contraction so I said I thought so but I'd check later.
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$2000 for ibruprofen???? Holy smokes.
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@MamaG: @LaughLines: This makes total sense, and yes, I had a barcode bracelet and was scanned every time too. It really does seem like a way to gouge the insurance companies (and ultimately the patient too, since we pay a % and/or increased premiums). But honestly, the state I was in after delivery, I couldn't even try to keep track of what they were billing us for and to remind them if I had my own medications. I think $2000 for Tylenol basically is highly outrageous and something the insurance companies need to sort out though! Thatsh*tcray!
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I wonder also about underwear, dermoplast, witch hazel, diapers, bulb syringe? Do all these cost?
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