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I thought there might be some of you out there who would like to know the costs associated with Testicular Cancer, so I have put together a complete list of all of my claims thus far. I am sure that costs vary widely from place to place, but I imagine this could still prove interesting to some. I have left most of it just as it is on my insurance report though I have shuffled a few things around and changed the descriptions so it might make a bit more sense.
I should mention that I have had all of this done in the states of Idaho and Washington. Also, I have a high deductible plan through my employer, but they reimburse us for $4500 of the $5000 deductible. I have been very fortunate in that everything has been in network for me. All told, I have paid exactly $1000 of my own money for my entire cancer journey to date. Of course I am only speaking of medical needs.
As for non medical costs, I have made two 700 mile round trip drives from north Idaho to Seattle. The first was for my consult, which required a night at a hotel for about $175, plus food. The second trip was for the surgery itself, where we spent the night before surgery and the night after discharge. My wife also spent one night in a hotel, but spent the other 3 nights in my room (she’s too good!). Those stays were also about $175 per day, plus food of course. We left our car at the hospital for the 5 days and that fee came to $50 or so.
Regarding time off work, my employer has been extremely generous and covered all of my lost hours. Other than an hour or two each for all of the various appointments, I took a week for my orchiectomy, two days for my consult in Seattle, and four weeks for the RPLND itself. I could have returned to work after 3 weeks without too much hassle, but the extra week was nice just to be sure and to help with the mental side of it. I remember thinking I could manage going back at two weeks, but it would not have been very comfortable and I would have been too limited in my mobility to make it worthwhile. I’m very thankful I had the option to give it the full four weeks, even at six and seven weeks I have had intermittent pains and discomfort.
Fortunately (for me anyway!) this will not help anyone curious about the costs of chemo. My main intent is to help those that might be considering traveling for a RPLND, and to share the other costs that maybe get forgotten. Many people I talk to in my daily life don’t seem to realize just how much goes into beating this, or any cancer for that matter, so my hope is that this can help shed some light on the big picture.
Lastly, this is obviously an ongoing process and is not complete. It is current up to my discharge from the hospital for my RPLND. I had a follow up with my Urologist last week that hasn’t been billed yet, and I will have at least one more blood draw this year. That being said, here goes!
I should mention that I have had all of this done in the states of Idaho and Washington. Also, I have a high deductible plan through my employer, but they reimburse us for $4500 of the $5000 deductible. I have been very fortunate in that everything has been in network for me. All told, I have paid exactly $1000 of my own money for my entire cancer journey to date. Of course I am only speaking of medical needs.
As for non medical costs, I have made two 700 mile round trip drives from north Idaho to Seattle. The first was for my consult, which required a night at a hotel for about $175, plus food. The second trip was for the surgery itself, where we spent the night before surgery and the night after discharge. My wife also spent one night in a hotel, but spent the other 3 nights in my room (she’s too good!). Those stays were also about $175 per day, plus food of course. We left our car at the hospital for the 5 days and that fee came to $50 or so.
Regarding time off work, my employer has been extremely generous and covered all of my lost hours. Other than an hour or two each for all of the various appointments, I took a week for my orchiectomy, two days for my consult in Seattle, and four weeks for the RPLND itself. I could have returned to work after 3 weeks without too much hassle, but the extra week was nice just to be sure and to help with the mental side of it. I remember thinking I could manage going back at two weeks, but it would not have been very comfortable and I would have been too limited in my mobility to make it worthwhile. I’m very thankful I had the option to give it the full four weeks, even at six and seven weeks I have had intermittent pains and discomfort.
Fortunately (for me anyway!) this will not help anyone curious about the costs of chemo. My main intent is to help those that might be considering traveling for a RPLND, and to share the other costs that maybe get forgotten. Many people I talk to in my daily life don’t seem to realize just how much goes into beating this, or any cancer for that matter, so my hope is that this can help shed some light on the big picture.
Lastly, this is obviously an ongoing process and is not complete. It is current up to my discharge from the hospital for my RPLND. I had a follow up with my Urologist last week that hasn’t been billed yet, and I will have at least one more blood draw this year. That being said, here goes!
| Date | Description | Charges | Network Savings | Deductible | Copay | Coinsurance | Insurance Paid |
| 3/15/2017 | Family Dr. visit | $137.00 | $10.19 | $0.00 | $30.00 | $0.00 | $96.81 |
| 3/16/2017 | Urologist visit | $279.00 | $36.80 | $0.00 | $30.00 | $0.00 | $212.20 |
| 3/16/2017 | Ultrasound | $372.00 | $83.07 | $288.93 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Ultrasound reading fee | $104.00 | $45.49 | $58.51 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Chest X-Ray | $195.00 | $60.60 | $134.40 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Chest X-Ray reading fee | $35.00 | $14.96 | $20.04 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Abdomen/Pelvis CT | $2,248.00 | $506.38 | $1,741.62 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Abdomen/Pelvis CT reading fee | $289.00 | $121.16 | $167.84 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Pre Op Blood/Lab | $32.80 | $7.15 | $25.65 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Pre Op Blood/Lab | $40.00 | $22.00 | $18.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Pre Op Blood/Lab | $42.20 | $9.14 | $33.06 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Pre Op Blood/Lab | $43.50 | $7.56 | $35.94 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Pre Op Blood/Lab | $51.50 | $2.50 | $49.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Pre Op Blood/Lab | $55.10 | $2.60 | $52.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Pre Op Blood/Lab | $55.10 | $2.60 | $52.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Pre Op Blood/Lab | $55.43 | $0.00 | $55.43 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/16/2017 | Pre Op Blood/Lab | $63.15 | $0.00 | $63.15 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/20/2017 | Orchiectomy Hospital fees | $4,149.39 | $2,383.00 | $1,766.39 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/20/2017 | Orchiectomy Anesthesia | $824.00 | $408.00 | $416.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3/20/2017 | Orchiectomy Surgeon fees | $1,156.00 | $253.07 | $21.04 | $0.00 | $176.38 | $705.51 |
| 3/20/2017 | Pathology/Lab | $720.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $144.00 | $576.00 |
| 3/20/2017 | Pathology/Lab | $516.00 | $73.65 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $66.77 | $375.58 |
| 3/20/2017 | Pathology/Lab | $172.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $172.00 |
| 3/23/2017 | Chest CT | $1,231.00 | $329.53 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $901.47 |
| 3/23/2017 | Chest CT reading fee | $201.00 | $86.75 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $22.85 | $91.40 |
| 3/27/2017 | Post Op follow up with Urologist | $177.00 | $18.89 | $0.00 | $30.00 | $0.00 | $128.11 |
| 4/13/2017 | Post Op Blood/Lab | $20.00 | $11.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $9.00 |
| 4/13/2017 | Post Op Blood/Lab | $51.50 | $2.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $49.00 |
| 4/13/2017 | Post Op Blood/Lab | $55.43 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $55.43 |
| 4/13/2017 | Post Op Blood/Lab | $63.15 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $63.15 |
| 4/27/2017 | Pathology - Second look | $267.10 | $124.32 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $142.78 |
| 5/2/2017 | RPLND Consult with second Urologist | $282.60 | $66.07 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $216.53 |
| 5/12/2017 | Abdomen/Pelvis CT | $2,248.00 | $506.38 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $1,741.62 |
| 5/12/2017 | Abdomen/Pelvis CT reading fee | $289.00 | $121.16 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $167.84 |
| 5/12/2017 | Pre RPLND Blood/Lab | $20.00 | $11.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $9.00 |
| 5/12/2017 | Pre RPLND Blood/Lab | $32.80 | $7.15 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $25.65 |
| 5/12/2017 | Pre RPLND Blood/Lab | $55.43 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $55.43 |
| 5/12/2017 | Pre RPLND Blood/Lab | $63.15 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $63.15 |
| 5/18/2017 | RPLND Hospital fees | $38,568.95 | $17,699.67 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $20,869.28 |
| 5/19/2017 | RPLND Surgeon fees | $3,785.60 | $1,741.25 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $2,044.35 |
| 5/19/2017 | RPLND Surgeon fees | $3,226.40 | $2,353.20 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $873.20 |
| 5/19/2017 | RPLND Anesthesia | $2,990.00 | $2,196.95 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $793.05 |
| 5/19/2017 | RPLND Anesthesia | $2,990.00 | $2,196.95 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $793.05 |
| 5/19/2017 | Physicians | $335.70 | $153.98 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $181.72 |
| 5/19/2017 | Cardiology | $199.50 | $93.30 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $106.20 |
| 5/19/2017 | Pathology/Lab | $266.00 | $124.40 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $141.60 |
| 5/19/2017 | Pathology/Lab | $266.00 | $124.40 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $141.60 |
| 5/19/2017 | Pathology/Lab | $266.00 | $124.40 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $141.60 |
| 5/19/2017 | Pathology/Lab | $121.00 | $56.69 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $64.31 |
| 5/19/2017 | Pathology/Lab | $121.00 | $56.69 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $64.31 |
| 5/20/2017 | RPLND Anesthesia Injections | $345.00 | $162.90 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $182.10 |
| 5/22/2017 | RPLND Anesthesia Injections | $345.00 | $162.90 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $182.10 |
| Totals | $70,518.48 | $32,582.35 | $5,000.00 | $90.00 | $410.00 | $32,436.13 |
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