Heart Attack in an Envelope

We've been getting bills, lots of bills, for Kate's elbow.  There are the ER hospital, the surgery hospital, the doctor, the anesthesiologist.  Then there are all the EOBs from the insurance company.  It's a lot of mail.

Yesterday I got two bills from the hospital--one was a first statement, the other dated the next day said past due.  Past due!?  One day later.  That doesn't make sense, but that isn't the thing that knocked the wind out of me.

$16,777.72 ?!?

So I called the billing office.  I called the insurance company.  It turns out the insurance company has an agreement that the hospital is supposed to write off almost all of that.  A mistake was made and we were billed it.

Something is horribly, horribly wrong.  Either the hospital is charging way to much (like $16,000 too much) or the insurance company is paying way to little and the hospitals won't be able to stay open.  I don't know.

I was told by the billing office to be sure the follow up regularly on a bill of this size, but we won't have to pay that--not that we could!