Epidural cost $6000. Is that ridiculous? ?

Question

Even after insurance, I still owe $600. A friend in my same area was only charged $800 total (before insurance) and that was for anesthesiology for a C-section with both an anesthesiologist and a nurse anesthetist. My delivery was normal. IS there anything we can do?

Answer 1

Anesthesia billing is generally done in time units.  There is a base charge for doing the procedure, and then additional time units are billed in 15 minute increments.

So, the total amount of your bill is affected by how long you actually received the services too.  Did you have the epidural for a long length of time?  (A c-section is a relatively quick procedure, in terms of the anesthesiologist's time, which is probably why your friend's charge was only $800.  Hard to say if your charge was "outrageous" without knowing how much time your anesthesia was administered for...though on the surface, it sounds a little on the high side.)

I guess that might be where I'd start inquiring - see what length of time/how many units of anesthesia were administered.  After that, you can do a little digging and find out what the typical rate in your area would be.  (If you want to update your question to add that information, someone here might be able to help you look that up...there's a lot of info available out there to give an idea of what's "typical" for a medical charge.  You just have to know where to look for it.)

Answer 2

I find it hard to believe that just the epidural, is that much.  Cash price is $700 in my hospital.

You can always ask for a repricing, or to verify the charge.  That sounds more like the room and board for mom & baby for two days.

But a C Section - you usually get a spinal block with that, not an epidural.    And a C, is NOT a "normal" delivery.