Can the hospital make you pay before you leave?

aegrimm

I have 2 friends that have had babies in the last 3 months at the same hospital where I'm delivering at. We all work together and have the same insurance. Our insurance is an HSA so we have to pay everything out of pocket until we hit our $3300 out of pocket max.

Apparently, the hospital comes into the room before you leave and tell you that you need to pay your bill before you leave. For both of my friends the hospital bill has been around $700.00. One friend said she had to set up payments and they said that wouldn't be a problem, but they'd have to collect 50% down first.

Can they make you pay? I don't know about you ladies, but I don't have $700 (or even $350) that I can just dish out all at once. I have to set up smaller payments than that. They take $100 out of each paycheck and put it into a special account just for health care bills but that has to pay my OB, the pedi, the anesthesiologist (sp) and the hospital. Righ tnow it's tapped out because DS had some unexpected medical expenses earlier this year.

I plan on calling my insurance to see if this is normal, but I was wondering what you ladies thought? Does anyone work in billing?

haleymay18

That sounds insane.

I would find a new hospital.

My gawd, that sounds nuts.

JessicaG56

i can tell you that yes I do MRIs at a hospital and we make pple set up payments b/f their test is done. we have a program that tells the hospital how much ur deduction is and how much of it is met. they take that balance and tell you how much u owe. this is becoming very popular b/c the hospitals are incurring a lot of bad debt b/c pple aren't paying for their services aka pple losing jobs at the hospitals.

nalgitas66966

When we pre-registered with the hospital the lady we spoke with told us we have a deductable for the hospital stay and actual delivery. I think it's like $600.00 She asked us if we wanted to pay it then, which we couldn't. But she said that we have to pay it before we leave the hospital.

If you haven't preregistered with the hospital, I would call them and ask what you're responsible for with your insurance, and if anything can be worked out BEFORE you go into labor. That way everything is settled and you know what needs to get paid when you leave.

aggielauren

I think they can require you to pay a certain amount up front, but I don't know for sure.

I don't have maternity insurance, so we are paying out of pocket, and our hospital made us pay $3500 by the end of the 7th month of pregnancy (I'm guessing if you didn't register before that, they would give you a certain amount of time to pay it).

I know, once you get a bill, that you can pay just a little bit at a time and they can't do anything about the small payments, but I haven't heard anything about them being able to make you pay some up front or not.

CandiceNT

Where are you delivering at? I am in Phoenix too....

aegrimm

I called my insurance. They said that if you pay up front, a lot of the hospitals deduct that payment amount from your total bill before submitting it to the insurance so the amount that you paid doesn't apply to your deductable. I'm very paranoid about that....

pari022

I know that's the way they do things at my hospital.  I preregistered and had to pay the $ before I go.  They said that you don't have to pay now, but that I would have to pay before I leave the hospital.  I think it's just the way some hospitals are set up.

aegrimm

CandiceNT:

Where are you delivering at? I am in Phoenix too....

Arrowhead

justrachet

I don't know for sure what hospital billing policies are like, but, I really don't think they can chain you to the bed or put the baby back in until you pay. (My hospital, if your insurance won't pay it all, sets up payment plans for the duration of the pregnancy so that, by the time you deliver, you don't owe them anything else.) When my mom had her colectomy and chemo, the hospital wanted her to pay a certain amount, then they would bill her monthly for the rest. She didn't have it. They just had to accept what she could pay.

snicksnack

Call the hospital and find out the policy.  My friend was able to set up a payment plan before so that she could reach the max down payment in time to leave.  Basically they did an estimate of what she would owe.

Randa&Jerm

Well they can't exactly hold you hostage and keep you there.  I'm sure any reasonable payment plan would be acceptable. 

Maybe you can just call them and know what to expect.

grapeape73

I'm in Phoenix also, and my hospital tells me upfront what my deductibel is.  I"m not sure if they make us pay before we leave, but it isn't uncommon. 

I'm sorry you have to worry about this on top of everything else.

 

mlf625

They tried to pull that when we were about to check out with DS. ?Thankfully, I'd been warned by other Nesties NOT to pay because many who had paid at check out ended up overpaying (since not everything had gone through insurance yet). ?Then it was a PITA for them to get reimbursed. ?I wouldn't have actually minded just paying right then and getting it over with, but I didn't want to end up having the hospital owe me money and fighting to get it back.

We just said "no, we'll wait to see the bill" and when she insisted we pay $500, I told her "we're not paying that today, I want to see the bill in the mail first". ?She left.?

Lance&Becca

Randa&Jerm:

Well they can't exactly hold you hostage and keep you there.  I'm sure any reasonable payment plan would be acceptable. 

Maybe you can just call them and know what to expect.

This is great advice. Because of the differences in insurance and hospital billing practices it's the only way you'll get a straight answer. I delivered at St. Joe's in downtown Phx with my first and even though we were expecting to pay something they never came and asked for it. We paid the last of the hospital bills about 6 months after baby was born (we just paid them as they came in the mail.) I

CandiceNT

Is there anyway to call the hospital billing department and ask what their policy is? They have to be able to set up some kind of payment plan that works for you. I am right down the street at Banner Thunderbird, and I know that when I pre-registered a few months ago, they sent me an estimated bill based on what my insurance covers, and what my portion will be before I leave the hospital. 

MamaMandaW

It may be because our hospital is a catholic hospital and do a lot of charity for the community, but we (I work here) never REQUIRE payment up front for ANY service (unless it's cosmetic, of course).   We will ask if they would like to pay, and if it is a no we ask if they would like to set up payments now or to just be billed.

Also- for all hospitals I thought that labor & delivery followed the same laws as the ER, the EMTALA laws, where no one can be turned away for service due to inability to pay..

Where else are you going to have a baby? If your homeless or uninsured or just plain old don't have the money they will keep you hostage until you pay up?

I just find this strange.. I've never heard of this before

MrsColvin

they cant make you pay. i did registration/collection at the hospital and its standard practice for them to harass you if you havent made previous arrangements. i would contact the financial counselor of the hospital (all hospitals have them) and let them know your situation and they can make arrangements with you about payments plans (and you can make them as small as you want) This way when you go in to have the baby there will already be notes in your account for the registration clerks noting your arrangements and they wont come seeking money from you.

aegrimm

Thanks, ladies! I think I'll take your advice and call the hospital and explain my situation. Any avoided confrontation would be amazing.

Thanks!

Anna&Matt

I'd definitely call and set up a payment plan. We did pay already our anticipated costs (they like to get it by 7 months) but I'm sure they will work with you with what you can afford. Obviously not everyone can afford to pay them all at once and I would assume as long as you've set up a plan ahead of time they won't give you any crap about it.

cassyejo

Is it a public hospital?  Ours in town is, and they cannot withold treatment from anyone.  They will present you with a bill before check out, but you do not have to pay it then.  I am still making monthly payments on my d&c from April.

mystical11

I'm having my baby at a private hospital and they make us pay everything in 3 months. They do not require us to pay it all or certain amount before we leave but are very persistent in that 3 month time period.

diana.filipi

They can use strong arm tactics but they cannot essentially 'kidnap' you by not allowing you to leave. 

MrsRebecca

MamaMandaW:

It may be because our hospital is a catholic hospital and do a lot of charity for the community, but we (I work here) never REQUIRE payment up front for ANY service (unless it's cosmetic, of course).   We will ask if they would like to pay, and if it is a no we ask if they would like to set up payments now or to just be billed.

My hospital is a Catholic hospital and is the same way. When they called me to register me for surgery they asked if I wanted to pre-pay. They already knew what my 10% portion would be based on the estimate for the procedure. I paid it. Then I got my EOB from insurance afterward and it didn't reflect my payment...but when I got the actual final bill, my previous payment had already been deducted so it worked out fine.

In the case of delivery, the only thing I have to pre-pay (at the time of registration) is my $250 hospital co-pay. Any other charges will come in a bill mailed to my house.

I know that pre-paying is fairly common and I would guess that hospitals might do this because so many people skip out on medical bills. And truth be told- you know you're going to have to pay this money and have 9 months to save up for it so in my mind there shouldn't be an "OMG I owe money???" upon check-in at the hospital.

ditzydi_2000

mlf625:

They tried to pull that when we were about to check out with DS.  Thankfully, I'd been warned by other Nesties NOT to pay because many who had paid at check out ended up overpaying (since not everything had gone through insurance yet).  Then it was a PITA for them to get reimbursed.  I wouldn't have actually minded just paying right then and getting it over with, but I didn't want to end up having the hospital owe me money and fighting to get it back.

We just said "no, we'll wait to see the bill" and when she insisted we pay $500, I told her "we're not paying that today, I want to see the bill in the mail first".  She left. 

Which hospital were you at?  I think I'll be doing the same regardless if we're delivering a t different hospital than you. 

sarajo317

mlf625:

They tried to pull that when we were about to check out with DS.  Thankfully, I'd been warned by other Nesties NOT to pay because many who had paid at check out ended up overpaying (since not everything had gone through insurance yet).  Then it was a PITA for them to get reimbursed.  I wouldn't have actually minded just paying right then and getting it over with, but I didn't want to end up having the hospital owe me money and fighting to get it back.

We just said "no, we'll wait to see the bill" and when she insisted we pay $500, I told her "we're not paying that today, I want to see the bill in the mail first".  She left. 

Im going to wait until I see the bill as well. And then set up a plan with them..

Battlebaby09

I just went and preregistered at our hospital. The lady told me that you could set up a payment plan to pay the bill before your delivery. But I have already paid off his total delivery thank goodness. I paid the OB's office along and along and totaled at $650 over the last 7 months. (They said this would not apply to insurance until next year. I hope this is right.) Then the hospital said they could only charge me $550, because of our out of pocket costs. But they did tell me that if I was not paid up before Tyler left the hospital that they would send a collector to talk about the balance. I am not sure exactly what that means... if they would set up a payment plan or if they expect the balance. But! I think they should at least give you time to evaluate your bill, before requiring the payment. I may be paid up, but I will definitely be looking at my bill.

armourall

I know that when DH had to go to the ER 4 times in one day, we had to pay our $100 co-pay right then, every time. yeah, it sucks but DH is healthy now!