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A question about medical costs Macharius Send a noteboard - 09/02/2010 02:49:49 PM
Some basic info first / personal update stuff first before getting to the point of this post.

I started dating a girl a year ago. We're now living together, and engaged to be married on July 24. Super exciting, etc. ;)

Eight days ago, she fell and broke her ankle. As she doesn't have insurance right now (we've been trying to get her on a plan, but her application has been open for months because they're overloaded and we can't actually talk with them to figure out what they still need), I've been trying to determine about how much her bill will run to with:

-Ambulance
-6 hours in the ER
-consultation visits
-one failed attempt at surgery (ankle still too swollen to operate, but required operating room/anaesthetic usage to properly cast her ankle in the meantime).
-one successful surgery to install plates/screws
-followup consultations visits
-casts

And right now, I'm not even considering another surgery to remove plates/screws whenever that will need to be done.

What I'm looking for, is someone who might actually be able to put a figure to any/all of these things so that I can achieve a "maximum possible debt" before anything else. If it's relevant, we live in the Saint Paul, Minnesota metro area and have been going to a Trauma Level 1 hospital.
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A question about medical costs - 09/02/2010 02:49:49 PM 661 Views
I would suggest - 09/02/2010 02:57:51 PM 469 Views
Re: I would suggest - 09/02/2010 04:54:47 PM 364 Views
well, it'd be hard to say "oh it's usually this" for the whole industry - 09/02/2010 05:04:47 PM 445 Views
But it shouldn't be. - 09/02/2010 05:30:52 PM 457 Views
I don't think less opacity would change the price of the supplies much - 09/02/2010 07:21:32 PM 300 Views
Yup - 09/02/2010 05:13:02 PM 338 Views
Re: Yup - 09/02/2010 07:19:47 PM 318 Views
I was being sarcastic - 09/02/2010 07:24:28 PM 439 Views
Re: I was being sarcastic - 09/02/2010 08:58:47 PM 420 Views
You're not alone. - 09/02/2010 09:00:43 PM 318 Views
billing people can be short and sometimes rude... - 09/02/2010 07:26:00 PM 297 Views
I spent maybe 3 hours in the ER for an infection - 09/02/2010 03:00:50 PM 513 Views
O.o that's crazy - 09/02/2010 03:33:16 PM 345 Views
Congrats on the engagement.... - 09/02/2010 05:33:14 PM 339 Views
the cost structure they use is so insane it would be almost impossible to guess - 09/02/2010 03:04:09 PM 349 Views
Congratulations on the engagement - 09/02/2010 03:09:06 PM 322 Views
At least a couple thousand is my best guess - 09/02/2010 03:31:30 PM 324 Views
Well hindsight is 20/20, but was the ambulance ride truly necessary? - 09/02/2010 03:34:39 PM 469 Views
Yes. - 09/02/2010 05:00:31 PM 311 Views
America is such a crazy place... - 09/02/2010 03:44:35 PM 357 Views
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ but you can negotiate down a few $$$ *NM* - 09/02/2010 05:44:21 PM 194 Views
Several thousand dollars. - 09/02/2010 08:08:16 PM 367 Views
Re: Several thousand dollars. - 09/02/2010 08:55:21 PM 316 Views
I have no idea about hospital costs - 09/02/2010 08:12:41 PM 330 Views
One answer: - 09/02/2010 11:56:00 PM 368 Views
*wince* - 10/02/2010 12:07:21 AM 313 Views
Re: One answer: - 10/02/2010 03:58:31 AM 331 Views
First - YAY! Second - Yikes! - 10/02/2010 04:15:30 AM 319 Views
Apply for medical assistance and talk to the hospital! - 11/02/2010 12:28:44 AM 436 Views

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