Payment plans

cookiedough22 · December 2014

i have an appointment with my OB on 1/6 for a follow up. The receptionist mentioned how starting at that appointment everything will fall under the pregnancy. She also said we'd be on a payment plan for the OB Payments and everything is due before my 8th month.

I'd need to call the hospital separately to get an estimate on room and board fees.

Just wondering if this is standard procedure. Anyone else doing a payment plan before the delivery? Aside from an emergency happening, is it realistic to think I can have my portion (aside from insurance) paid before the baby comes?

Ktrue85 · December 2014

We did a payment plan with my last pregnancy but it didn't HAVE to be done by 8m. I think mine was set up for like 1 year

tigergirl7 · December 2014

They told me the same thing at my first appointment. They broke up my portion into 5 payments with the first being due at my next appointment which will be month 3 ' s payment.

cookiedough22 · December 2014

mommabakes said:
Do you have any idea how much you will be paying, after insurance?

We paid for my first pregnancy 100% out of pocket and had it all paid before the birth (aside from the hospital fees). It depends on your financial situation.

She could only quote me the doctors price. It would be roughly $450 after insurance. More for c section.

WSatisfiedP · December 2014

Yes. We paid up front; my OB's requirement was by the 7th month. It caused a shit storm with insurance to pre-pay it (I have two different insurances and was hospitalized twice before delivery-which should have went towards deductible, but I had already paid my deductible in full by pre-payiing my OB care.) It was awful and took a year to sort out.

MrsOscarFelix · December 2014

MeatandBandP said:

I feel pretty ignorant about this but why would you be on a payment plan? If your OB is covered by your insurance wouldn't they bill the insurance and you owe your insurance for whatever you need to to meet your deductible etc?

Also, I thought due to obamacare routine prenatal care was completely covered?

I am thinking the same thing? Can anyone bring some clarity to this?

tigergirl7 · December 2014

Idk exactly how it all works but this is how my office explained it to me. With my insurance I have a $1000 deductible and after that they pay 70% and I have to cover the other 30%. So my doctor adds the total cost for everything pregnancy requires other then the hospital fee and tells me what my portion will be. Whatever that amount is I have to pay in five payments over the next 6 months so that it's paid before I go into labor. After the birth I will get a bill from the hospital for whatever my insurance didn't cover from the hospital fee and I'll pay that then.

thesportsgal · December 2014

MrsOscarFelix said:

MeatandBandP said:

I feel pretty ignorant about this but why would you be on a payment plan? If your OB is covered by your insurance wouldn't they bill the insurance and you owe your insurance for whatever you need to to meet your deductible etc?

Also, I thought due to obamacare routine prenatal care was completely covered?

I am thinking the same thing? Can anyone bring some clarity to this?

You're on a payment plan through the hospital. Insurance pays their portion to the delivery hospital and you're responsible for the remainder.

They asked me if I wanted to pre pay and I said HELL NO I wouldn't pay for services I hadn't received yet. After everything was settled, my delivery was about $22K, insurance covered $18K and we were responsible for $4K. The hospital provides you an option for a payment plan so we definitely chose to do that, seeing as they don't charge interest or fees.

ETA All of your prenatal care SHOULD be covered but that is just your basic office visits. I don't think I even paid a co pay at my first visit and never paid on subsequent visits. But the N/T scan was only covered up to a certain percentage as was the A/S (and I can't remember if blood work and glucose test was covered or not).

MrsOscarFelix · December 2014

ahhh got it! thanks!!

cookiedough22 · December 2014

I'm not too sure about any of it either. I'm 30 but I've never had to worry about a deductible. I'm not sure what that means but I do know my deductible is $500.

cookiedough22 · December 2014

KirianaTi said:

cookiedough22 said:

I'm not too sure about any of it either. I'm 30 but I've never had to worry about a deductible. I'm not sure what that means but I do know my deductible is $500.

You should become familiar with your insurance policy. Childbirth is expensive and will likely cost you your max.

Yep. Working on that now.

mrsb30 · December 2014

Where I live everything has to be prepaid, just like if you were having a planned surgical procedure. They do an estimate of what the insurance will cover and everything else has to be paid by 8 months.

princesslockness · December 2014

I just changed insurance due to switching jobs. My new insurance I upped my coverage so I will around 2700 for the baby. That's supposed to be including all co pays and deductible.

Haven't heard anything about a payment plan though.

mrsb30 · December 2014

thesportsgal said:

MrsOscarFelix said:

MeatandBandP said:

I feel pretty ignorant about this but why would you be on a payment plan? If your OB is covered by your insurance wouldn't they bill the insurance and you owe your insurance for whatever you need to to meet your deductible etc?

Also, I thought due to obamacare routine prenatal care was completely covered?

I am thinking the same thing? Can anyone bring some clarity to this?

You're on a payment plan through the hospital. Insurance pays their portion to the delivery hospital and you're responsible for the remainder.

They asked me if I wanted to pre pay and I said HELL NO I wouldn't pay for services I hadn't received yet. After everything was settled, my delivery was about $22K, insurance covered $18K and we were responsible for $4K. The hospital provides you an option for a payment plan so we definitely chose to do that, seeing as they don't charge interest or fees.

ETA All of your prenatal care SHOULD be covered but that is just your basic office visits. I don't think I even paid a co pay at my first visit and never paid on subsequent visits. But the N/T scan was only covered up to a certain percentage as was the A/S (and I can't remember if blood work and glucose test was covered or not).

Wouldn't that only be if you are under obamacare? I have insurance through my work.

thesportsgal · December 2014

@mrsb30 What do you mean? Obamacare isn't insurance...

ancp27 · December 2014

I have a max oop cost of $2,500.00. Starting next month I pay my OB $400 a month until I'm paid off. Then I don't have to worry about bills after the baby comes. It was the same with my son, I did have to pay about $1,000 for him though.

LilPez · December 2014

No advice, but boy reading these posts makes me feel like I have some kick ass insurance. I paid one $25 co pay for the first visit for my son, and then only had to pay the $500 ER visit from his birth. I paid a total of $500 on a $12,222 hospital bill (insurance paid the rest). Obviously my insurance comes out of (DHs) check every pay period, but still. Some of these numbers are crazy high!

mrsb30 · December 2014

thesportsgal said:
@mrsb30 What do you mean? Obamacare isn't insurance...

I was confused.

daniellepanda · December 2014

I've never heard of an ob office doing this unless you are uninsured. Mine covers all prenatal care, labs etc at 100%. I have an hra based insurance plan through my work so really my only bill (unless something happens in between) will be the hospital bill for birth. The hospital will bill my insurance, they will pay them the portion they owe, the money in my hra fund will be put towards my max out of pocket expenses after the insurance covers their portion. Whatever is leftover I will pay in a payment plan to the hospital which starts a month or 2 after the actual birth. I would not feel comfortable pre-paying for a dr services before it's received but that's just me.

daniellepanda · December 2014

To clarify the ob office I go to is the same office owned by the hospital. So all the drs at the office I go to only deliver at that specific hospital. That May factor into them not pre-billing patients.

cosplaymom · December 2014

My hospital doesn't bill anything at all until after birth, then they send everything to your insurance all at once. They do schedule a meeting with their finance person so you can go through the cost beforehand to know what you can expect to be responsible for. If anything.

thesportsgal · December 2014

mrsb30 said:

thesportsgal said:
@mrsb30 What do you mean? Obamacare isn't insurance...
I was confused.

Np. You can also call your insurance company and they will explain your benefits. I found them pretty helpful (even though I was pissed they would only cover a manual pump).

stephanie012 · December 2014

I had just assumed my insurance would cover everything past my hospital copay. I am definitely calling them in the morning!

Lois172000 · December 2014

So far no bills and our new insurance with a lower deductible kicks in next month. Woot!
When I was pregnant with my daughter I was constantly shelling out money. This new plan is SO much better!

hope2432 · December 2014

I had to reschedule my US for next week instead of tomorrow because of our deductible. Talk about a letdown! I had a different insurance my last pregnancy when I worked full time at the hospital, and things were so much easier! I'm almost thinking about going back full time for a year or so just for the insurance!

SummerOH · December 2014

My OB has a payment plan. Her office contacts the patient's insurance company to determine what amount will be paid for her delivery services, then splits the amount I will owe up into payments. I think it was around $600 last time. The prenatal visits are free. In addition, I owe a portion of the hospital charges for boarding and care for both me and the baby, fees to the anesthesiologist, etc. My family OOP max is $3k, which is damn good these days, and I hit it last time.

elizabetheleven · December 2014

To those saying prenatal care should be covered... My insurance only covers 50% of my prenatal visits. And delivery is 50/50 as well. And we pay $800 per month for all 4 of us.

So all these plans look like gold compared to what I'm dealing with!

sandrabrooke · December 2014

I will reach my max OOP of 5500. But so be it. I can pay it up whenever I need to, but hoping its after I give birth.

thesportsgal · December 2014

elizabetheleven said:

To those saying prenatal care should be covered... My insurance only covers 50% of my prenatal visits. And delivery is 50/50 as well. And we pay $800 per month for all 4 of us. So all these plans look like gold compared to what I'm dealing with!

I was saying it SHOULD be covered under ACA now. Part of the act is that certain prenatal services are covered at no cost to you. Your insurance plan that covers 50% is totally different from ACA. And mine is $550/month just for me.

aRBe · December 2014

Woah, this is all news to me. I guess it depends on your insurance and/or state? We had no such talk with our Dr.

kmr1278 · December 2014

LilPez said:

No advice, but boy reading these posts makes me feel like I have some kick ass insurance. I paid one $25 co pay for the first visit for my son, and then only had to pay the $500 ER visit from his birth. I paid a total of $500 on a $12,222 hospital bill (insurance paid the rest). Obviously my insurance comes out of (DHs) check every pay period, but still. Some of these numbers are crazy high!

Same here! I guess I'm really lucky. I didn't realize how good my insurance was!

cookiedough22 · December 2014

I'm going to make a call to my insurance in the morning. Hopefully it'll help clear up my concerns.

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