an enormous thank you

[shiverbones]

I don't know if I will be able to convey what you as a community have done for me. The feeling of support and kinship has elevated my spirits beyond measure. The financial burden you have helped reduce is enormous, and I have gone from dreading the operation and the financial burden to actually looking forward to it and getting on with normal life. It was more than money that was raised, but a feeling of community so rare these days. Ironically, the very tool of isolation from community in the traditional sense, the internet, is exactly the tool that made this possible. I am honored to be part of such an outstanding group of human beings, and humbled at the same time.

 

I sincerely thank all of you for what you have done.

 

- Matthew

[greggy]

Take care, dorkette!

[The Troll King]

There has been a general feeling of extra kinship on these boards lately... at least since the last strike/ban that is.

 

Oh... except you greggy!

[Subliminal]

What happenned? Did someone here give you a kidney?

 

 

[djpinkpanther67]

:thumbsup:

 

[Comicdey]

Take care, dorkette!

 

Always a first responder.....

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond that.............good to see the boards feel like time well spent

 

Take care, get well, and get a sketching.

[moonlite]

You are more than welcome! Just get better soon.

[Transplant]

Great. Now you'll be drawing/painting happy unicorns in fields of flowers.

 

So much for those glory days of this board. To bad we can't be around the good ole days. Nothing ever happens here now.

[Count]

outstanding group of human beings

 

Wait....you guys are human?

 

Good Luck Matthew (thumbs u

[143ksk]

[The Question?]

 

 

Really?

[The Less Blob]

So what's the net of the net here? The forum got you your down payment on the surgery, or is that the deductable? I missed the original post(s)..are you without insurance or just have a huge deductable? Is the $ collected here just the tip of the iceberg of what this is going to cost?

[shiverbones]

Yes, I am without insurance. The boards raised enough between my limited edition card & the charity thread to pay the down payment for the surgery center as well as pay the surgeon's repair fee in full, which will reduce the price 10%. Now I just have to cover surgeon's office visits fees, the rest of the surgical center fee, and the anatheseiologist fee.

[moonlite]

Matthew,

Many hospitals have a system to help you out if you have a certain income. I don't know know how it is there but it is something I would definitely check into.

 

Medical facilities are used to payment arrangements later so at least that helps out a little timewise of course.

 

Most important is to get the condition taken care of first of course ...and soon so you can keep pumping out the artwork

[shiverbones]

I can get a 30% self pay discount at the hospital, but it is still a couple hundred more than the surgical center who offers no discount.

[Mr. Zipper]

Yes, I am without insurance. The boards raised enough between my limited edition card & the charity thread to pay the down payment for the surgery center as well as pay the surgeon's repair fee in full, which will reduce the price 10%. Now I just have to cover surgeon's office visits fees, the rest of the surgical center fee, and the anatheseiologist fee.

 

Have you negotiated with them?

 

I've worked in or around health care insurance for almost 10 years. NEVER accept the "non-insured" rate. Tell them you are uninsured, but it is a hardship and you want the same rate the local HMO is paying. It happens all the time.

 

For instance, my Mom recently had a surgery. The doctor's fee was $19,000, but her carrier's scheduled reimbursement was $2,400. So, the doctor was paid and accepted the $2,400, not his full fee. Unless you make some noise, they'll just charge you their "standard fee"... and we know that they will accept a lot less from a carrier...

[The Less Blob]

yes, you're walking into the hospital with $2K+++ in cash for a procedure you should be home from in a day or two if even that (my old man was back fiarly quickly from that and I think that was back in the 6 inch incision days 15 years ago). negotiate. sounds like you're going to be hit with a $25-30K total bill. that's insane for a 2 hour surgery. you have some $, you should be in a position to negotiate, even if you aren't physically up for it.

 

not to turn this into a political debate and i'm not michael moore or anything, it's one thing to have 40 million+ people uninsured, but it's something else when those people get hit with medical bills for the same services that are 800-1000% higher than what the insurers or medicaid get to pay. that's criminal, particularly when someone might be able to pay the discounted amount up front.

 

 

[The Less Blob]

So when is the next thread starting?

[Shootydog]

My wife used to perform that very job...negotiate with hospitals and doctors on billed charges to reduce the cost. She did it as part of her job and she did it for my folks once when my Mother was to have surgery. She got close to 8k in discounted fees. You will probably have to come up with downpayments and up front charges but it can save you money.

 

Now she went in with knowledge of prevailing fees and all that but you can negotiate with the hospital just like you haggle over the price of a nice GA slab. Healthcare is expensive but you can get a deal if you work with them.

[TonyStarkFan]

I will talk to my friend Jenny this weekend about it and my friend Melissa next weekend about the costs. They both work in hospitals and I told them about your situation. They were going to look into what you should actually be paying for such a procedure and not some inflated prices.