Her grief began to recede. Then the bill came.
Arline Feilen lost her husband to suicide in 2013. Three years later, she lost her dad to cancer. And this February, she lost her 89-year-old mom to a cascade of health problems.
Feilen underwent tests: bloodwork, an abdominal ultrasound and an electrocardiogram. She got group counseling, which her sister, Kathy McCoy, said really helped. She also started taking an antidepressant, Remeron. Medical Service: Feilen received inpatient care for a depressive episode, including blood draws, an ultrasound, an electrocardiogram and behavioral health treatment.
Jennifer Snow, acting national director for advocacy and public policy for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said the type of plan Feilen has is “allowed to undermine the ACA.” To keep costs down while hospitalized, Feilen said, she tried to refuse treatments like the ultrasound but was told she needed it. She got no answers when she inquired how much she might pay.Hospitals generally charge uninsured people much more than what they charge people who have insurance.
Resolution: Without prompting, the hospital reduced Feilen’s bill by $8,968.35 because she lacked mental health coverage. This amount was already taken off the bill when she got it. When she was buying insurance years ago, Feilen said, she started to look into plans on healthcare.gov that offer subsidies to many people with low or middle-class incomes. But she said she found them confusing and gave up.
The Takeaway: If you’re uninsured, you’ll generally face bigger bills than patients with health insurance because you lack the power of the insurance company to negotiate prices with the hospital. Ask whether you qualify for Medicaid or charity care. If you don’t, negotiate with the hospital anyway to try to lower your bill. Arm yourself with information about the going rate insurers pay for the care you received by consulting websites like Healthcare Bluebook or Fair Health.
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