A couple were told they faced a $200,000 (£146,500) medical bill when their baby was born prematurely in the US, despite them having travel insurance which covered her pregnancy.
A couple were told they faced a $200,000 (£146,500) medical bill when their baby was born prematurely in the US, despite them having travel insurance which covered her pregnancy.
The shitty American medical system being what it is I gotta blame the travel insurance. If their insurance was supposed to cover it and didn’t, that’s an insurance problem.
And the insurance did end up paying, but nine months later after what is referred to as a legal battle. So presumably these folks had to go into their own pockets for it. Typical bullshit.
That sucks. I mean, I’m glad it eventually worked out, but that’s a lot of BS for them to put up with because insurance didn’t want to pay.
It’s time entirely likely they never actually paid anything out of their own pocket. Situations like this are awfully common, so hospitals pretty easily mark a bill as in legal dispute and move on while it gets sorted.
Part of the horrible cycle is that bills are high to cover costs while bills are disputed, which makes them more likely to be disputed.
The American medical system charged their case with that astronomical amount in the first place.
Apparently if you ask for an itemised bill (Which they have no right to refuse) they tend to lower the price because they can’t actually justify the random numbers they came up with.
Then the insurance is incorrect for the situation. IOW if you know the US charges stupid prices then insurance should be commensurate. Or not go to the US. Not blaming the people, just an insurance company that is inept.