QUESTION
I asked the hospital for a quote, upfront, before a procedure that my insurance wouldn''t cover. Now the hospital is asking for more money!
Asked on Jan 19th, 2012 on Business Law - Florida
More details to this question:
Allow me to rephrase an earlier question. I needed an endoscopy done, and I knew my insurance wouldn''''t cover the charges due to a pre-existing condition. Long before the procedure was to happen, I explicitly asked for a quote upfront. After finally getting a quote for $2,500.00. I decided to continue with the procedure and paid the amount, in full, upfront. Now, I''''m being billed by the hospital for charges stemming from this procedure that should have been included in the original quote. Specifically charges from the Anesthesiologist. There were no "added" services rendered, anesthesia is a mandatory part of the procedure. All of this money is coming out of pocket. I''''m not wealthy by any means. If I were to dispute these charges, do I have a legal leg to stand on to refuse further payment?
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Those are important additional facts. As a general matter, a hospital furnishes only its own services and not those of your physicians. In today's world, most physicians who work in hospitals are not employed by the hospitals; they are independent contractors and work directly for the patients. So when you ask a hospital how much its charges will be, the hospital quotes the charges for its own services only. In retrospect, you asked an insufficiently inclusive question. It doesn't sound as if anyone did anything wrong. You received the services of the anesthesiologist and are responsible for the reasonable value of those services.
Answered on Jan 19th, 2012 at 10:55 PM