Uh oh - sleep lab bill came...

[GaryGarland]

Hi All,
Actually, wasn't that bad - my co-pay is $100 - and while i didn't want to pay it, it sure was better than $4,650 or so! bill not in front of me, but the breakdown was something like $4,650 sleep study with cpap, insurance discount some $700 or so, then the rest paid by insurance (thank god) less the $100.
wowzers - $4k? that's the most expensive lousy hotel room i ever stayed at! (they did have good coffee in the a.m. - as in 4:30 a.m., and the folks were very friendly. room was better than expected.)
my experience has been hospitals charge roughly $1k to $3k per day (not counting procedures, etc.) - i know there's a special room (camera, mike, remote for the equipment) and equipment - there was also a staff of 2, and a doc read over the results - but $4k? shame on them!

[jrt]

You may be getting more surprise charges. Is that just the sleep lab bill or does it include the doctor's fee too? Insurance seems to be billed seperately for the test,the doctor's service of "reading" the techs scoring plus a follow up visit. Plus there might be a surprise doctor bill to cover you physically being in the sleep lab for a test even though a doctor is not present , techs labor and/or use of facility charge. My sleep study had the lab and doctor billed seperately last year but I would not be surprised if current sleep studies bill out several more things.
In the last several years it seems insurance gets a extra billing for charges that the patient thought was included in the procedure like the added fee for blood drawing or labor for getting a vaccine and even the privaledge of being in the facility . I can see a seperate bill for the a doctor reviewing a test but things are getting a little out of hand.

This year I had a routine diagnostic xay insurance was charged and paid for the xay, the radiologist who read the xray plus there was a new bill from another doctor (that never was charged in prior years)just for me being in the department having the xay even though no doctor was present during the xray. Insurance just blindly paid this 2nd doctors bill and when I called the insurance company was told that sometimes it is billed that way and they just pay it without question. So 3 bills for one xray and that didnt include the doctor who ordered the xray in the first place.

[GaryGarland]

Yikes!
again, i'm thrilled the insurance covered me - and yeah, i bitch and moan about my premiums - last year i paid about $9k and probably got $1k in benefits (for my kid's pediatrician) - this year my wife is pregnant, and due in february - the c-section runs roughly $10k i think (from past experience) plus the follow up, so this year i really "made out" with the insurance - but really, the costs are just crazy.

[Portageegal]

You got Coffee ?????? I guess the fact that my two (one for titration) studies were under 4K each, was because they didn't include coffee. I had my diaphram repaired (hiatal hernia) this summer and it was almost 50K total. I am expensive, huh?

[Gerald]

All three times I was "wired up", the room was of lower quality than a Motel-6.

Actually, they were about "Motel 2-1/2" quality.

Really crummy.

I doubt if you'll ever catch me in one again......I'll do all my own work with Viewer and an Oximeter.

Gerald

[AuntieNae]

While my studies were expensive, I have nothing but positive things to say about my stay. The room was like staying at a 5 star hotel .. complete with a sleep number bed. The attention to detail was great - including a bathrobe my size!

[Kiralynx]

My initial study was around 4 grand, plus another $750 for the doctor to read the thing -- and I can't extract the technician scoring from them.

It was definitely not a good night. The sheets were washed in perfumed Tide and I had allergy attacks all night.

However, when I complained about this to them, they made very sure that the sheets and bed were de-perfumed before I had my titration. Plus I was in a room with no carpet & etc. that might have absorbed perfume.

I was very pleased with their responsiveness to the situation.

[jnk]

Hey, these prices ain't so bad!:

Sleep Physician Services
SLEEP LAB STARTUP

We offer solutions to start your sleep lab. We can provide some or all services to insure that you lab is operational and successful.

Whether you are a sleep physician, pulmonologist, neurologist, family physician, or a sleep technologist, we will partner with you so that you can provide sleep diagnostic services to your patients and community.

We will partnershare in the sleep lab. We do all of the lab work. We can provide the equipment, technologists/other staffing, marketing, scoring, and physician interpretations. You perform the billing. Sleep study reimbursements are often over $800. We charge about $450 -$550 to provide all services at the location. You keep the remainder.

Complete this form to find out more:

http://sleepphysicianservices.com/sleeplabsetup.htm