My MD group asked for payment of all services before my delivery - at 32 weeks! Does this seem normal? Are there any MD OB groups affiliated with Prentice - Northwestern that don't require this? I have a PPO plan with BCBS and it just doesn't seem to make sense that we pay before the baby is even born?! Help please!!
Weird! I delivered with Northwestern Faculty for Women's Health. They are a great group. (Their office is in the 675 N. St. Clair building) I did not pay for anything before or after except for my co-pays. www.nmff.org
Dr. Gossett has great bedside manner.
Good luck!
This definitely seems weird. I go to Progressive Care for Women, affiliated with Northwestern, and had both my babies at Prentice (ages 4 1/2 and 16 months). I was only required to pay a co-pay on my first pre-natal visit for each pregnancy, then paid nothing after that until it went through my insurance. After the invoices were processed by the insurance company and my OB was paid by them, any remaining unpaid balance was billed to me by my OBs office. I did not have to pay for their actual births until probably 6 weeks after they were each born, because that's about as long as it took for the insurance company to process.
I should note that I had Aetna PPO with each child, but I don't think that should really matter. How can you be billed for a service you did not incur yet??? And who knows what might happen in the delivery room - what if you need a re-dose of your epidural? What if you need an emergency c-section (hopefully not!)? How could you possibly predict those costs at this point? I don't know...it all seems strange to me.
Women's Group of Northwestern - http://www.womenobgyn.net/
I delivered May 2009 and was not required to pay before delivery. How do they know what all services are?
It is a great place to deliver - congratulations and good luck!
call and talk to your insurance rep. This is inappropriate.
I don't think that is even legal. I would refuse. I delivered there 2 weeks ago with Nye Partners and have never heard of pre-payment. There are lots of surprises with babies -for all you know you could be on a weekend trip somewhere else and the baby could come early, you might need a c-section, there is no way you could pay for something without knowing what will take place!
And there are so many mistakes and red tape with these medical bills these days that Im sure it wouldn't be easy to get your money back for any changes. I am surprised NW would be affiliated with this group.
I delivered at Prentice, my Doctors were Northwestern affiliates. I've never heard of pre-paying either! The only payment I ever made each visit was the co-pay. The insurance should take care of it after the birth. Hope you can relax and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy, instead. No one needs this kind of stress.
Congratulations!
No my love, this is completely inappropriate. BCBS would never approve it, either. Do not pay.
That seems really strange. I delivered at Prentice and did not have to prepay. How do they know what type of delivery you are going to have (as the charges for a C-Section are very different from a vaginal birth)? My doctor did not require it. He was with the Northwestern Women's Health Associates (Dr. Friedell).
