Hi,
I am still waiting to hear from Animas regarding what my financial portion of the Ping will be, as I may be responsible for about 1K of the cost. I received it two weeks ago and am still waiting to hear from them regarding this.
Can anyone else who's insurance didn't cover it 100% let me know *about* how long it took animas to submit the final bill to you? I'm just getting anxious and want to be sure to prepare budget-wise.
Thanks!
Carrie
I was told my portion before I received my pump. I would think that is the usual routine as people need to prepare financially. I would contact Animas immediately.
Incidentally, my portion when I first got my Ping would have been $1,000 as well (20%) but I filled out paperwork and qualified to have that fee waived as well as get a 30% discount on my supplies ongoing, so if you think your income might qualify you, check into it.
Yes, I've called them a few times and apparently there is still a question about my plan and how much they will pay....it could be 100% (fingers and toes crossed) or it could be 80%. The Animas reps keep saying they will let me know once BCBS pays for their portion of things.
I am just getting nervous and would love to know soon. I will end up financing my Ping at $50/a month if it does end up being that I owe 20%. The waiting is killing me.
In my experience, it can take forever for the insurance company to respond to the bill - and that response determines your portion of the bill. It can take a couple months for me to get the bill for my supplies. When I've called (A few weeks ago - there was a story in our local news about a letter carrier stealing mail and ours was one of the zip codes) cuz I thought maybe the bill got lost. And they still hadn't heard form my health plan.
I didn't think they would send the pump before the insurance had been confirmed! Another option is to contact your insurance. Even if you just look in a Evidence of Coverage booklet, it should say what your coverage is under Durable Medical Equipment (DME).
When I got my Animas pump they called my insurance company to verify coverage. At that point my insurance company told them what they would cover. Animas called to tell me my pump was approved by insurance, what my cost would be and asked how I would like to pay it.
Well.... I didn't get my bill until over a year after I got the pump...
The cynic in me thinks that health plans take a lot of time to find a reason not to cover something. Since that takes time, vendors (be it pump companies, supplies etc) have to wait right along with us. At least the vendors don't give up and start billing us for 100% while waiting...
When I got my 1st Animas pump in 2007 & had a co-pay, they told me how much & I think billed at the end of the month. When I was still having a co-pay for supplies I got the impression that Animas bills at the end of each month. So sometimes it was nearly 2 months before I got the bill.