Read The Fine Print

[1FASTLASER]

Just a heads up for those of you that maybe take for granted (like I do sometimes) and dont read enough of the important stuff. Here's the storie.....

Wife came home 2 weeks ago and the dogs knocked over glass of tea. She slipped init and hit the door frame buustin bothe bones right above her ankle. Trip to emergency room.....put a temp splint on....see the bone doctor next day.....he says wait a week and we will either put a cast on or have surgery. Needless to say her bones started to slip so she needs plates and screws and pins put in. She gets this setup for this past friday. I get there .......with her of course..........and they say before they can do surgery I have to pay my part on the insurance no problem I whoop out the $20 copay or so I thought and the lady informs me that;s on surgwery's that are life threathening not elective surgeries. I ask her WTF doess that mean.......literally and she explains that this is an elective surgery ............wife doesnt have to have to continue living. PISSED wasnt the word for it. Cost me $700 on the spot to get humpty dumpty put back together.

So the moral of the story is better read those insurance papers and UNDERTAND all the terms before you start paying for the high price ripoff that most insurance is.

[bcklash]

Sorry to hear about your wife. You are right, insurance is the biggest ripoff in the world. Auto, life, health, home owners and BOAT, the more you pay the more you have to pay when you need it. Bunch of commey B&*&*&ds. IT STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN and like gas prices the govt. doesn't give a RATS ***. Sorry about the mini rant laser hope your wife gets better soon.

[3dkicker]

Laser,
You need to go back to the Ortho and have him or her contact your insurance because the surgery was necessary and the injury was life threatening. Any non-union fracture can lead to necrosis or bone death. This then can also lead to infection and gangrene. Depending on the location of the problem it will also lead to disablility later too. Forget what the hospital person told you, contact the insurance yourself, and use the physician. They hate the insurance companies and will do everything they can to get your money back for you (or at least that's what I've found with the MD's that I work with). There was nothing "elective" about the surgery!!!!

[pignjig]

Good heads up, 3d.

Sorry to hear about your bride, Laser. Hope she heals fast and as comfortable as possible.

[Jim80]

solid advice advice 3d i worked in insurance for a while as well , life insurance but none the less broken all the same .

[Bo Dale James Jr.]

Yeah that is totally wrong. There is no way that was elective surgery.
Heck, you can't expect someone to walk around with poorly mended broken bones...I would dispute it as far as you can, and you should win from the way it sounds.

[Bender]

I ran into the same thing earlier this year for my wisdom teeth removal, just shy of $2,500, all out of pocket. It was nothing compared to having a broken ankle, but I sure was in pain before I had them out and it was not covered at all.
I don't know what to do about health care in this county, but it really needs work.

[Rebbasser]

Elective surgery my (insert your favorite term here). A face lift, tummy tuck or boob job is elective surgery. A broken leg sure as **** aint.

Talk to the doc, D. Let him know what happened and let the insurance folks he pays run interference for you.

[MississippiBoy]

Yeah, I'm definitely calling B.S. on this one. I'm with Reb...get the doc to tell the insurance guys, let them fight it out.
Bottom line, insurance should pay everything, minus co-pay.
I hate idiots.

[1FASTLASER]

Thanks for the heads up everyone 3D it sounds like you really know your chit and I will be using those terms you stated. This INFURIATED me cause I thought the same.it was not elective but at the time I didnt have the time nor the patience to fight it out. At that point the only thought was getting my wife fixed and which one of the bastu### I was gonna choke the chit out of for telling me this at the time they did. I consider myself a pretty calm person and can hold my temper but I have had more thatn I can carry over the last 3 weeks.......................SOMEONE IS GONNA PAY DEARLY

[3dkicker]

Laser - Look up your insurance information online. Make sure you don't have a higher than normal co-pay (most I would think you would have to pay is $100 or maybe at the most $200). Then contact the doctor's office and talk to their staff member who deals with the insurance companies. May not be a person in the office but they will have someone. Speak with that person and explain the problem. They will probably contact your insurance and explain to them why the surgery was necessary. This usually will solve the problem. Next step is you call the insurance yourself but usually isn't necessary.

Best of luck with it.

[bamabassman]

laser sorry bout the little lady. my wife broke her wrist a few years ago, took 4 operations to get it fixed. first doctor really messed her up. we couldn't find a lawyer anywhere in the state that would take her case. so better luck to you.