After Hospitalization ... finally

This letter was written in December 1989. Sequence of these letters start with the trip to England blogged in May 2008.

I'm finally back to work after four months on State Disability Pay (New Jersey). I was in the hospital (Philadelphia, PA) five times in those four months, had surgery several times and now it looks like everything is all tuned up and shipshape.

A number of doctors wrote off what Insurance wouldn't pay. In fact, I didn't even have to ask my doctor. The billing secretary said she would write off the remainder as soon as Insurance, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Major Medical, paid. And he isn't even a participating member of Blue Cross. I thought that was mighty thoughtful of them.

Last August I got bills from Anesthesia, from four doctors, for several surgical sessions in which they were involved. They had sent the bills to Insurance and asked only that insurance moneys be forwarded to Anesthesia Associates. Finally, Insurance started paying but they didn't pay the entire bill. I kept getting bills from Anesthesia for the remainder. I called up Insurance and said they didn't pay the entire amount, was I obligated to pay the remainder? They told me that they paid what was fair and equitable. Indeed, I would not have to be made to pay the rest. So I called up Anesthesia and asked about reducing or eliminating the remainder of the bills since Insurance paid their part. They told me to write a letter to the doctors involved, which I did. A few weeks later I was still getting periodic bills for the remainders so I called Anesthesia again. I asked what my balance was on the four bills outstanding. She looked it up on her computer. Doctor One, zero; Doctor Two, zero; Doctor Three, zero; Dr. Four...$75.00...no, she would write that off too. The total write-off amounted to almost $700. Believe me, I was elated.

It reminds me of the time when my Dad got a dentist bill he disagreed with. He either called up or wrote a letter to the dentist and told him, in no uncertain terms, that he objected to the bill and would pay only part of it. I was too young at the time to tell Dad that you just don't do it that way. Tact and diplomacy go far in such matters. Needless to say, he got another bill from the dentist demanding payment in full immediately.

In course of the several conversations I had with Insurance and the various medical billing offices, I have come to the conclusion that they intentionally inflate the bills to ensure receiving as much as Insurance will pay. I'm sure not all doctors write off the remainders—I had to ask Anesthesia for their consideration. I didn't have to ask Dr. Bagley, even though he is not a participating physician. Participating physicians are not supposed to receive any more than what Insurance pays them.

I went to the hospital again after I had settled everything with Anesthesia and now I got another bill from Anesthesia from the surgery since then—$540. Insurance already sent in their portion—Blue Shield sent $315 and Major Medical sent $99. That leaves a $126 remainder to haggle with with Anesthesia. I guess I'll just wait to see if they write it off before I put on my diplomatic hat again.

These bills are very confusing too. Fortunately, there's a date of service to orient one to when, where and how that bill was generated. I started keeping track of my medical escapades since September which was a little late to document all the doctor appointments, xrays, examinations, and in-patient medical services performed. I received an insurance check for $125 for Jefferson Associates. There are several Associates at Jefferson—Urology, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine. And some of those bills are from outside service vendors who do consulations, analyses, or evaluations. I called one number and it was an Associate office outside the city in Bala Cynwyd. She wrote off the bill—bless her!

All this free time I've had over the past months has allowed me to come to grips with my own financial situation. I could easily declare bankruptcy. I've been beholden to the credit card craze for years and now I find that I've been as bad as the federal government, living on a deficit. Now I've stopped using credit cards, and I've set up a budget to live within my means. No, it's not a sickness, as people like to make excuse for their bad spending habits. It's just a habit one gets into. Now I'm keeping track of all my pennies. I'm holding on to only a couple of vices—buying stamps and stationery to write these letters.

I had had two Thanksgiving dinners, Thursday and Saturday, which eased the budget tremendously. My sister Jane invites me to dinner occasionally. I don't eat out anymore. I've discovered rice, although I wish it was tastier. Frozen corn heats up in minutes in the microwave. Potatoes take about 8 minutes to bake in the microwave. The Acme sells cooked chickens for about $5, which is enough for a couple meals; and just the other day one chicken was marked down to $1.99, and it was still warm. My brother and I had a nice inexpensive meal that evening—chicken, rice, corn and applesauce. He and I live together. He's watching his budget too. And fortunately he likes my cooking.

So how did your vacation go? Anything exciting? I took my vacation in April, to London. I don't know what I'll do this coming year. I don't want to spend any money for awhile, so maybe I'll just stay home and read...read library books.

We had a bit of excitement the other day. But first, on November 16 we had a rip-roaring windstorm go through here. The south wind had been blowing all night and around noon a north wind came through like gangbusters, knocking down trees, power lines; and in Philadelphia a high-rise under construction was damaged by flying sheetrock panels. They flew into the air and knocked out about 40 windows in the adjacent high-rise office building. I remember because I was admitted to the hospital that day—after the storm had passed by. The high-rise was just a couple blocks from Jefferson Hospital.

Then less than a week later I was sitting here reading in the evening when the wind rose again. I didn't pay much attention to it until I heard a loud metallic clatter outside. I'm on the fifth floor of an eight-story building and I saw bricks, wood and debris all over the ground by the front entrance. I don't think any cars were hit although there were about 100 parked nearby.

Soon firetrucks, ambulances, and police cars came barreling in. Searchlights played over the whole building, and firemen went up to the roof to survey the damage. A piece of roofing was still dangling over the edge of the roof and they didn't allow anyone to leave the front entrance. The wind was still high.

Soon there was a knock on the apartment door. A fireman told us to leave our apartment and stay out in the hall or go down to the lobby. They wanted to remove the roofing on the edge and they didn't want any stray pieces to fall and shatter a window. We stayed in the hall for about a half hour.

The next day the episode was in the paper, complete with pictures. I guess the media had been out there among the fire trucks to add to the confusion. Nobody was hurt though.

Well, I have more letters to write. I didn't feel like writing lately because I was still worried about my health. But this past Monday everything turned out OK when I went to the hospital for the last time to see whether everything was functioning properly. So I'm free once again, and quite happy about it.

This letter was written on December 2, 1989. I would have never remembered the details I described if I hadn't written them down. That's the value of writing letters—a virtual diary.