I had my 3rd child at the end of August and recently recieved a summary bill from the hospital...I called customer service (the # on the bill) to request an itemized statement so I could see the breakdown of cost...what I recieved was the exact same info as the summary bill just in a different format. So my bill reads: Professional fees: $XXXXX Pharmacy: $XXXXX Obstetrical: $XXXXX Vaginal Delivery: $XXXXX etc...
With my first child I requested on itemized bill (different hospital) and recieved what you would expect, pages of every little thing like tylenol for $6 and bandaids and diapers, etc. When I called customer service back I was told that my bill was a broken down as it gets and that a vaginal delivery was a flat fee of X number of dollars (at least the very nice but possibly clueless customer service rep said she THOUGHT it was a flat fee and couldn't be broken down any further)...does this sound right? Who do I need to talk to? WHat are others expereinces with hospital billing with maternity care? SHouldn't I be able to find out how much they charged me for my bandaids if they expect me to pay it? I am sure they let my insurance provider know the price, why not me?
I have had two children and that is how my bill always looks. I have never seen it itemized down to the point of tylenol/diapers/bandaids... I suppose it just depends on the hospital system.
No to sound rude but what does it matter? You owe the bill regaurdless right? Are you trying to contest the charges?
Who are you calling? If you call the hospital the best you are going to get is an itemized statement for the hospital stay. They have no access to your OB's records. I work for anesthesiologists, although we don't staff maternity at the hospital we staff on occasion we do OB calls. The hospital would have no access to our itemized records. Some hospitals don't employ their staff, you need to figure out if yours does.
What I am saying is you need to figure out who provided what. That would be explained on the explanation of benefits (EOB) that would have been sent out by your insurance company. After you figure out who to call then call them.
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I had the same thing happen with my daughter. I asked for an itemized bill and received a basic ER charge, Pharmacy charge and Observation charge with no details. I was told there was no way to get the details, that was a specific as they get. It's irritating.
it depends on the hospital sometimes it is just a flat fee like you received, I have had both where it was broken down & where it wasnt I think a lot are moving to a flat fee so that you cant say oh well you didnt give me such & such but I was charged for it...
Obama care has many insurance companies/hospitals/doctors starting what is called a bundled process bill. So a vaginal birth will cost x dollars regardless of if you birthed for 2 hours and went home at 6am the next day or labored for 3 days and delivered and stayed 4 days. They would end up with the same $ bill. If you are a c-section that would of course be higher but will be the same deal regardless of interventions needed during the procedure. If you hospital has not gone to this you will need to see the financial counselor or financial Manager, ask for an itemized bill and make sure your not overcharged. If you are uninsured or underinsured and having issues paying your bill the financial counselor can help you with payment plans. If your paying cash ask for a cash discount. Bundled procedures are a way of the future for everything from sutures to cardiac cath...one set price and if the hospital uses everything in the bundle they break even, more they lose out, less and the get a little extra but at that point you will not be able to negotiate a lower cost, the cost will be the cost.
Some hospitals do operate that way, but that doesn't mean you can't try to dig a little deeper. The hospital I worked at (and delivered) gave a set amount for vaginal deliveries and for c-sections. That included all the things that you ALWAYS used. Then, if you used anything above and beyond that, they charged you separately for that. So, if you had a normal, no nonsense, delivery, then you would not have any charges that could be itemized.
BTW: In our hospital, it was the department staff (not some administrator or other big wig) that made the list to go into the bundled charge. We made sure we only added what we ALWAYS use for that procedure (I worked in surgery). So, no funny business. But, I can see how you might be worried if you don't know the procedures, people at your own hospital. So, dig, ask for supervisors, do what it takes to feel satisfied that you aren't being taken for a ride. But, just keep in mind.........it may not get any more itemized than that, unless you ask for the actual to see an actual list of the "supplies included in the bundle".
Good luck!
Ask for the UB04 you. Tell them you want a copy of the same form they sent your insurance company.
I got an itemized copy by physically going into the hospital billing office. That was the only way. Go in and see what you can have them print out. GL
M
My sister used to work in patient accounts at a hospital. whenever anyone in her family or my parents are in hospital she goes to patient accounts and requests the itemized bill. Which yes does list every bandaid, box of kleenex. She has found stuff on my parents that were double billed but never used (socks for one!).
Persistence & niceness are the keys to this one. When I had my son the bill came itemized. When I had my daughter it did not. I requested the same type of bill & had to walk through hell to get it, but I did eventually get it. There were weird-o charges for things we never used, but if I had just accepted the bundled bill the sent initially I never would have known that. If you're paying for it, you have a right to see it, period.
My father was hospitalized for over a month recently and the bill (after the insurance was billed) came same as yours. I advised her to request an itemized one in writing and taking the request to the billing department at the hospital, you do the same. Get the name of the person you give it to so you have something to follow up on, it will be easier to hold someone accountable, a phone request is easily ignored.
I don't see a problem with a flat fee for vaginal delivery. I'm sure the hospital figured out what the average cost to them was and decided to charge everyone that amount. By doing it like that it probably saves them and the patients money in the long run. Can you imagine how much money it would cost the hospital to write down everything each individual patient required? There would be a lot of man hours involved in recording all that and of course there would be errors and disgruntled 'customers'. The extra costs would be passed on to the patients one way or another.
My delivery bills looked similar to what you describe. The only time I have seen an itemized bill was when my son spent 99 days in the hospital back in 2008. His itemized statement was literally about 200 pages long and final costs were about 2.5 million dollars (our insurance paid 1.7 million, we paid about $5000...you will never hear me complain about insurance! LOL) Anyway, we just called the billing the dept. and told them what we needed and had it in our hands a week later. Maybe you should ask to speak to a supervisor or go to the billing office in person to make it clear what you are wanting.
