Recently received a letter in the mail from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts that a surgery I had in there early November was not covered, and the total amount owed was $92,286.55.
A little backstory. I have known about benign tumors called schwannomas that are growing on my spine for almost 10 years now. I've had the same medical coverage since 2014. In late 2015 I had surgery to remove one of them for my thoracic spine, all except $250 covered. The $250 was a co-payment. In January of 2017, I had one removed from my brain. Same story, everything except 250 covered. Since these tumors grow on nerves they can cause quite extreme pain and were threatening my quality of life and potentially my life itself, with partial paralyzation being the best outcome if they were not removed.
On November 6th I had one removed from my sciatic nerve. L5, left side. Same surgeon that did my thoracic spine, same practice, same hospital, with the same insurance. And nothing was covered, and I got billed for $92,000.
I know that this can be disputed / fought, but I do not know what steps to take. I'm very hesitant to contact Blue Cross or the hospital without getting advice first.
I am still currently covered under this health insurance plan and like I said to have been since 2014. I do not understand why I was billed.
Please advise on what I should do. Should I contact a lawyer? How much is a lawyer? I've never had to use a lawyer for anything and I'm afraid that that in itself will be several thousand dollars that I do not immediately have.
Submitted December 15, 2018 at 05:14PM by mattschinesefood https://ift.tt/2EqR5TY
