And the shakedown begins...
So far Nyx has racked up just around a quarter of a million dollars in medical bills from her initial NICU stay and then her time at TCH for her emergency heart surgery. We're still waiting for our insurance company and the various hospitals and providers to settle with one another before we start paying what we owe. From what I can tell, it's not going to be pretty. And we still have at least one open heart surgery to go. On top of that, Nyx's monthly cardiologist visits run just over three grand. Yes. That's right. Three thousand dollars a month. Why so expensive? Well she has to have an echo and EKG every visit. Those things ain't cheap.
Today I found out the company that supplies our pediatrician's office with Synagis, an injection that will help prevent RSV, requires payment up front before they will even ship the drug to the pedi's office. How nice, huh? Our insurance company "approved" five of the six rounds of the injections. You would think they'd pay for them if they approved them but, um, yeah, not so much. These injections cost $1000-4500 per dose depending on your baby's weight.
Yeah. Digest that for a bit.
We belong to that totally unfortunate class of people who make too much money to qualify for any of the useful government programs out there but not enough money to be able to just write a check for $27,000 worth of injections. So we bankrupt ourselves trying to provide our kiddo with the injections she needs or risk it and just pray she doesn't get RSV and end up in the hospital on a ventilator again.
Sucky. Sucky.
But, hey, we don't need health care reform in this country, right? The system works great, right? I guess that makes me a big, fat pinko-loving communist for wanting my insurance company to provide the benefits I've paid for and the pharmaceutical companies not to bend over desperate parents, huh?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
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1 comment:
I can think of one thing you have going for you: where you live. That town is great a throwing fundraisers for people's medical bills. Someone will get the space and catering donated, and sell tickets for $5-20 each. People will donate items for a silent auction. It might not raise all that much, but it will bring awareness (if you want...). And, every little bit helps.
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