Hi folks, I'm posting because I really didn't expect that this would happen and hope that it can help someone else in the future!
Prior to conceiving our first child, my husband and I completed our goal of saving ~$6000 in our HSA to pay for all of the costs associated with having a baby on an HDHP in the US. The cost was based on an insurance-estimated normal pregnancy and delivery charge; we were lucky to have a non-complicated pregnancy and delivery.
Prior to delivering, I called the hospital billing department to get more specifics of how much delivery and recovery from birth would cost. They were able to give estimates, but the (very, very nice and helpful) billing specialist also indicated to me that we could receive a 20% discount on our total hospital bill by 1) paying the hospital the estimated amount of our care before they billed insurance and 2) paying that amount in full.
Come September, I delivered our son on a Sunday morning, we were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, and I made a visit to the billing department that Friday and paid our estimated cost in full (approximately $4800). That included the 20% discount, so the insurance estimate of $6000 was pretty spot-on.
Well. I got a check in the mail yesterday from the hospital with a reimbursement of $1600. It turns out that insurance covered more than they estimated, so they returned my overpayment. I was flabbergasted, to say the least. It's like finding a $20 on the sidewalk, but 80 times better. :)
If you are going to a medical provider for an expected procedure (surgery, delivering a baby, etc.), ask the billing department if they offer a similar discount! Even if we weren't able to pay in full, we would have received at least a 10% discount for paying the estimated amount in installments. I hope someone else can benefit from this knowledge!
Submitted December 05, 2017 at 10:17AM by molassesqueen http://ift.tt/2A7noGX
