Don't give me a heart attack.

@AmbiePam (84651)
United States
March 10, 2010 4:14pm CST
Have you ever heard some news, or you saw something, and you almost had a heart attack? And then you found out later it wasn't what you thought? On Monday I opened a piece of mail I had, and it was from a medical center where I had had my last MRI. I usually have to pay a co-pay on medical procedures, so I figured it would be a very small bill. $1,645 - that is what the letter said I owed for my MRI. The letter indicated my insurance had not paid for anything. I couldn't decide whether to laugh or have a heart attack where I stood. I called the next day when their offices were open, and it turns out the place where I had my MRI just didn't have the right insurance information. So as far as I know, they sent that bill again to my insurance, only now it had the correct information. I'm hoping they paid it! I can't stand another shock like that.
9 people like this
20 responses
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
11 Mar 10
WOw that would be a shock sure hope every thing works out in your favor. my copay for things like this is about $50 and I have to pay for it before I get it
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
11 Mar 10
they should know it before hand Mine tells me I have to have the money when I come in. trying to make moree money from you thats it!
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84651)
• United States
11 Mar 10
It's Medicaid...
@AmbiePam (84651)
• United States
11 Mar 10
I actually had paid a small copay, less than 50 dollars, but sometimes they send me a bill for a little extra. I'm not sure why. I don't know why they wouldn't know the exact copay the day of the procedure...
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
11 Mar 10
I cannot figure out where they get their info sometimes. I went to a neighboring town to take my son to the doctor that visits that hospital. The hospital started sending me bills. My insurance claimed they never received a bill from them. I called the hospital and gave them my info. Now mind you, I gave them my card when I was there. I worked for a grocery store, but not in the same zone that they were in, they sent it to their local stores insurance company! I could not believe it. I asked them how that happened, but they had no idea. I am sure they will get it straightened out. I know those sticker shocks, especially with my son's bills. His last years surgery was $300,000. Can you believe it!
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84651)
• United States
11 Mar 10
Whoa.
• Canada
11 Mar 10
WOW! 300 K is quite the hefty bill! That is one (of the many) things I love about living in Canada ... Free Health Care! Waaaahooo!
@GardenGerty (157047)
• United States
11 Mar 10
I have had that happen recently, but it got corrected rather quickly and I am still going to have to make some payments on some treatments, but not the whole thing by any means. I changed insurances at the first of the year but some third party company did the billing and did not read the information.
@AmbiePam (84651)
• United States
11 Mar 10
Don't ya just love that.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Mar 10
I see you had your share of fun recently just like my business with my episode of my verizon DSL and trying to get my money back. As far as them not having the right insurance info for you---like huh? I'm just betting you had to fill out a lot of forms with them so like what gives? Isn't life fun? NOT. Bet you were glad when you got it sorted out and here's hoping the insurance does finally pay it
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Mar 10
1 person likes this
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
11 Mar 10
A bill like that would certainly be a shock to the system! I almost had a heart attack last year when I logged into online banking to check my husband’s pay and discovered that he was paid $56,000 for a month’s work. Now, my husband has a very good job but it definitely does not pay fifty six grand a month, I wish it did! It was obviously a mistake from his payroll office as we discovered after he phoned them and we had to give the money back but it was a good feeling to look at our balance while it lasted!
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84651)
• United States
11 Mar 10
1 person likes this
@scja16 (322)
• Philippines
11 Mar 10
There was one time that I was at work then I heard the news that our house (location) were flooded due to heavy rain and my wife was pregnant. The water was around 6ft high so what i did, i walk for almost 4 hours just to go home and swim for almost an hour just to rescue my wife. Luckily she was okay. God bless
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84651)
• United States
11 Mar 10
Wow. That must have been the scariest thing you've ever been through.
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
20 Mar 10
Wow Ambie I hope that has been sorted I think I would have cried I have had many incidents lol where I thought I would have a heart attack
1 person likes this
• Canada
11 Mar 10
Hi AmbiePam, Wow! I bet that was kinda scary! I kind of had something similar happen like that to me where I got up, started the coffee, booted up the pc, poured a cup of coffee, and then went to go on the internet but couldn't! I then noticed that the cable on the tv wasn't working either so I called the cable company (we get both cable and internet from them) and a payment arrangement I had made didn't get written down so I got cut off for something that wasn't my fault. It was shortly after Christmas, that was why I was only paying them the minimum amount because we had to buy the kids Christmas presents somehow. Anyhoo, the guy called me, I explained what happened, and he got me hooked back up that night, I was just glad I didn't have to pay the re-activation fee or I would have been pissed!
@JJ4Ever (4693)
• United States
14 Mar 10
Yes, I've definitely been there, done that! I think my situation was very similar to yours. Really the only time I would almost have a heart attack like that is if I saw a huge bill. Isn't it stressful? Anything having to do with money can be stressful - LOL. I'm glad it ended up ok for you. Usually that is the case for me as well that I think something is worse than it actually is. I guess that goes to show that we should look into a situation before having that first reaction of panic. Thanks for sharing your situation! It makes me feel better that I'm not the only one - LOL! Take care, my friend.
1 person likes this
@techgurl (451)
• Greece
11 Mar 10
That would have definitively given me a heart attack. Recently something similar happened to me. I was paying my college tuition and the secretary told me I have to pay 200 euros more. I knew exactly how much I have to pay and I didn't have those additional 200 euros. It turns out they didn't calculate the alumni reduction that I have. Luckily it all ended well
@mentalward (14691)
• United States
11 Mar 10
I recieved something similar once, years ago. The amount was just about the same, too. According to the hospital, my insurance said they refused to pay for a second MRI my doctor had ordered because it was "not medically necessary." HUH????? Sure, I go have MRI's all the time because they're so much FUN! I had to get my surgeon to write to my insurance company and explain why he ordered the second MRI (he saw something "suspicious" at the very edge of the first MRI so needed another one to get a better look at this whatever-it-was). I ended up having surgery so it was most decidedly necessary! I SHOULD have had a heart attack recently when my husband handed me a letter from the IRS telling us we owed $35,000.00 in taxes because my husband never paid taxes on the money he got when he sold his house in 2007. I guess I didn't have a heart attack because I was so angry at him.
@AmbiePam (84651)
• United States
11 Mar 10
That is what I thought had happened with this bill. Last week I was scheduled for another MRI, but the day before the hospital called and said the insurance wouldn't pay for it. When I got the bill, I thought that the insurance hadn't paid because I hadn't had a referral. I thought the hospital just hadn't told me they wouldn't cover it a few months ago. So I really thought that was a legit bill. If I had had to pay that bill because someone neglected to tell me the insurance declined the MRI...
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
12 Mar 10
Hi AmbiePam. I get those once a year. Everytime I get the bill for the property tax, I feel like I'll have a heart attack. There is no way I could afford to pay whatever it is they want me to pay. Luckily, as soon as I calm down, I'd learn that there are some ways I could deal with it and get 'discounts'. Still, I get the same feeling every year.
1 person likes this
@srjac0902 (1170)
• Italy
11 Mar 10
Yes I mean what you mean. It happened to me too a few days back. Those who experienced alone will understand what it means to be at utter loss.
• Philippines
11 Mar 10
a mail like that could surely give someone a heart attack! lol I'm glad that it is straightened out. I had this kind of experience when I was hospitalized and had gone through surgery, someone from the accounting department came into my room, handed me a piece of paper and said I need to settle the bill that day, and I was dumbfounded because the insurance said they would cover up everything that was stipulated in our agreement and now the guy said I had to pay! The amount on the paper said $2200! In my currency that amounts to more than 100K! Even though I was just 2 days off post op I went downstairs to the billing section while pushing my IV stand to get things straightened out. The guy in the billing looked at me shocked and said Ma'am why are you here dragging your IV stand? You don't have to pay anything because your insurance covers everything! Oh goodness I wanted to kick that guy's a** from the accounting department!
@Shaun72 (15959)
• Palatka, Florida
10 Mar 10
I hear you . I get mri's myself they are very expensive thank goodness I have insurance to help me pay for them, I had a bill myself for a mri they didn't include some of my insurance untill I called them and got it striaght.
1 person likes this
• United States
10 Mar 10
That kind of news would have also floored me. I usually check and double check all the info before I really have a heart attached. It is amazing how one small error can really screw things up.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
10 Mar 10
hi ambie pam several months back I got this rather adamnant letter demanding I pay300 dollars for an ambulance trip that I had thought my insurance had pai, this was in Nov. and the bill was for april, so I spent at least forty minutes on the phone with a really helpful man from my insurance co who got it straightened out then put me on the line to the ambulance co and their spokeswoman was apologizing to me as the payment from my hmo had come just after their letter to me was sent so the bill was all p aid. boy was i relieved. i almost had a heart attack as I did not have 300 dollars.
1 person likes this
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
10 Mar 10
Yes, I have had simliliar things happen to me. I called the bank one time to see if some checks had cleared, and then the recording said I had something like $500 in that checking account, I freaked out because there should have been around $6000 in there which is quite a difference, they must have connected me to someone else's account because I called back and my balance was closer to what it should have been, but that really scared me.
1 person likes this
@coffeegurl (1467)
• United States
11 Mar 10
Either get more insurance to cover a heart attack, or hire a butler to open you mail and a personal assistant to cover telephone calls to the appropriate people.
@AmbiePam (84651)
• United States
11 Mar 10
How about none. How about I just shoot the breeze on mylot.
@AmbiePam (84651)
• United States
11 Mar 10
I tried the butler and personal assistant, but darn, my disability check just doesn't cover it.
• Singapore
11 Mar 10
i just get a feeling of blood going up or heart attack is when i see my money which i am investing in somethings are going to lose it ,like buying share or playing bet online which can be up and down rate per second .
1 person likes this