When I found out I was pregnant with our son, I started asking friends and family for recommendations for a local doctor. I only got one positive experience with a local doctor, and I’d heard several bad experiences with the same doc. It was rather depressing to say the least.
Later I learned that doctors aren’t the only things you need to check out!
Apparently, pricing for hospital services very by region. We are almost 2 hours from Dallas, but we fall into their price region for medical services. The more I heard, the more discouraged I was.$10,000 in fees, just from the hospital?
When you’re self pay, it helps to know someone else who is in the same boat.
A close friend of mine told me about a doctor she had used in another town. He came very highly recommended and so did the hospital he worked at. I called around and found out this other town’s hospital fees were less than half our local hospital’s fees. Same with the Doctor’s services.
We ended up driving 45 minutes each way, for every appointment, for 9 months. We drove it again for the delivery of our son. We couldn’t have been more pleased with the doctor, his staff, or the hospital.
So, when my husband’s hernia flared up and the pain became nearly unbearable, we knew what to do. We called the doctors and hospitals. We spoke with accounting from every department. We tallied up the costs, and once again, the local fees more than doubled the neighboring town’s. $15,000 vs. $6,000. Where would you go?
Unless the injury is an emergency, and time is crucial, it pays to do your research. In fact, it would be a smart idea to compare fees before anything major happens. Get an idea of pricing, services offered, and hear your friends’ opinions on the care offered. Also ask about payment plans and down payments. Then when you are in need of services, you’ll know where to turn.
When describing themselves,