did you get a separate bill for your epidural?

Turtle143

I have a bill for $600 something for "anesthesia for Obstetric procedure." It sounds like it's just the epidural. It was $2800 but after the insurance coverage, it's down to $600. Is this normal? I thought the labor fee that I paid when I was pregnant (about $400) was going to cover that. I didn't know the epidural is separate. Anyone with similar experience?

chocoholicchick

Yes, I got a separate bill for the epi.

SarahAndBen09

Yes, I got a separate bill as well.

Sunidaze

Well this makes me glad that couldn't get to me in time with an epi!

c4162

The labor fee applies to the obstetric group only. The anesthesiologist is separate from it.

Turtle143

Thanks ladies. Just wanted to make sure this is normal.

hurricane1212

I did too. DH and I agreed that it's the best $120 we've ever spent.

amanda1680

I got a bill just for the "presence" of the lady at my delivery!!  I wanted the epi, and I signed the consent, but when I sat up, I went to 10 cm and couldn't get the epi.... yet I still have a bill because the lady was in my room with the cart!! 

mrs mosby

amanda1680:

I got a bill just for the "presence" of the lady at my delivery!!  I wanted the epi, and I signed the consent, but when I sat up, I went to 10 cm and couldn't get the epi.... yet I still have a bill because the lady was in my room with the cart!! 

that's crazy!

I got 2 epi's and they both didn't work. The bill was something ridiculous and I thought I should at least get some kind of partial refund for a failed product.

christelrn

Yeah it is a separate bill. The OB's have their deposit & bills & then if you get an epidural anesthesia is called so they bill for putting it in, the medicine, and for following up with you. So many different bills. My epi bill was $1200 & I owed $90 after insurance.

The_Birds_04

Yes I got seperate bill and its totally unfair because the epi moved during pushing and I ended up delivering without it.  I should get a discount for all that pain! 

PhantomPower

yup. My bill was however almost $900 after insurance paid what they were going to pay. Our insurance stinks. We have recieved almost $2,000 in bills for this baby. My 1st baby only cost $50.

Turtle143

jlbridwell:

Yes I got seperate bill and its totally unfair because the epi moved during pushing and I ended up delivering without it.  I should get a discount for all that pain! 

omg! I agree! I hope you didn't end up paying much as I did!

jeephappygirl

I worked for one of the big insurance companies for awhile.  I would recommend that you check with the insurance to make sure that it was processed as in-network.  Most often they are out of network because they don't treat patients routinely, so they don't have contracts setup with insurance companies.  So even though your OB & hospital are in-network, the Anesthesiologist automatically process at the higher out of network amounts.  Most of the big insurance companies will give you a break as long as the hospital was in-network and reprocess the claim at the lower rates. 

FYI-this happens for Anesthesia, Radiology & Pathology and ER doctors