My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day.

   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day. #101  
I have noticed - very reluctantly - that as I get older (75 now) I am much more prone to fall, trip, make a misstep or whatever. So I have to remind myself to assess every situation before beginning and during a task to make sure I am doing things safely. And I still have close calls. And I am constantly reminded by the wife that "I am not a Spring chicken anymore." I guess Spring chickens don't have accidents.
I think I had more accidents as a spring chicken than I do now!
 
   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day.
  • Thread Starter
#102  
Spring chickens bounce higher than old buzzards.

Maybe that's why they cal them spri ... oh never mind.
 
   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day. #103  
If you can play the banjo, then nothing else matters. There is always a youngster out there that is hungry for a buck or two, let them do the climbing and chainsawing and you set down and play.
 
   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day. #104  
One of my daughters foster teenagers broke her arm near the shoulder in a accident tubing behind a boat. It was a twisting motion and it damaged nerves and tendons. She had a plastic half cast on shoulder and also a contraption on her wrist and hand that had a crane like device that kept her fingers from closing. She had to wear it alot, but not all the time. She is lazy and will probably have issues with that arm her whole life..

Glad you are doing well, do the work to recover and you'll be happier in the long run.
 
   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day. #105  
Spring chickens bounce higher than old buzzards.

Maybe that's why they cal them spri ... oh never mind.

OK, you got me on that one. :laughing: Luckily I had nothing in my mouth or it would be all over the computer screen.
 
   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day.
  • Thread Starter
#106  
Bumping an old thread, sort of. Not for sympathy because the hand is fine. Still a bit stiff at times and with a weird Frankenstein type scar that will never go away.

But for a rant. I was on my insurance website looking for something else and found a page with some of the claims they paid for this fiasco. Remember, there were two ERs since the first local one couldn't handle it (so why did they bill if they didn't do anything?) and three separate facilities because they break out specialties. This is what I see:


Billing Details
Amount Approved: $2195.00
Amount Paid: $276.27

Billing Details
Amount Approved: $5930.83
Amount Paid: $1060.45

Billing Details
Amount Approved: $1806.75
Amount Paid: $578.16

Kind of ticks me off. If we were able to pay the reduced rate the insurance companies pay, we might be able to afford it and not need insurance. THIS is what's wrong with the medical industry. This is only part of it. There are five or six more of much lesser numbers.

But also keep in mind how relatively minor this was. A 5CM laceration between the first and long finger, severing one tendon. The repair (once I got to a place that could do it) took only about 30 minutes and I was out of there in less than two hours total and on my way back home. Even if I could pay the reduced rate, it still would have been over $2K. At the full rate, it would have been closer to $10K. That's freaking insane.
 
   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day. #107  
Insurance companies have gamed the system. They're now the gatekeepers to healthcare. Without them, it's practically impossible to get, or pay for.
 
   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day. #108  
I laid a bike down in '13 and landed so hard on my right side and arm specifically that I broke #s 7, 8, 9, 10, & 11 ribs.

Four days under observation with a chest tube for the lung puncture and I was released. If you've broken enough ribs at once you can understand how painful it can be to answer questions for a few hours at least. When admitted I hadn't explained my medical coverage between painful gasps. Several weeks later I received a bill for >$19,400.

I called and was told there'd be no interest charge. I mentioned surprise that my insurance didn't cover any of the bill. "You have insurance?" "Talking wasn't easy when I arrived." "Yeah, we didn't pick up on that then. Let me call your carrier." A week later I received a statement. BCBSM offered $5,600 and it was accepted. I had to pay $28 for my part.

I'll go dig one better; medical billing is a racket. There are seminars given to teach separate billing for items included in another code. You'd think masks & gloves for surgical staff would be included with bypass surgery. Not the best example, but you get the idea.
 
   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day. #109  
"by Diddin it"
Kind of ticks me off. If we were able to pay the reduced rate the insurance companies pay, we might be able to afford it and not need insurance. THIS is what's wrong with the medical industry.

I'm with you on that.
A typical therapy bill for Mrs.tiller is $477
They settle for $80
No charge to us.
:confused3:
 
   / My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day. #110  
One of my daughters works in health insurance.. when you go to a place that takes your insurance, they only get paid the negotiated amount for each procedure. Some of them are billing the patient separately. Our daughter has told us to never pay the side bills, simply reply that you have paid your insurance company the amount you are responsible for and for the side bill to be submitted to insurance. She also told us that we are not required to sign financial responsibility at ER since that could make us liable for extra charges not covered by insurance.. it is a scam for sure..

Do they "write off" the difference between what insurance pays and what they bill? Is this a tax dodge for them (writing off could be claimed as loss to counter the income)?
 
 
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