The $778 is the total of 2 separate numbers. Although it doesn't say what the numbers are for. I assume the ER and Doctor?

There were no medications given or no lab tests, etc. This really was a "look at it, wipe it up, staple it up and send us on our way" thing.

It's possible there will be other bills, but my guess is not. I'll see in the next month or so.

One for the hospital, one for the doctor would be my guess.

So how is the kid? No worse for wear I presume, and will have something to talk about when he gets a short haircut.

He'll have great fun with that scar in the future...he should work on a good story. There I was...

...laying very still, the bear's breath was hot and stank of fish...

so I grabbed my knife...

Wow, a lot cheaper than I thought. G50, where do you live? I don't think in CA we would have gotten away with under 2K and I said more than that.

My step daughter went to the ER yesterday for "pain." We'll see how that adds up. They did a ton of tests.

I'd be suprised if more bills didn't show up.
Last time i was in the hospital i thought i was getting away eazy.............till the other bills started rolling in.

Since my guess was under by $28, do I win? :D

Who sent you the bill? The hospital? Or the medical group to which the ER physician belongs? What are the charges for, specifically? There has to be some sort of description (supplies, procedure). Is there a procedure code (it'll be 5 digits long, may be labeled under "CPT") or a diagnosis code (ICD)?

Congrats if it's $750. This may vary state-by-state, but there might not be any insurance company negotiated rate discount on that amount, as you haven't met the deductable, yet.

Did you ever receive an EOB (Explanation of Benefits) from your insurance company?

Unfortunately, not so fast A930Rocket!

Got another one today. The first was was apparently just the hospital, the second seems to be the Dr.'s medical group (it says "Emergency Services/Outpatient Surgery"). The total seems to be $480, negotiated by the ins co down to $181.

So, looks like $181 gets added to the $778.

Noah, what I'm looking at are EOBs from the insurance company.

Milt, this is in So. Cal., not far from you.

:(

Took my son to the ER Monday for a twisted ankle Monday. They took x-ray and it was sprained. Luckily my wife works there, so we we'll se what the damage is shortly.

EOBs are NOT bills. They are issued by your insurance company. The medical providers have billed your insurance company. Your insurance company is now telling everyone (the providers and you) what the medical providers can collect, and what you are responsible for. As you haven't met your deductable, the insurance company isn't paying anybody anything. It's just keeping score of how much you eat up of your deductable before they (insurance co.) has to start paying.

The medical providers are going to get this info, too. Then they will adjust their bills and send them out to you. That's when you have to pay.

As you're finding out, you get different bills from different providers. The hospital is one. The emergency room physician is another. If you needed radiological services, not only would you pay the hospital for the test, you'd get another bill from the radiologist who read the study (possibly even the next day, once you were discharged from the ER). If you needed surgery, you'd not only get one bill from the hospital (for the physical OR, starting an IV, meds, supplies, recovery room, overnight stay, etc) and one from the surgeon (and maybe another from the assistant, if there was one), but also the anesthesiologist.

And then you may find out that while the hospital is "within network" so that their fees are capped by their contract with the insurance company, the ER physician and anesthesiologist are not within network. So they can bill whatever they want--they're not constricted by any contract with Blue Cross/Aetna/Travelers/etc.

What a crazy system.

We are switching medical plans next year. I checked to verify that the medical group/hospital I use are in-network, also each of the individual doctors I go to. I checked which of the nearest ERs are in-network. I set up a health saving account for the amount of the family's deductible ($2400). I built an Excel spreadsheet and ran scenarios to figure out which of the plans would be best - turns out the so-called low premium plan with higher deductible and lower benefits is best in every conceivable scenario. I called our benefits people, they agreed, I asked so why are you offering the other plan with employee premiums of $9,000/yr when you agree it is inferior? No answer. That's a half day of my life that I'm not getting back.

Tnx, that's pretty much what I had figured. The EOB says "This is not a bill." The EOB is pretty clear on how it is broken down, including the "difference between your provider's charges and the amount the provider has agreed to accept as payment" (i.e., the negotiated amount?), and the "total patient responsibility." The "total patient responsibility" is the $778 and the $181. Based on the EOBs, it appears both the hospital and the Doc are in network.

Fortunately, there were only 2 possible providers that I could see in our case. The emergency room, and the doc that did the stitches. No radiology, no tests, no medications, etc. Like I said in the orig post, we were admitted, sat on a bed for a few minutes, doc came in, looked and stapled (10 minutes total) and we were out of there. We were in the hospital for less than 1 hour total, from walking in the door to walking out.

If you need multiple tests, etc. I can see how this can add up very quickly. My friend thought he was having a heart attack a year ago and had his wife take him to the ER. He was there 4 hours, they ran EKG, some kind of treadmill test, etc. Turns out there was no issue at all, total false alarm. Total bill was $8K, he had to pay close to $4K. He tried to fight the $4K, but it was to no avail. Either pay in full or they report against your credit.