Anyone else ever heard of this?

[Momma2theJs]

No, that's crazy. The only thing even remotely like that is here if you can pay 80% of what you're total delivery/doc/anesthesia bill is expected to be BEFORE you deliver, they wipe out the other 20.

[s@hmommy]

I have never paid anything in advance. They have no idea what you will owe when you do have the baby because of you deductible possibly going down, they don't know how you will deliver, what services you will and will not require/accept, and/or possible complications. That seems silly to ask you to pay for something you haven't received anyhow.

[Fishie Kisses]

With DS3 we wanted to go with a birthing center. The coverage for such from our insurance was exactly the same as a hospital birth, so we were excited at the prospect. Except the center required payment IN FULL from us, then they bill the insurance after the birth and refund us what the insurance covers. Yeah, no thanks!

[AniMommy]

With my insurance BCBS of Or here's what happened both times:

Dr/mw had a set fee for prenatal services and delivery (say $4000). Dr office contacted ins co to find out my benefits/deductible/copayment. The ins co expected that they would pay $3000 of the dr fee. Then the dr/mw told me I owed $1000 to them. They wanted me to pay $1000 prior to birth and wanted to set up payment plan.

When all the bills went thru (1st birth) the dr bill went thru after we had maxed out our yearly amount owed and we were refunded our cash payment.

Op- get a copy of your dad's ins card (or his plan info #) and call the ins co yourself ask to speak to cs rep and have them explain what your maternity benefits are. You shouldn't need your dad to talk to them. This should clarify if the dr office is billing you correctly.

[3lilbubs]

Do you think at any point in time you could have consented to a repeat c/s in paperwork? If they are charging you for it and bringing it up consistently I wouldn't feel safe that they had my best interests and VBAC in mind.

[Sarawithouth]

The $1000 sounds like your deductible, which is required in advance. Your medwife or doctor will bill a global charge, and you're responsible for deductible/coinsurance.

[AniMommy]

Plus the billing lady probably has no idea about your actual treatment plan. It may be that she thinks once a c/s always a c/s and bills for that service. Or was told to do that by the office manager.

I did inquire w my dr billing dept what happens if I have a c/s vs vag delivery (I was quoted a vag delivery global fee). They told me it was more (like $500) but not to worry about it until it happened.

If the $1000 is your global deductible, just give them a little bit of money at each visit. Do what you can, I'm sure your not the first patient who couldnt pay all at once. My guess is as long as your paying something, she'll stop hassling you. I know it makes me feel like a loser to tell some one that I don't have the money. But the billing dept's job is to get money from people.