₦airaland Forum

Shawbabe:
@FavoredB, na wa o! These people are bent on eating u dry! Pls what State and hospital did u use so we will know to stay away in future. 9k for a 1 night? Even Burj al arab never reach like that for one night! I advise keep negotiating with them.
At this rate, na to take recording device to every Dr's appointment mehn! B4 person come deny u after birth

anonymousmum:
Pele o! I'm so sorry about this.

I have to blame the doctor at this point. He had no business discharging you. He should have an idea of how the system works, and adapt to his international , self pay clients. Your package only commenced when you went in the second time, and they billed you standart hospital rae for that day.

For example, when my doctor wanted to induce me, he told me to resume at the hospital at 5 mins past midnight so that my 48 hours will start counting from midnight, and so I will not stay too long, even after 24hrs labor I still did not exceed the 48 hours in the hospital.

Pls whatever you do do not fashy them. That zero balance letter is critical. Receipt alone does not show that you paid in full.

Even for pediatrician, drs fees, I collected zero balance letter at every point.

Just find a way to negotiate, last last you can be paying small small from Nigeria (if they will agree) or aggressively negotiate a lower rate if you are able to pay all at once.

Even me I dey vex. The financial counselor showed me the full itemised list of the services I received, I was weak. Thank God for discount.

Just keep thinking about your healthy LO and the end target of the whole venture...it is well...hugs.

TIPS ON MANAGING YOUR HOSPITAL BILLS IN THE USA

1. You must get it right from the Onset, I mean in selecting a hospital and a doctor. If you are not using an all inclusive package like MIHS or ELPASO Make sure you use a doctor and a hospital that understands the needs of a self paying patient. For example after visiting the hospital and refusing to be induced, our nurse placed my wife on bed for 30 mins and did some fetal monitoring before we went home, unknowingly we were billed $500 for that check . The Doctor helped negotiate the bill and we paid $100. Any Doctor (whether Nigerian or Foreign) with good human relationship skill can do this, so choose well. Ensure your hospital has a high traffic of self paying patients. Also, ensure your Doctor responds to calls and emails promptly.

2. You should avoid Micro-Budgeting. Everyone on this thread is after the cheapest package but we never give a thought to what happens if complications arise and things don't go as planned. Birthing in America is expensive and you should have some cash/buffer in place as contingencies. An adult applying to become an American citizen invests a minimum $500,000 in the US via the investment by Alien Entrepreneur program, you are getting citizenship for the baby for far lesser . If things don't go as planned don't get angry remember It is a privilege not a right. Don't follow the crowd, have your own contingency plan.

3.After settling the previous issues. Avoid visiting the hospital for treatment on your own except instructed by your doctor. A friend was billed $2700 in Methodist Sugarland after she was admitted for some minor treatment. Furthermore, Don't call the ambulance except it is critically needed you will be billed.

4. Have access to your Doctor via email or phone number in case of any complain. He/she should be able to manage your pregnancy with over the counter prescriptions and he knows what best to do if prescriptions won't work.

5. Before you take any treatment outside your package ask about the cost implications, The nurses attending to you at the hospital don't know whether you have insurance or you are self paying. So ask and keep asking. If your doctor can't negotiate bills for you, look for the financial counselor and explain your case. If the financial counselor can't help, you should look for the medical director of that hospital to table your case.

6. Finally, from my observation You can't have it all with a Doctor , Hospital, State,Accommodation, Transport etc. Your main focus should be the welfare of yourself and the baby as far as this is achieved thank God. The grass is always greener on the other side . A lot of people have complications but they will never tell you. Try your best to get the least cost but at the end thank God for what you have,everything is by his grace.

STEPS TO BABY DOCUMENTATION IN USA USING HOUSTON/FORT BEND COUNTY,TX AS EXAMPLE.

These steps also applies to other states with little variations. As soon as you land in the USA test the reliability of your postal address by sending a mail from USPS to yourself or by ordering stuff on Amazon. This is very important for your social security card as the whole process relies on your postal address ,you can't collect it in person. Some people spend weeks waiting for this, a friend of mine had her initial card cancelled and issued another one after waiting for 3 weeks,i suspect card either got lost or was stolen.

1. Step 1 is to have your baby's names ready, there is nothing like waiting till the naming day lol.

2. A social worker will bring some forms for you to fill after delivery. The forms will enable fort bend county process your baby's birth certificate and social security card. You don't need to do anything here apart from filling the form. The Social worker will tell you when to pick the BC.

3. Pick up your BC in Fort Bend County Clerk, 301 Jackson street, Richmond. 4 days after delivery. For example if you delivered on Monday it should be ready by Friday. Go there with your ID i.e. your passport which contains your Visa page . Fill the request forms and pay $23 for each copy. They can issue only 10 BC during the lifetime of your baby . You can pick 2,3 or 4 copies etc.

4. For the US Passport : If you want to leave the US on time. Call the Passport Agency on (877) 487-2778 to book an appointment for your US passport and head to The Houston Passport agency , 1919 Smith Street, Houston, TX 77002 on the scheduled date. Have your application form, baby's BC, passport photo, etc handy. You will be advised on what is needed on phone or you can check http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english.html for details. Your passport can be ready same day if you tell them it's urgent. Max 3 days. Costs about $165 expedited.

5. If you are too busy to go to downtown like me, you can take the necessary documents to the nearest post office ,apply for expedited US passport. It should arrive in your mailbox within 2 to 3 weeks. Got mine within 2 weeks. Birth certificate submitted during application will be mailed to you on a later date for security reasons. Costs about same price of $165 expedited. You can track your application online via same website http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english.html.

6. Within 2 weeks the Social security card should arrive in your mailbox. If you don't receive it by then you need to call the Social security office on 8665921608 . But Make sure your mailbox is reliable to avoid stories.

7. For the Nigerian Visa. You can use an agent, most people pay about $340 for this ($300 money order in the agent's name and $19.99 for 2 overnight delivery envelopes). Some members on this thread have used Tanko and Eddy successfully, Dr fagb gives out Tankos details at your postpartum. It will take approx 3 working days. If you want to do it yourself you can go to the Nigerian embassy website to fill your forms and apply personally, it will cost about $220 (Including envelopes). Visit http://nigeria-consulate-atl.org/ to apply yourself.

8. When your Nigerian visa written with blue bic biro comes pack your luggage and head to Nigeria with your Americana baby before Obama changes his mind. ( The Nigerian visa itself is an eyesore, why are we so backward in everything lol ??).

Estimated Breakdown of Vaginal/CS Birth in Oakbend Using Dr Fagbohun

There is no all inclusive package in Houston hence bills are not straightforward but if you have the right information you won't be stressed. Also note that whatever i write is based on current pricing which can change anytime. I have got lots of friends who did both CS and Vaginal so you can rely on some of these quotes.

Dr Fagb charges........Normal $2200/ Cs$2600. Laboratory tests...... estimated $565 (You can't force tests on him he will prefer to run most of the tests, so do only basics in Nigeria if you are using him). Many doctors like Hyunn,Ziworitin will accept most of your tests.

After Delivery

Oakbend Bills .....Normal $2300...... CS $3500
At discharge ,you should have an idea of what your total bill comes to,so i advise you pay your deposit at the ground floor,oakbend Williams way campus, where you delivered. Note that you won't get your zero balance at Williams way campus, so pay the deposit and go home. 5 to 7 days later go to Patient Account dept, 3rd floor, Oakbend medical center, 1705 Jackson Street, Richmond, TX 77469,. Ask for Alice or Mitchell. They will print your zero balance, including a letter to the US EMBASSY stating that you do not owe the hospital or the state of Texas Anything. You can pick your BC on same day, the county clerk office is on same road. 3 mins apart.

Greater Houston Anesthesiologist ..... Normal $850.....CS $950
The doctor claims these guys can be very unorganized so you need to stress that you are Fagbohun's patient when calling them on the phone to make payment. They told my friend who took epidural she is owing 5k ,(She told them to look again) so don't panic if you hear such just explain your package.

Hospital Pathologist..... $200-250. Brown and associate is Easy to settle.

NICS (Pediatrician and nursery for your baby) ....... $420 plus $137 if you take the hearing test total = $550. (Please note: that bills for NICS vary for each patient, a friend of ours paid $350 for her baby girl. They will give you a timeline of 2 to 3 days to pay the discounted price after which you will pay their normal rate, so i advice you track them as soon as you deliver to get the discounted rate) .

For Baby Post Partum visit, the cheapest Pediatrician so far is Clinicare operated by Dr. Rubina Khan....She charges oakbend patients $55 per visit. You can Use Google to locate her offices in Sugarland and Houston.

All these prices are discounted, Dr Fagb will advise you not to negotiate or ask for further discount because these guys will transfer your account to Medicaid thinking they are helping you.For all these additional payments your debit card will come in handy, all you need to do is supply them with your card number.Your Dr will give you the number of all the parties you need to call to settle your bill, don't wait for the bills to be posted, it may take days so chase them via phone and pay after delivery.

donakinzo:
Hi Peeps,

I am based in the Middle East (ME) with my family. We have our American visas (B1/B2) before we relocated to the ME and visited the States for holidays. Now my wife is preggy and plans are to have our baby in the States and we plan to pay about 50% of the bills upfront.

Question
1. Can we use our credit cards as proof of solvency at the POE, if we have about $2K in cash?

I will appreciate comments and experiences

Thanks in advance for your help!

favouredB:
Extra 2,500. You are lucky. My own na the one wey dem dey call Original Gobe. I was billed extra 9,000 for spending a night at the hospital. A week before I put to bed doctor was worried about d size of my baby (3.9kg according to them) and asked me to go in let them monitor the baby and then decide whether I was going to be induced to labour. He told me the baby's size would be getting bigger and may get to the point of using CS. My annoyance is that i asked him if there was an extra charge for that and he said it was part of the whole delivery package. I went into the hospital that night and they monitored my baby through out the night.The next morning they decided to still give me time and discharged me. Now the hospital is giving me bill of 9k for just a night. Meanwhile a whole delivery package of two nights is 3,800 ...I don't know how that makes sense. Now the doctor is saying he did not misinform me. That no matter how many nights I spend before giving birth that i would not be charged unless I exceed the two days after giving birth. Well he was right. But then HE DISCHARGED ME THE FOLLOWING MORNING on his own terms. I was even reluctant about going in to the hospital that night and I told him I wanted to wait until baby was ready to arrive but he insisted. After the monitoring he was the one who decided I wasn't going to be induced and discharged me. I am sorry for this long post but I hope someone will learn something from my experience. Now after all negotiations they brought the bill down to half which I said I will not pay. The case is still hanging cos the highest amount am willing to pay for this is 1k. Please for those that have renewed their visas after child birth do they work with only your zero balance receipts or they still have to search for your payment records in their system? I am asking because they asked me to come next Tuesday for d zero balan

Tvegas:
TIPS ON MANAGING YOUR HOSPITAL BILLS IN THE USA

1. You must get it right from the Onset

mamaxxx:
thanks for responding. i was turned back because i was told i didn't have enough cash on me, although i had $2,500 and had paid $1,500 to the doctors office. that was really the only reason i was given. What do i do now?

Point of entry was Houston; My total hospital bill was about $6,000 but i had my visa card on me. yes this is to be my first child in the USA. please advice at your earliest convenience.

donakinzo:
Hi Peeps,

I am based in the Middle East (ME) with my family. We have our American visas (B1/B2) before we relocated to the ME and visited the States for holidays. Now my wife is preggy and plans are to have our baby in the States and we plan to pay about 50% of the bills upfront.

Question
1. Can we use our credit cards as proof of solvency at the POE, if we have about $2K in cash?

I will appreciate comments and experiences

Thanks in advance for your help!

MamaTobenna:
So I am a bit rested. Time for poe story. I travelled with emirates. Journey was long and service wAs fantastic. They changed my seat to where I would have leg room and to walk around. Meal voucher was given during the layover in dubai. POE was Los Angeles. Border officer no give me issue. Conversation lasted 5 mins if not less.

Shawbabe:
Sent u an email Kizluv.

Justwise please how do I access PMs on this forum? Every time someone sends me a PM it goes my email and says someone is tryna contact me. What am I doing wrong?

@anonymusmum, my dear I probably need to calm down

Shawbabe:
Sent u an email Kizluv.

Justwise please how do I access PMs on this forum? Every time someone sends me a PM it goes my email and says someone is tryna contact me. What am I doing wrong?

@anonymusmum, my dear I probably need to calm down

donakinzo:
Hi Peeps,

I am based in the Middle East (ME) with my family. We have our American visas (B1/B2) before we relocated to the ME and visited the States for holidays. Now my wife is preggy and plans are to have our baby in the States and we plan to pay about 50% of the bills upfront.

Question
1. Can we use our credit cards as proof of solvency at the POE, if we have about $2K in cash?

I will appreciate comments and experiences

Thanks in advance for your help!

Shawbabe:
u are fine! I had only $40 on me cash at POE....rest of the money was on debit and credit cards

1sttimemom:
sori favouredb,reali dats y I chose elpaso,tho nt usin doctores got anoda doc bt delsol medical is 1 of d most straightforward,tho m payin 4 dat choice by being a bit stressed,do all my shopping cooking. Nd all maself bt my minds at rest.pls kip negotiating bt if dey dnt budge just pay,so u can enter yankee again.gudluck dear

favouredB:
Extra 2,500. You are lucky. My own na the one wey dem dey call Original Gobe. I was billed extra 9,000 for spending a night at the hospital. A week before I put to bed doctor was worried about d size of my baby (3.9kg according to them) and asked me to go in let them monitor the baby and then decide whether I was going to be induced to labour. He told me the baby's size would be getting bigger and may get to the point of using CS. My annoyance is that i asked him if there was an extra charge for that and he said it was part of the whole delivery package. I went into the hospital that night and they monitored my baby through out the night.The next morning they decided to still give me time and discharged me. Now the hospital is giving me bill of 9k for just a night. Meanwhile a whole delivery package of two nights is 3,800 ...I don't know how that makes sense. Now the doctor is saying he did not misinform me. That no matter how many nights I spend before giving birth that i would not be charged unless I exceed the two days after giving birth. Well he was right. But then HE DISCHARGED ME THE FOLLOWING MORNING on his own terms. I was even reluctant about going in to the hospital that night and I told him I wanted to wait until baby was ready to arrive but he insisted. After the monitoring he was the one who decided I wasn't going to be induced and discharged me. I am sorry for this long post but I hope someone will learn something from my experience. Now after all negotiations they brought the bill down to half which I said I will not pay. The case is still hanging cos the highest amount am willing to pay for this is 1k. Please for those that have renewed their visas after child birth do they work with only your zero balance receipts or they still have to search for your payment records in their system? I am asking because they asked me to come next Tuesday for d zero balance letter on the 3,800k I paid. I already have zero balance letter for the doctor s fees. If they insist on the 4,500 half of the bill then honestly j am going to fashy them. Sometimes this American system has a way of frustrating those who want to play by the rules. Am totally pissed.

mamanjai:
Hi all, how's your weekened going. Please for people who have booked local flights From their point of entry to their final destination. How do I go at this please, Wat airlines are adviseable to use? Can I book online and pay from Nigeria or I have to be there to buy the ticket. Pls would appreciate your kind response and experiences.

Thank you