We had a horrendous experience at Seton Medical Center in Austin. The care is fine. The prices are completely absurd, eliminating all confidence I had in the institution. My confidence was considerable, as we've been to Seton for the birth of all four of our children.
Books and Videos to Build your Family - we've enjoyed many of these
After trying to reason with the facility for over a year, being stonewalled over and over, I simply have no recourse other than to publish our experience in hopes that bad publicity may increase pressure on the management to stop preying on their patients.
Story is here in a Seton review on yelp.com.
Here's the review:
| We've had all our children delivered at Seton Medical Center. The quality of care is excellent. However, BEWARE OF THEIR PRICING! As we have no maternity insurance, I got an early quote on the charges for delivery - about $6500, assuming no complications. So far, so good. We had a boy and the dr. prefers to do the circumcision at the hospital on day 2. No problem we thought - it's about a 20 minute procedure. It's done on a table in a small room in the nursery. Not an operating room - not even a private room, as there was another baby w/ doctor on the same table about 4 feet away. We left the hospital, paid in full before the release, within the $6500 estimate range. Days later, we get a bill from Seton for the use of their facility for the circumcision. This was not the doctor's charge - that was completely separate. They consider it a "surgery" and BILLED US OVER $1700 for 20 minutes use of a small table in the nursery. Not even a sterile environment. I fought this for over a year, contacting Seton's complaint/patient representative Ms. Edith Getchell, wishing to reason with the pricing department. I wanted to see who it was that set this ridiculous charge. THE PRICING DEPARTMENT REFUSED TO MEET WITH ME. They assured Ms. Getchell that their pricing structures were very complex and proprietary. There's no complexity here - the goal is PRICE GOUGING pure and simple. Since they class it as a surgery, insurance companies must wave it on through. We've been happy with Seton's care, but an inside look at how they're managed and the devious means by which they cheat insurance companies and rob customers makes me very leery of them from now on. If you don't have 100% insurance coverage, GET EVERY PROCEDURE'S COST IN WRITING BEFORE YOU GO. Their charge of $1700+ for this procedure is completely arbitrary and absurd - they could have charged $25,000 and there's no way to fight it. If you refuse to pay, they send your bill to a collection agent who will ruin your credit rating - you have no recourse. Seton claims to be "Patient-Centered: Empowers, involves, informs, educates and treats with respect, caring, compassion and hope" But this episode confirms they are PROFIT CENTERED and their predatory pricing scheme is hidden from the patient. |
