Need advice on hospital bill

[hiyoko]

A couple weeks ago i was hospitalized for a heat stroke. But before i was coherent, the hospital did their stupid tests. They check my blood and urine (both clean, but my white cell count was a little high), did a ct brain scan and attempted a spinal tap. I got the bill today and when i added it up it came to over 8,000 but my insurance paid almost 4k. So i am still stuck with 4,832.21. They also charged me for the emergency room and for ICU. Only problem is i was NEVER in the ICU. That charge alone is over 2k.

Im going to call the hospital on tuesday and see if i can get a discount or hopefully get the ICU charge taken off. If not then i will probably contact a lawyer. This is the worst hospital in CA, its called Delano Regional Hospital. They treated me like i was a drug user. They asked me why i had one little scab on my chin like it was a crime.

So my question is has anyone been in an ICU? Should i fight it? (my family thinks i should) and is there anything else i could do?

[Saturnalia]

Hmm. One of my friends got a super huge discount by calling up the hospital after she shattered her leg, and arranging a payment plan with them after explaining her financial situation. (She trains horses, so broken leg = no income for her.) She also didn't have insurance though. It's certainly worth a try.

And if they won't work with you, then yeah, it might be worth it to look into your legal means.


Medical stuff in this country is so messed up; it makes me so angry Best of luck with yours!

[hiyoko]

Thanks Sat.:-)