Last week, I was hospitalized at the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center for a kidney biopsy and later started cancer treatment while staying at the hospital. Today, I received the hospital bill in the mail: https://imgur.com/a/KpuBdSE.
I am really confused by the hospital bill (276,473Â¥) since I had already applied for "High-Cost Medical Care Benefits" and confirmed my maximum payment amount (which is lower than the billed amount) at the hospital prior to hospitalization. I used my Myna card as my insurance card at the hospital.
Another very confusing aspect is that the cost paid by insurance (200,629Â¥) is lower than my co-payment amount (264,243Â¥). I was expecting to see insurance paying more than me since I'm supposed to be paying 30% out of pocket. How did they even come up with the 263,243Â¥ figure? All of the "by patient" boxes are empty.
I will contact the hospital tomorrow, but I'm trying to figure out what is going on in the meantime. So, am I supposed to be paying 30% of 276,437¥? Do I need to pay the entire billed amount? Either way, why do I pay more than what insurance pays? I have been paying for the insurance for years already… I'm enrolled in my employer's insurance and have been paying 30% at clinics.
Moving forward, I will need to be hospitalized potentially every week for a day because of the cancer treatment. Am I going to receive these high bills every week?
Thank you so much in advance!
Edit 1: I visited the hospital today, and the bill calculation was exactly the same as what u/Lonely_Ebb_5764 calculated. Thank you for the detailed explanation.
Edit 2: Thanks everyone for the best wishes! I actually have multiple myeloma, not kidney cancer. Multiple myeloma damages the kidneys and that’s why I had the biopsy.
Edit 3: I highly suggest using your My Number card as your insurance card and sharing the maximum monthly cost information with the hospital using the card reader devices they have at the hospital. This way, I didn’t need to go to the ward office and submit paperwork.
by moonbootsama