Bill Of The Month: Estimate For Cost Of Hernia Surgery Misses The Mark
Patients are often told to be smart consumers and shop around for health care before they use it. But even when you do so, estimates from insurers, hospitals and doctors can be unreliable.
From a planning perspective, Wolfgang Balzer is the perfect health care consumer.
Balzer, an engineer, knew for several years he had a hernia that would need to be repaired, but it wasn't an emergency, so he waited until the time was right.
The opportunity came in 2018 after his wife, Farren, had given birth to their second child in February. The couple had met their deductible early in the year and figured that would minimize out-of-pocket payments for Wolfgang's surgery.
Before scheduling it, he called the hospital, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist to get estimates for how much the procedure would cost.
"We tried our best to weigh out our plan and figure
