Need a quick answer. Why financial counseling?

[BigOBoy123 67]

I just got off the phone with my doctors office. I have my nutritionist appt. this morning and they called me and said to attend a financial counseling class they were offering at the hospital today. Why would I need to attend this class if my insurance is going to pay. Keep in mind my paperwork has not,been sent in for approval yet so I am freaking out that my doctors office may think I may have to self pay. Or am I just freaking out for nothing?

[line-dancer 810]

call your doctor's office and ask they are on your side and will do anything they can to help you out. It might be just the hospital it is a separate bill and they just might want you to be aware of what is involved.

[hely88 883]

I agree with Line. There is only one way to find out.

[shannonc5460 28]

I haven't heard of that and I work for a hospital. Should be no need for any of that until you hear from insurance. I would call and ask.

[mrsto 2,925]

I've never heard of that, either. The hospital called me & said that they'd need my full copay upfront. I paid them the $3,000, and now that the claim has been processed, I will be getting about $1,100 back (yay).

Yeah, I would call for clarification. Sounds weird, but maybe they want you to come in so they can discuss how you'll cover the portion that insurance doesn't pay?

[2muchfun 8,927]

I doubt it's true counseling? It's more like the hospital advising you of the costs, risks and what you are responsible for. Calling it financial counseling is a misnomer so I wouldn't be all that concerned. She/he could have called it your hospital consult and be more accurate. jmo

tmf

[JennaSoto 85]

I had to do financal counseling too- didn't make sense to me either- I just kept telling her I have insurance- waste of 30 minutes, but oh well- jumped through thier hoops and it was all good.

[2muchfun 8,927]

I had to do financal counseling too- didn't make sense to me either- I just kept telling her I have insurance- waste of 30 minutes, but oh well- jumped through thier hoops and it was all good.

In these days of insurance claim denials, hospitals are covering their butts by informing patients that they are ultimately responsible for their hospital bill even if you have insurance and even if your insuror has approved your surgery.

There are also ancillary costs involved such as surgery assistants who may not be one of your insurance company providers. I had to have oxygen that was also 100% covered.

I know, for me, my surgeon used an assistant who was not a BCBS provider and I had to send him a check for $300. I do recall being told this could happen but there's so much going on leading up to surgery that I just didn't care as long as I went under the knife.

Yeah, just grin and bear it but be prepared there may be some claims heading your way if your plan prohibits it?

tmf

[BigOBoy123 67]

Well, I met with the financial counselor and she informed me that I have a stipulation in my insurance that says they will pay 100% of my surgery, but they only pay 70% of after care such as pain meds, as well as other things such as the fee for using the facility in which they do the surgery. And that they will only pay the 70% after I pay $5000. After I exceed the 5K they pick up the 70% of all the other bills. I have BCBS FEDERAL, anyone else ever heard of this?

[2muchfun 8,927]

Your employer chooses from a variety of plans and each plan can have different co-pays and deductibles. The less exposure you have to co-pays/deductibles, the more expensive the plan will be. Most employers give their employees the option of selecting from a variety of different plans and the lower the co-pay/deductible the higher the monthly cost will be to the employee.

If you're a member of Congress you would have the cadillac version where all costs are covered, but if you're a lowly government employee, you will have some out of pocket expenses.

So, yes, this is common and everyone who has insuance may have a different plan, different deductible depending on the choices the employer and employee make when purchasing or selecting insurance.