Dani Yuengling.Photo: Gavin McIntyre/KHN
Dani Yuengling shared her latest medical bill withKHNand revealed she spent the large sum to learn she didn’t have breast cancer.
When Yuengling was 35, she found a lump in her breast. While she put off medical testing at first, she ultimately went for a biopsy — as breast cancer was the cause of her mother’s death in 2017.
Yuengling had a few things on her mind when signing up for the biopsy. First, she had a $6,000 insurance deductible that she wasn’t close to reaching — meaning much of the procedure would likely be out-of-pocket cost.
She also claimed the hospital, Grand Strand Medical Center, wouldn’t give her an exact price for the procedure — stating that different types of biopsy needles had different costs. The hospital does have a payment estimator on their website, which Yuengling said predicted her cost to be around $1,400.
“That’s fine. No big deal,” Yuengling told KHN of her cost assumptions, even saying $3,000 would have been reasonable. When the bill came, however, Yuengling was facing $17,979.
A breakdown of the cost explained the total procedure, lab work, supplies and pharmacy costs that resulted in the giant amount. Because of her insurance, the “negotiated rate” was $8,424.14. Her insurance company, Cigna, paid $3,254.47 of that.
Dani Yuengling.Gavin McIntyre/KHN
With Yuengling’s insurance deductible, she still owed a total of $5,169.67 out of pocket. Patients with insurance are oftencharged a larger feethan those who are uninsured or have Medicare. The hospital expected more than five times the Medicare price from Yuengling and her insurer, according to KHN.
A representative for Grand Strand Medical Center told KHN the online calculator may have had a “glitch” and cited that breast biopsies typically range from $8,500 to $11,500 “depending on the exact procedure and equipment used.” PEOPLE has reached out to Grand Strand Health for comment.
The hospital eventually agreed to give Yuengling a discount, lowering her out-of-pocket cost to $3,306.29. She paid off the bill with a credit card.
“I could not sleep. It was driving me crazy. I was having migraines. I was sick to my stomach,” she said. “I hate having debt. I didn’t want to think about it. Obviously, that didn’t work because I’m still thinking about it,” she told KHN.
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source: people.com
