astronomical cost of brain mri

[someqs17]

hi all,

i am at a complete loss right now and think yall would know the most about this. i went for my second brain mri a couple months ago for ms symptoms and i just got the bill. i had it done on a 3t machine at a hospital. the cost before insurance was $10,000. thats right, $10,000. with my insurance i owe $1,828.

now, i had a brain mri done at an mri place a year ago on a 1t machine and the cost before insurance was $1,400 and i paid $300.

i called my insurance and they cant help...they said id need to check w the hospital on the cost. how could this be soooo much money!?????? it seems complelteyl insane.

would love to hear what u all think

could this be? could 3t cost like 10x a regular machine? this seems unbelievable to me and im hoping its a mistake but i tend not to think so. meanwhile i had a lumbar puncture whixh was only 3k before insurance.

[PastorDan]

I can see how that could be a factor, dv.  In addition, most have annual deductibles, which might (or might not) have been all or partially met already for the year.  It really gets confusing when the "family" deductible comes into play, if you ask me.  I really don't know how that works into the equation.  I will be very interested in seeing if my MRI turns out to cost me anything near the figures I was quoted, when all's said and done.  I certainly pray it's no more; we're not really what I would call flush these days.

[doublevision1]

So Dan....this is why patients don't know until after the fact what they be charged for co-pay?  

[PastorDan]

Lulu's right.

One more potential complication: PPO's.  Many insurance companies have negotiated a specific contract amount with each area facility for each procedure (with exceptions, no doubt).

My insurance company told me that the facility could tell me what that figure was, but that the contract prohibited the insurance company from telling me.

Therefore, I had to call around to different facilities, try to find someone who was willing to admit that they had a clue about what I was asking, and try to wrestle the information out of them for the procedure I would have and the insurance plan covering it.

Seems it would have been much simpler for the insurance company to tell me who's high and who's low priced, but the hospitals don't want them to be able to do that.

Very frustrating, but once again, it sounds like the insurance company is not the bad guy -- or at least not the only bad guy.

Actually, the disease is the real bad guy; whatever it is, that's what I'm mad at!

[Lulu54]

Hi.  To add just one thing here - before you pay anything to the hospital, be sure to see the EOB (explanation of benefits) from your insurance company for this test. This EOB will tell you exactly what the hospital did bill, what the insurance company did pay and then what you owe.  Be sure you are paying your percentage off of what the insurance company paid and not what the hospital billed for the MRI.

good luck-
Laura

[KatCaughtABigFish]

Sometimes the hospital will write it off if you can really show them that you are on the lower income for your area.  You will have better luck actually going to their offices.  Bring your tax return in for the previous year, pay check stubs, if you can show that you don't own any boats or other property.

[meg321]

I had my last brain MRI and it cost $6,300.00 and I only paid $141.59 of that.
I also have good insurance with medicare.

I remember when I had both the brain and spine mri...of course it was double in price.

meg