$106,076.13

The above number is the cost of my stay at Sloan Kettering for my high dose chemo and stem cell autologous transplant. I was admitted january 9th and discharged on Jan. 28th. I got the bill this past Thursday, so it took almost four months for them to sort it out, and get their payment from Aetna.

After making some adjustments (which I can’t understand!) the bill to the insurance company was $98,830. Aetna paid $83,041.07, as they only have to pay a discounted amount (by contract with Sloan).

My part of the bill came to $458.93, under the title of "co-insurance amount."

While this bill from Sloan contained clear explanations, others from them are very difficult to figure out. I am the health insurance broker for over 20 businesses. To be blunt, I am an expert. If I have trouble understanding my bills, where does that leave the average person who is introduced to this stuff when they are sick, and have no background in insurance?

Having made that point, in this case the insurance worked the way insurance is supposed to work. I had a potentially catastrophic illness, but the health insurer paid for virtually everything. I believe my gross total bills in the last year approached $200,000, with Aetna’s actual cost perhaps 130-140K and my out of pocket a couple of thousand dollars.