I was supposed to get an IUD placed while hospitalized at an Ohio hospital after delivering my baby in May. At that time, I had good health insurance that would have covered the IUD at 100% as part of the hospitalization. Even though I reminded her and she ordered it, nurse had it at bedside ready to go she forgot to palace it 🙁 I reached out to her when she realized it hadn’t been done and she told me she’d just do it at my post-partum visit. But, then I lost my work health insurance, and my post-partum visit + IUD placement ended up happening after my last day of insurance. Now I’m stuck footing the out of pocket bill for the IUD (which should have been done in the hospital) or buying COBRA to cover. Both will cost over $1,000. It feels like the physician should have some responsibility in this issue since the whole issue could have been avoided if she had followed through. Is it appropriate for me to request that they back bill it to the hospitalization, or are there other ways for me to deal with this? It doesn’t fee fair that I have to pay just because she couldn’t remember to do a procedure (lol especially one that I reminded her of…while in labor) I don’t know if this is a legal question per se as I’m not like trying to sue her or anything, just attempting to understand how accountability/responsibility works in this scenario. Thanks! Location: Ohio
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>Is it appropriate for me to request that they back bill it to the hospitalization
They’re not going to back bill it. That would be fraud.
It is reasonable for you to feel unhappy. There’s no real solution in this situation.
Backdating/bill is usually a non-starter, and you can’t (successfully) sue here. However, you might ask if they are able to recode if this was medically indicated/ordered during your inpatient stay and was missed due to error. If it was supposed to be placed during your original hospitalization, they may have some flexibility with billing. It is not guaranteed to work, but you can inquire.
If that doesn’t work, you can also attempt to work with the hospital’s risk management or patient advocacy group and see if they can subsidize or waive part of your bill.
I would definitely ask what type of compensation could be given since it was the doctor’s mistake. I would be happy to waive fees if this were my patient.
If you qualify for Medicaid, if/when you’re approved, the coverage extends back 3 months. You could try that…
I have a question. Where you planning to have the IUD placed at the time of delivery?
Because if that is the case that won’t happen. After childbirth the uterus is still contracting. The IUD will be expelled. It’s not standard practice to do it at the same time.
Or, was the IUD placement to be done at a separate date?!
Since you are now uninsured, you might check with a sliding scale clinic like Planned Parenthood to see if you are eligible for a less costly IUD placement. Otherwise, ask your doctor if she will agree to a reduced cash pay price for the IUD given that the delay would otherwise cost you significantly.
They won’t place and IUD immediately after birth. You typically have to wait several weeks before being placed. Your ob/gyn didn’t do anything wrong and there is no recourse for her ti be held accountable, when she did things correctly.
You should ask your provider to waive the fees. Physicians have the ability to not bill for something if they choose not to, for at least the physician service portion of the bill. I’m not sure about the facility or materials cost if they billed separately for those.
For $1000 you could fly to Europe and have one placed paying out of pocket. That’s crazy.
Patient advocate at the hospital and explain that you aren’t going to pay because of their neglect.
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There is nothing illegal that happened, so there is not anything legally that you can do. I recommend calling your state insurance to see if they have any kind of resources available for people in your county and state. There may be some way to get assistance in covering the bill.
Former clinic manager here…. Talk to the clinic manager. They may be able write it off due to doctor error. The health system I worked at allotted a budget for each doctor for these circumstances. There are limits and your doctor may not be able to, but it is worth asking about.