# medical bills from m/c



## chel (Jul 24, 2004)

I would have never thought how $$ a m/c can be. I have decent insurance but a fairly high deductible, $800, so I'm paying for everything, unless it's over the max rates allowed by insurance -see u/s.
I've tried to opt out of as much as possible and went with misoprostol instead of a D&C. I wouldn't think you could do a medically managed m/c much cheaper than this. I went for my first appt at around 12w (possible much longer as my cycles are off) and opted for a drug induced m/c since the blighted ovum was measuring 8w. I felt if my body didn't m/c naturally in 4+ weeks it might need some help and I had a trip coming up that would put me very far from medical assistance.

In the best possible situation I could have had only 1 u/s and two HCG to see if my levels were dropping and just waited for it to possible happen naturally and saved around $200.

so far, and I'm sure more are to roll in

it's
$12.50 for a progesterone blood draw
$10.15 for HCG-B quant. x 3
$5.65 phlebotomy (each blood draw) x 3
$174 u/s (would have been $400 without insurance discount rate) x2
$5 misoprostol x2
$5 pain pills

so far my total out of pocket is
*$422.90*

I've tried to cut cost by refusing one u/s, I had two, one since I didn't know when I conceived and found out I had a blighted ovum and one after the misoprostol to see if anything was left.

I've had 3 HCG, 2 to see if my levels were going down and one after the misoprostol to see if I had a major drop.
OB wanted me to come in to confirm a 0 HCG level. I declined and said I would do a home pee test and if not neg. in 2 months I would come back.

OB had wanted me to come to the office for a second u/s with my second HCG (48hrs after the first test) but I argued if the HCG was dropping it wouldn't matter and who really wants to see an empty sac for the second time, though after seeing my big drop in HCG from 5,000-2,000 my OB might not have pushed for another u/s at that time. I went directly to the hospital lab for the 2nd HCG so there wouldn't be an office visit. Mentally much easier. Lab tech just talked about the weather and I wasn't sitting in a room of pg bellies, plus much closer to home than OB office.

OB also wanted to do a second progesterone check with my second HCG, but I questioned if it wouldn't really matter and OB didn't push it.
OB wanted to put me on progesterone at my first appt when we found out about the blighted ovum. I guess that's the debate whether low prog caused a blighted ovum of whether my prog was low due to a non-viable pregnancy. I delined the prog and don't plain to use it unless I have another m/c.

OB never metioned coming back for a follow up appt so as long as I get a neg hpt I don't plan to go back unless I get pg again or in Sept of 08 for my next pap. I was due for one in Sept. 07 but I fear with all this going on I would have a good chance of an abnormal result, like I did when dd was 1yr, that never amounted to anything.


----------



## NullSet (Dec 19, 2004)

I had the same experience having had a ton of bills with Calliope's stillbirth and we have a $3000 dollar deductible! We planned this last pregnancy by setting up an HSA and keeping the amount of our deductible in it. It worked out really well except for the fact that there was no baby to go along with all the money paid out. It really leaves a bad taste in my mouth thinking about that. It was the same thing with my m/c last year, bills from ob visits and blood tests but no baby.









At my 6 week PP appointment my ob did a pap smear and it came out abnormal and freaked me out. From doing research online, I figured out that it is normal to have an abnormal pap during times of stress. Gee, you think I was stressed??!!







: I would have never thought!







That kind of made me angry, why do a pap if you already know I am stressed and there is a good chance it will be abnormal?


----------



## naturegirl (Apr 16, 2002)

So much to go through emotionally and then to have the financial stress on top of it!









I, fortunately I guess, had my 2 m/c's naturally without any expense or needed medical attention. However, recently I had an ectopic pregnancy that required surgery, 2 ultrasounds, numerous hcg draws, and two shots of a medication that was nasty.







I also have insurance with a high deductible ($1500) and this loss will cost us well over $2000 out of pocket by the time it is over. (Not to mention the $3000 or so that my insurance company will have spent).









It seems every time I get a bill it is another sad reminder. And when I had my son at home I didn't end up paying hardly anything! It doesn't seem fair to have such sadness cost soooo much and such joy cost so little.


----------



## zonapellucida (Jul 16, 2004)

Oh just UGH!!! It makes me ill how the med profession tries to make money out of misery.







s mama


----------



## mommyfied (Jun 25, 2007)

I have a high deductible/HSA plan ($3000) since I'm self-employed.

I'm paying for all the pre-first appointment bloodwork they do for pregnancy (stds, rubella, drug tests), plus the pap test that I initially refused, but ob made me feel like a crazy patient for not going ahead so I said fine, whatever. = $500 I was whining about paying for this even before I knew something was wrong.

Then I had an ultrasound when we found no HB. That will be around $200.

Then I've had two hcg draws and I haven't gotten the bill for those yet.

They want me to come in for another, but I protested that I wanted to use a HPT but nurse insisted I make the appointment to "track levels to zero". I will be cancelling that appointment later.


----------



## wifeandmom (Jun 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zonapellucida* 
Oh just UGH!!! It makes me ill how the med profession tries to make money out of misery.







s mama

I'm sorry, but this rubbed me the wrong way. Should they offer D&C services for free? Losing a child has to be one of my biggest fears, but it makes no sense to me that someone would honestly expect medical professionals to offer services for free (or even at cost...they have bills to pay just like everyone else) just because I am suffering a tragedy.

Where would it end? Should heart surgeons only charge patients they are able to cure? What about ER visits where the staff does everything in their power to save a patient's life, but they die anyway? Do they just eat the cost of the bill because it would make you ill for them to 'make money' off of someone else's tragedy?

The prices she listed were *very* reasonable for the services described. Nobody is getting rich off of $10 blood tests, that's for sure. I just don't get your statement at all.


----------



## maisiedotes (Jan 2, 2005)

It makes me so mad. My son is gone because (I feel) of the midwife's neglect and I still have to pay??? She should be paying ME. I set up a payment plan- I pay $100 a month toward the bill (it is actually all the bills from ultrasounds, delivery, lab tests, etc, totalling about $2200 plus $900 from my near-breakdown and visit to the psych. hospital).

I hate seeing that stupid bill every month.


----------



## chel (Jul 24, 2004)

wifeandmon,
I totally agree that it has to cost something. But just to compare it to my dd's birth, where I only paid a $20 copay for my first office visit and then $100 when dd was born. It was all lumped into a maternity package then.

I even had 3 u/s for dd, she had some growth issues going on at the end and the last one was a long scan.

I don't know how people can afford u/s if paying "ala carte" like I'm doing now.

All this makes me wonder what I might do differently if I have another pregnancy. I would so want to go in ASAP to see what's inside, but knowing the cost I will probably wait till 12w, but man those will be the longest weeks of my life!


----------



## wifeandmom (Jun 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *maisiedotes* 
It makes me so mad. My son is gone because (I feel) of the midwife's neglect and I still have to pay??? She should be paying ME. I set up a payment plan- I pay $100 a month toward the bill (it is actually all the bills from ultrasounds, delivery, lab tests, etc, totalling about $2200 plus $900 from my near-breakdown and visit to the psych. hospital).

I hate seeing that stupid bill every month.











If your midwife was negligent, resulting in your son's death, you absolutely have the right to sue her. I would guess that if she was indeed responsible for your son's death, you'd get way more monetary compensation than the $3K+ in bills that resulted from the whole situation.


----------



## normajean (Oct 21, 2003)

I'm also nervous about the bills. I paid my m/w $250 for prenatal care up to my loss. Now that I had to go to the hospital for hemmoragging...there's a trans vag ultrasound, pelvic exams, ER costs, & costs of meds. Plus the possible D&C next week. We have new insurance, I hope its a good plan that covers most of it.


----------



## crystaldawn (May 6, 2007)

Ahh the medical bills. I'm pretty disgusted with the whole process/amt it costs. It's rather rediculous. We have a $250 deductible and then we pay 20% (this has always been fine because none of us has ever been ill). The total cost of my hcg's and u/s's, plus my surgery/dr bill was OVER $6000. This is with the provider discounts etc thru the insurance. I can hardly believe it. I have to wonder what a c-section costs... $30,000???

Anyway out of pocket we STILL have to pay $1250. I paid all the "little bills" as in the ones that were like $20 here and there. And still owe the hospital $700 for the day of surgery. I called and actually they were very flexible and said I can pay whatever I can afford every month and there is no interest... I guess I can't ask for more than that. I'm probably going to pay a small amt every month and then pay it off after jan 1st when I have money back in my flex spending acct...

The sad thing is the minute I started to feel better immediately following my d&c I'd receive another bill in the mail... another reminder of the crappy summer that I had. Uggh. Oh and it is less for me to actually deliver at full term than it was for the d&c because the insurance covers 100% of inpatient services as long as you're preapproved. Jerks!!


----------



## clarkwuf (Sep 26, 2007)

I'm kind of freaking out, too. I'm still waiting on the RE bill for the three u/s while he was monitoring my two clomid cycles. He was negligent in that I found out he's supposed to monitor me during the first trimester but I never heard from him. I resent that he never followed up therefore missing my ectopic before the rupture.

Then I'll have the m/w bills for the tests and two appointments. She did her job but it upsets me that she ignored me when I said I was in pain and therefore did nothing to catch my ectopic. I found out after the rupture that I had all the signs of ectopic and she knew about those signs but she never put it all together. So I resent her, too.

Then, most fun and most expensive, my ambulance ride, the ER visit, the emergency removal of the ruptured tube and (TMI!) the suctioning out over 1 liter of blood, followed by a two-day hospital stay.

All of this is going to pretty-much wipe out all the money we carefully saved for trying to get pregnant and then prenatal care, the birth, and stuff for the baby. And I'm not only not pregnant anymore but I'm starting over with only one tube to go with my already-crappy ovaries. It's going to be another year of saving before we can afford to risk this mess all over again if my ovaries don't magically kick in and if we dare to try clomid knowing it puts me at increased risk of yet another ectopic.


----------



## clarkwuf (Sep 26, 2007)

Dp


----------



## ferretfan (Nov 13, 2005)

i hear ya









my m/c has so far cost us $500







for a u/s, pointless blood draw and doc consult. we have crappy insurance with NO maternity benefits. even though this m/c should be covered under 'hazard' or whatever they want to call it, we still have a $5000 deductable







:
i really should go back to the docs as i'm still having some intermittent cramping but we just cant afford it. almost makes me want to go back home to the UK where i could miscarry for free.....







:


----------

