# Cost of a partial thyroidectomy



## adagio

I've finally come to terms with the fact that my left lobe needs to take a hike! It's starting to hurt, and I've felt like I've had a tortilla chip lodged sideways in my throat for three days now. It actually radiates up to my left eye at times, and then down to my diaphragm at other times. Happy times! 

I dont' have traditional insurance. I have a health sharing plan called Samaritan Ministries, which is AWESOME. Technically, I'm a self-paying patient, and then they reimburse me for all of my costs. (I know LOTS of people who have them, and yes, it works...they really are amazing.)

Anyway, the hospital won't take me for surgery unless I prepay. I'm trying to negotiate a discount with them, but I don't have much to go on as far as a reasonable and customary charge.

They quoted me at $19,000, and that's after an $8000 discount for self-paying patients.

Does this seem like a fair price to you? Do any of you know what you were charged for your total or partial thyroidectomy?

Seriously, I cannot wait to get this thing out. If I don't get any more discounted, I have to find $19,000 somewhere... This should be fun!


----------



## Octavia

I thought I remembered a similar question somewhat recently...here it is:

http://www.thyroidboards.com/showthread.php?t=5195&highlight=cost

I vaguely remember something around $20,000, but I'll need to double-check if I can find my paperwork.

On a related note, you may be interested in knowing this: a few weeks ago, I went to the Emergency Room for severe stomach pain. (Very severe.) The total bill was $2,300. They wrote off $2,000 because of a contract with my insurance company (CIGNA), which left $300 to be paid. My insurance company paid $270, which left me with $30 and some change for my part of the bill.

My point is that hospitals rarely get the full amount they charge, and I think you can do better than $19,000. In a scenario like my ER visit, your hospital would get a fraction of the bill, and write off the rest, so why would they charge an individual patient so much out of pocket? If I were you, I might be tempted to shop around if you have multiple good hospitals in your area (I do, so it would have been easy for me). But I know that opens up a whole new can of worms, as your surgeon may only practice at one hospital.

Good luck with this!


----------



## webster2

Make an appointment with the hospital's patient advocacy department or the financial aid department. I think that hospitals are able to negotiate their fees for people with out traditional insurance.


----------



## joplin1975

That sounds more than reasonable to me. My hospital bill (NOT including surgeon's bills) was a little over $10k. Add in surgeon/provider bills and it seems like it could easily go over $20k


----------



## adagio

Thanks for your replies!

I'm already working with a financial counselor to try to negotiate for a better discount. He, however, can't authorize anything more than the 20% he's given me, so he said that someone "higher up" would be getting in contact with me. I haven't heard anything today, so I'm going to try calling him again tomorrow. Good to hear that the $19,000 sounds reasonable. Not that I can just pull that out of my pocket or anything...

I asked him to itemize the charges for me so I could see what's all going to be amounting to $19k. The doctor I work for is contracted with this hospital's lab, so I'm hoping that I could have all of my pre-op and post-op labs done at work. That would give me an employee discount (labs at cost), and the surgeon/hospital would have a copy of my records right in their own lab. Crossing my fingers on that one. Perhaps I could cut out some of the cost with that.

Have any of you ever tried talking directly to your surgeon about it? I've got a great surgeon lined up, but I'm a little intimidated by her. (I haven't met her yet, but c'mon...she's gonna take a knife to my neck!  )

As far as shopping around for a different hospital, that's a big "no" in my book. The hospitals in my immediate area are questionable, and the one I'm going to (45 minutes away) is exceptional. It's a teaching hospital, which I've heard is a good idea. I've heard nothing but good about them. The other hospitals? Eh...not so much... I work for a doctor, so I hear LOTS of stories!!! We wouldn't refer any patient to any place other than the hospital I'll be going to.


----------



## webster2

If you are comfortable speaking with your surgeon about this, you should. Someone on here got a big break from their doctor. Does the docor you work for have any insight about some cost saving measures/ breaks? I hope that "the higher up" may be a miracle worker and find some savings for you.

My first surgery, I just went off what the GP said about the surgeon. I was young... this last time I researched this poor guy like you wouldn't believe! It was worth it!


----------



## adagio

I have a friend who had this surgeon for her TT, and she did a beautiful job! My endo also speaks very highly of this surgeon. She's telling me I shouldn't be intimidated by her, but...I guess we'll see how things go on Monday when I talk to her. I really hope she's willing to help me out here!

My thyroid went hyper again last night, in the middle of the night while I was trying to sleep! I was shaking, sweating, couldn't catch my breath, and had a hr of 120 bpm. It wasn't a fun night. Putting eye makeup on this morning was interesting because I was still shaking! I don't want to play that game any more. I want this thing out!!!

Hoping for a good outcome with my appointment on Monday...


----------



## webster2

Maybe you should phone the doctor thar prescribed the synthroid and tell them waht you are experiencing.


----------



## adagio

I'm actually not taking anything...my thyroid just goes hyper some times, or so it seems. Likely, it's a Hashi's thing. Perhaps the surgeon will have some answers!


----------



## Octavia

I just found my bill....wasn't exactly looking for it, but it happened to be on top of something I was cleaning. Anyway, this is for my second of two surgeries, so technically, it was a "completion thyroidectomy," but similar enough to a partial in my opinion. Here are the numbers:

Account balance: $20,000.51
Estimated insurance due: $20,791.51
Please pay: $9.00

Honestly, I don't remember actually paying my $9 balance. I guess I probably did.

Have you had any luck?


----------



## adagio

Wow...NINE whole dollars! How did you manage?

I haven't had much luck negotiating the discount recently, but that's mainly because I just had my pre-op consultation with my surgeon on Monday, scheduled the surgery on Tuesday, and I took the day "off" from all the bill negotiation yesterday. As for today, I worked right up until it was time to leave for class. I just got home. (And now you know my schedule!)

I'm gonna give it a shot tomorrow and see if I get any farther. Even if I could just pay half up front and agree to pay the remainder once the Samaritan payments start coming in (within 90 days), that would help so much. I'm hoping they agree to something like that.

Thanks a bunch for your help!


----------



## webster2

One of my husband's co-workers had something done in a hospital, not sure what it was but he took in 2 of his pay stubs after receiving a bill for over $10,000 and the hospital wrote it off.  Not sure if yours might do something like that.


----------



## Octavia

Have you "proven" to them that you have this Samaritan insurance, and explained how it works? Seems to me that if they have proof that you are insured and they'll eventually get their money, they might be a little more flexible with the pre-payment requirement. ???

I know...NINE DOLLARS...crazy, huh???!!! Should've set up a payment plan.


----------



## joplin1975

Yeah, given that you *have* insurance, I doubt you'd be eligible for a significant discount of any sort. My husband's practice routinely writes off costs for people who clearly have no insurance and don't have the means to pay...BUT I think you could set up a payment plan. Offer to put it in writing etc.


----------



## adagio

Samaritan isn't technically insurance, so as far as the hospital is concerned, I'm a self-pay patient. (With Samaritan, I'm responsible for negotiating all of my own discounts.) I've considered faxing them a copy of my Samaritan card to prove that I'm an active member, along with a copy of my most recent needs processing form. With that, I'm hoping that they'd allow me to do a payment plan of some sort, even if it does mean half of it up front and half within 90 days.

This hospital is absolutely ginormous, so I'm not sure how they'll be when it comes to negotiating things like this, opposed to one of the smaller hospitals in town (which I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole).

I'm gonna give them a call today to see if there's anything else I can do (as soon as the guy with the jackhammer outside my apartment gives it a rest). I'll definitely offer to put everything in writing, sign a contract - whatever they want! I may even suggest that they put my case before the Cancer Center board to see if they'd allow it.

Thanks for your help and support, everyone! (41 days until the beast is out...are we there yet?)


----------



## adagio

Well...no dice. Apparently, if I make any other type of payment than paying in full up front, I forego the discounts. (He's gonna try to see if there's anything he can work around that.) He's still waiting on the "higher ups" people to find out if I can qualify for more, but he sounded like it isn't happening. (I make this guy sound like he's real mean or something. It's actually the opposite...he's SO nice! He really does want to help.)

He's going to be faxing me a detailed estimate on Monday, and include one estimate without an overnight stay in the hospital. (My surgeon thinks I won't need it.) I guess that means that this is the plan: 1 - don't bleed like crazy; 2 - don't have cancer; 3 - manage my own calcium levels from home (this should be easy); 4 - feign coherence at all costs.  I'm such a nerd...

I'm still a little nervous, and definitely praying that #2 on that list of plans doesn't happen! It scares the heck out of me... All of you who have gone through it are my heroes!


----------



## Georgie73

That's actually extremely reasonable. I was actually reading through my latest bill when I decided to come check the boards. My bill for JUST my room and observation was $13,769.72 by its self. I had two surgeons that both charged the same amount, $4,751.00 each. I haven't received a bill for the pathology or the anesthesiologist yet.

So, yes, you are getting a good quote with $19,000. =)


----------



## adagio

It's good to hear these things! Seriously, thank you for sharing! 

Yeah, I'll be out a huge chunk of change for three months, but it will all come back by then. I'll take it as a lesson in learning to live very simply.

Strange to refer to $19k as a "chunk of change"...do you think they'd get ticked if I paid the bill in nickels and dimes?  I wouldn't...they're being SO nice to me over there...


----------



## Octavia

adagio said:


> Strange to refer to $19k as a "chunk of change"...do you think they'd get ticked if I paid the bill in nickels and dimes?  I wouldn't...they're being SO nice to me over there...


I've seen a few stories like this in the news lately, so if you're wanting your 15 minutes of fame, it might be a good option!


----------



## adagio

HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! That would be awesome... My goal is to keep the hospital staff laughing (so that it keeps my mood up, too). Perhaps this should be added to the list...


----------

