I was going to photocopy the bills, but there is a ton of personal information on them, so I am going to discuss them instead. Before I had my surgery, the #1 thing I Googled and was trying to find answers for was how much this procedure would actually cost and what insurance does to help.
Some advice, know 100% what your insurance says they will cover with jaw surgery and who is and is not in-network. Every person involved and location of your procedure must be in-network. Just because the hospital is, does not mean the anesthesiologist is. I saved over $4,000 by catching my insurance company trying to charge everyone out-of-network. If I didn't know what my insurance does or who is in-network or just didn't make sure everything was correct I would be out $4,000, which isn't exactly pocket change.
Some advice, know 100% what your insurance says they will cover with jaw surgery and who is and is not in-network. Every person involved and location of your procedure must be in-network. Just because the hospital is, does not mean the anesthesiologist is. I saved over $4,000 by catching my insurance company trying to charge everyone out-of-network. If I didn't know what my insurance does or who is in-network or just didn't make sure everything was correct I would be out $4,000, which isn't exactly pocket change.
Hospital Bill
I was not sent an itemized bill, but categories of charges without any detail. I am going to see if I can have an itemized bill sent to me. 80% of hospital bills have an error on them and the most common error is double charges. Here is what the bill had on it:
Account Summary
Total Charges...................... $22,720.41
Adjustments........................ $8,092.84
Paid by Insurance................ $11,702.04
Already Paid by Patient........ $500.00
Amount I Owe..................... $2,425.53
The adjustments is the dollar amount reduced due to my insurance having a deal with the hospital. So, just because I used a hospital that makes deals with my insurance provider, I saved $8,000. Here is the categorical breakdown of the bill:
Item Description and Charges
Laboratory Services..................... $399.00
Pharmacy.................................... $459.41
Recovery..................................... $1,980.00
Surgery....................................... $11,266.00
Anesthesia Services.................... $2,240.00
Supplies..................................... $3,562.00
Durable Medical Equipment........ $2,814.00
I was not sent an itemized bill, but categories of charges without any detail. I am going to see if I can have an itemized bill sent to me. 80% of hospital bills have an error on them and the most common error is double charges. Here is what the bill had on it:
Account Summary
Total Charges...................... $22,720.41
Adjustments........................ $8,092.84
Paid by Insurance................ $11,702.04
Already Paid by Patient........ $500.00
Amount I Owe..................... $2,425.53
The adjustments is the dollar amount reduced due to my insurance having a deal with the hospital. So, just because I used a hospital that makes deals with my insurance provider, I saved $8,000. Here is the categorical breakdown of the bill:
Item Description and Charges
Laboratory Services..................... $399.00
Pharmacy.................................... $459.41
Recovery..................................... $1,980.00
Surgery....................................... $11,266.00
Anesthesia Services.................... $2,240.00
Supplies..................................... $3,562.00
Durable Medical Equipment........ $2,814.00
Anesthesiology Bill
This bill was the simplest of the three bills. Here is the breakdown:
Account Summary
Total Charges............................... $2,295.00
Amount Paid by Insurance............ $1,104.04
Adjustments................................. $731.00
Amount I Owe.............................. $459.96
This bill was the simplest of the three bills. Here is the breakdown:
Account Summary
Total Charges............................... $2,295.00
Amount Paid by Insurance............ $1,104.04
Adjustments................................. $731.00
Amount I Owe.............................. $459.96
Surgeon Bill
Here is the breakdown:
Account Summary
Oral Surgical Splint....... $1,642.00
Surgery.......................... $6,434.00
Amount Already Paid..... $1,188.00
Amount I Owe............... $713.15
There wasn't a breakdown of the adjustments or what insurance contributed to the balance, but was a bit lower that I originally anticipated.
Here is the breakdown:
Account Summary
Oral Surgical Splint....... $1,642.00
Surgery.......................... $6,434.00
Amount Already Paid..... $1,188.00
Amount I Owe............... $713.15
There wasn't a breakdown of the adjustments or what insurance contributed to the balance, but was a bit lower that I originally anticipated.
Summary
All in all, I paid for roughly 16% of my surgery costs. It still seems like a lot, but I'm thankful that I didn't get stuck with the $33,000! Here is the breakdown of what I was charged and what I actually had to pay out of pocket:
Surgery Cost/Out-of-Pocket Cost
Surgeon Cost: $8,076.00/$1,901.15
Hospital Cost: $22,720.41/$2,925.53
Anesthesiologist Cost: $2,295.00/$459.96
Total Cost: $33,091.41
Out-of-Pocket Cost: $5,286.64
All in all, I paid for roughly 16% of my surgery costs. It still seems like a lot, but I'm thankful that I didn't get stuck with the $33,000! Here is the breakdown of what I was charged and what I actually had to pay out of pocket:
Surgery Cost/Out-of-Pocket Cost
Surgeon Cost: $8,076.00/$1,901.15
Hospital Cost: $22,720.41/$2,925.53
Anesthesiologist Cost: $2,295.00/$459.96
Total Cost: $33,091.41
Out-of-Pocket Cost: $5,286.64