Advice on $20K+ bill (40days in neonatal ICU)

kanchi

New Member
Hi, all:

new in this forum.

Due to some premature reason, my baby stays in neonatal ICU for 40 days with class B2.

The total bill (after government subsidies) is above $20K... But we didn't buy any insurance before (my baby's case is very unexpected). Any advice to handle this bill? .how to cut down? ..

thanks
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rings..

looking back carefully at ur msg.. i do not think they might cut down on the bill size.. unless u r proven to be financially not good or unstable.

if urs n hubbys income comes up to above a certain amt (dunt knwo how much) ... they will still keep to the same amt.. oni maybe work out instalment plans.

my suggestion is that.. if u know u really cant cope with the payment n also the cost of a newborn.. speak to the hosp first.. if they disagree to cut down and offer instalment, which u feel u still cant handle.... just make an appt with ur MP and speak to him abt ur financial burden.

if MP cant do anything, ask him .. wat the hell he is sitting in this position for then :p ..

but go MP .. backup will get strong. But u have to prove ur financial situation i think.

all the best.. hope things work out easy for u.

hows ur baby now? recovered from the reason he was in NN ICU?
 
thanks all advices. I should apply installment to hospital.

my baby is quite stable now, and could be discharged need week (hopefully).

Can i further know any advices on insurance for baby? Which company/plan recommended? In case baby get sickness in future.

thanks all!
 
Hi ring,

Nothing is expected, so die die also must buy medical insurance.

I just signed up yesterday with AIA on hospital insurance, accident insurance, and a critical illness policy for my 9 mth old boy. come up to only $700 plus per year only. I havnt bought any education insurance for him yet, cos kinna no budget now for more.

I have a girl, and have invested more in her. Paying about $4500 in premiums every year for her.

Hope your child will be discharged soon.

Cheers
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Hi Ring,
My dd, a 7th mths premature baby stay in hospital for 1 mths plus. And My bill was about that. But don't worry, Hospital social worker will able to help you out on this.

Do you give Breast milk for your baby? Try to give as much as possible. I miss out till she was 4mths due to low supply and no supporter and not enough information. They are many mummies here to support you.
 
Hi Ring

My son stayed in the hospital for about 2 over months and the bill was huge. I think interim bill for 1 month stay (with operation) was already $20K + (B2). I was really streesed after receiving the bill.

Luckily, the medical social worker helped us to apply for subsidy and my son was downgraded to c class. There was a great difference with the final payment. After deducting our medisave of about $30K plus. We just need to come up with cash of $9K+.

My son still need to go back to the hospital for follow ups and we are still paying the subsidized rate.

If the insurance company choose not to insure your baby due to pre-existing cnditions (in my son's case), you may want to consider applying for medishield first. Though the coverage is not as comprehensive as those offered by the insurance company at least your baby is covered for the basic needs.

Cheers!
 
Hi Ring

I have heard of many cases when the baby is born, due to some medical conditions, need to go some operations or to stay in hospital. Thus, I had applied for medical insurance which cover the baby even before he is born so that once he is born, he will be automatically covered.

My husband and I had gotten Aviva enhanced Myshield plan 2, right now waiting for Aviva's approval. We had also start getting a savings / education plan for our baby. I am now 33 wks pregnant, hoping that things will turn out well.
hope u had settle your problem too.
 
thanks all. hospital has arranged instalment.
but i definitely will buy insurance for baby in future
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Hi Ring,

How is your baby now? Give your baby breast milk if possible.

My son is also a premature baby, born at 33wks. Send him for phy therapy for abt 1 year + and it helps him. You may want to try.

Both my hubby and i sign up for Aviva plan and it covers all my children for free for up to a certain age.

Take care
 
hi,

buy medical insurance and make sure you buy the rider as well. it will help to reduce future bill to 1% that you r require to pay.

my advice is look for insurance plan that have rider with it and best is no need pay any money after hospital stay.

take the best plan for you baby from now to say 21 yr o. cos they need better attention so go for the best plan. it dun ready cost much now.

hope i help?
 
hey, now all newborns are auto covered by medisave or something right? I'm worried because I just quit my job, and my baby now has high chance of premature.. so my company will not cover my expenses anymore.
 
Hi Firsttimemommy

ya, newborns are auto covered by medishield. here is the link to the news http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/News/News-Release/N_28Oct2007.htm

Though i tried to apply for the Aviva enhanced my shield plan 2, due to some unforeseen circumstances, it was being approved before my baby is born. in the end, my baby had stayed in Special Care Nursery for 9 days due to some medical conditions, and nw, we are waiting for the bill to come along. Thus, parents to be, try to get urself and baby covered as early as possible to avoid any hiccups.
 
I think for Aviva's plan, as long as both the parents buy the insurance plan 2 and above, the child will be auto covered under the same to a certain age (ie. 20 yrs old or 21 yrs old).
 
O... I don't have Aviva plan.. so cannot la. I'll check with my agent from AIA if they have something similar. Thanks for sharing.
 
Regard the Aviva plan. They can pre-approve BUT Baby's plan only starts after 15 day(can't remember exactly how many days). The 1st 15 days is not covered. That is if baby straight away admit after birth, it is not covered. I have got that plan too. Actually practically all insurance I check are the same.

As long as both parents sign up for the my shield, the baby get it for free upto 21 year old.
 
Just bought a baby plan from my financial planner last week. He is very reliable and patient. Can give him a call to find out more. He actually does a need analysis for me, finds out about our budget and design a package for us based on our need. Kenny 98783246

Should have bought a baby plan for my baby earlier. My baby was admitted to hospital twice due to fever and bronchitis. The hospital bill for 3 days add up easily to 3 thousand dollars. I found out that baby can be admitted to hospital very easily. (One of the reason could be poor feeding.)

By the way, I have heard that pregnancy complications can also be covered too...well better be covered earlier..
 
that means parents must buy insurances for their children before they are born, is it?? im so glad i saw this thread.
 
Kenny belongs to Prudential. He can design the package based on your budget. Can call and find out first. Don't have to buy straight away mah.

People always say they have no money when they hear about insurances. I suggest buying a cheaper one if you have any financial problems and then upgrading to a better one when you can afford it. Cos the hospital bills are alarming nowadays. Better to buy a $30 to $50 plan and get covered than to get a shock when you received the bill.

My baby's bill of $3000 can be used to pay for the insurance premium for a few years. Should have thought about it earlier.
 
just to share, for premmie babies, the insurance company will nt take up the coverage immediately aft the babies discharge from the hosp. they will required the hosp discharge summary to certify that the baby is in pink health gg home. and that they will also monitor the baby progress at home for a month (by calling upon the baby hm to see hw baby is doing --->tat's if u express ur concern to take up insurance for baby).

i gave birth to a premmie baby last Sept 08, just discharge in mar 09 (stayed KKH 6mths) baby's is C class... my bill amt to more than $130k (4mths in NICU/2mths in SCN) and aft subsidy, i still need to pay $10K aft deducting $27K from both my HB n my Medisave....

spoken to social worker.. but they will access the financial capability and no. 1 they will look at the hse u stay in... for my case, social worker told me str, "they r nt confident to get grant for me base on my hse (4rm flat) and tat we have some savings at the end of the mth...

so the option was to pay by instalments by cash.. cant do by CPF... cant claim insurance either coz cant buy at birth....
 
pooh3bear, so sorry to hear abt ur case... hope tat everything is going well for u.....

i tink u can try to approach the MP.. never try never know...
 
Hi people,
just 2 cents worth of my knowledge..
Please get Hospitaliation Coverage for yourself while you are healthy, with the rider. With the rider, it covers almost 100% for your hospital bills.. Hospitalisation coverage doesn't cover child birth, but covers birth complications.

For the hospital bill, you can approach the hospital's medical social worker for help. don't think they can waive anything for you.. even if you look for your MP, they will only extent the installment payment period for you.. workout a payment plan with the social worker, they are the best person to help you..

Of course, we do not wish to have any health problems but, this really come in handy when all those "what if" happens. All these hospital bills are really expensive and its easy to ignore those insurance products not knowing the consequences for not having them. My whole family is covered for hospitalisation.. and it helped us alot when we needed the most. we learnt our lesson when my father died of stroke 10 yrs ago..

Look for a responsible insurance agent to service you. Please don't compare products and get the cheapest you can find in the market.. coz when you are in need, you need someone you can trust to help you with all the claims and paperwork as soon as possbile.
 
Yea its called medi shield. Best to get it as young as possible when your are healthy. Cause if you get it late, any pre-existing conditon is not covered and will be too late...
 

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