Quote:
Originally Posted by fern46
I am frustrated today and need to vent. My brother is going through a cancer battle and he keeps hitting one obstacle after another. He is supposed to be healing, but the blows keep on coming. He has insurance, but the only anesthesiologist that works at his hospital is out of network. He has had to have 4 separate procedures that required anesthesia. The cost is insane.
His doctor chose a pathologist that was also out of network while my brother was asleep and under anesthesia. That bill was several more thousand dollars.
With the chemo and multiple surgeries and doctors visits, my brother hit his out of pocket max for the year. Everything should be covered at 100%, but the doctors keep making crap decisions that are out of his hands. The bills are over 30k at this point and keep piling up. My brother worked so hard to save and have something to fall on should he ever lose his job. He had money set aside for his children's education. That is now gone. Going into debt is inevitable.
He was handling it all well and then the latest crap thing happened this week. His chemo has been going well and his masses have shrunk. He had a visible mass that appears to be gone now, so we can tell the treatment is working. He was supposed to have a PET scan this week to see if the cancer was gone and if additional chemo was needed. There is no other way to tell for his type of cancer, so it is medically necessary. The insurance company refused to pay. His doctor is now administering another round of chemo even though it might not be necessary at all. It is making him so sick and everyone is fine to watch him suffer to save a few dollars. I'm so disappointed and angry. He is such a good man and has worked hard all his life. He never gets sick and is treated like this the first time he needs support. He has kept a positive attitude throughout it all, but this last news has really gotten to him. Its just too much.
My husband and I are doing what we can to help, but it is like spitting on a raging financial fire. The whole thing makes me feel helpless and angry.
Rant over.
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I’m sorry he is battling cancer, I lost my father to it in 97.
As for these out of network providers I? I say you need to fight the insurance company about the charges.
His cancer treatment team is at one location. It’s not your fault the anesthesia group doesn’t have a provider for X insurance.
You can submit an appeal stating his oncologist and surgeons needed are all together at hospital A there is no way for continuity of care if you have to go to another hospital, it’s likely another hospital will refuse it and your Doctors do not have privileges there.
Insurance companies will do anything to bill a patient , they bank on people just not fighting a bill.
I hope he can get some sort of break or a complete write off of those charges.
I hope your brother receives some positive news soon
