Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Can anyone give me some advice with paying Near East Hospital

My friend went into Near East University Hospital for procedure, an estimate was given, to the cost and paid.

The problem I have he is to be discharged tomorrow and there looks like some additional costs, this we have no problem with BUT they will not tell us how much and what for, we are not allowed the invoice/bill until we have paid it, it is now 20.00 on Thursday evening and no idea how much

So tomorrow we have to wheel him to payment office to pay a bill, so how much do we take ???

Where do we go from here.

I have to say the care and treatment was brilliant .

Cheers

Thomas

I would expect it to be just incidentals so a couple hundred lira is probably all that will be necessary. There is a Near East Bank just across from the main entrance so if you have a debit card you will be able to use the ATM if necessary.

I don't think an atm machine will give enough out

my point is we have to pay before we see invoice/bill and if we don't agree its to late they have the money

They will show you the bill in the payment office.

Thanks for that we have been told by payments office otherwise hence this post.

I am sure it has been lost in translation and you will find it is all very straightforward. Let us all know how you get on.

A friend of ours had to be admitted to hospital for an emergency operation.
Their Doctor quoted a price for the operation.
By the time "Extras" were added, the bill was app 22,000Tl more than the quote.

I have a tendency to agree with Laura B above .... lost in translation because every experience we have had with Near East Hospital has not been as you mentioned above.

We have always known the breakdown prior to paying the invoice and generally the day before so we can ensure we take enough money with us. Sometimes there may be a couple of extras on from the time of the bill to the time we leave ie extra meds etc but that is all.

We have been having treatment at the hospital in the last 3 weeks and have always paid by debit card. Don't forget the BRS discount.

Don't tell them your name, Pike - comes to mind!! Don't tell them about the BRS discount until after they tell you the cost - it has been known for some places to add the discount in before seeming to give you one.

So I wonder how Thomas got on.

Don't worry If you have ever been to the NEU on a prior occasion and shown them your card, they will have your details on the Accounts system already. Don't forget its not 20% off everything. Its easy to get confused about that.

Laura B

Still not resolved

Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear that. Thanks for replying. I do hope you can sort it out soon.

What people get confused about is the "hidden extras" i.e. I had an Op in Ankara earlier this year but what I had not taken into consideration is the fact that EVERY, BUT EVERY little thing is items as below:-

4 plasters (those tiny little ones you have after giving blood.)
Nurse coming to take blood pressure (3 times)
Nurse taking temperature 2 times
DVD of xray
5 minute visit by Anesthetist
5 minute visit by student/assistant of the above
Extra cups of tea for visitor.
4 pain killers (Paracetamol type)
1 sleeping pill
1 drip

The list went in to 1.5 A4 sheets of closely typed paper.

If you are not happy with your final bill, you are entitled to insist of seeing the above equivalent at all private hospitals. Believe me, one is produced because that's what accounts department work from. In most hospitals the nurses station has someone sitting at a PC, itemizing the most minute action carried out by the nurses and they certainly add up!! A package price by your Dr/Surgeon is one thing, but he will not have a clue regarding the extras needed to make your stay comfortable. It really pays to add more to your budget so you don't get taken unawares. The State Hospital price is more or less (short of an emergency) what you are quoted.

Wow! That is interesting Sophie. Thank goodness for insurance.

How much is insurance (roughly) per year?

We pay around 7000 TL a year for the two of us. We have had the policy for 16 years now and obviously in that time it has increased due to inflation and the rising costs of treatment but we get a discount if we don't have to make a claim. I couldn't live here without the peace of mind.

Over 70s cannot get medical insurance here, unless someone can proffer other information.

Agreed Tomsteel. We were fortunate to be able to take out our policy when in our fifties and after ten years of holding the policy the company have said they will insure us for the rest of our lives. We had a very big claim 2 years ago and did wonder how things would go when it was time to renew but there was no problem. My husband, who had the claim, merely lost his no claim bonus of about 200 TL and there were no limits on the renewal.

Pleased for you Laura B. What company? Others may be able to benefit, although I cannot.

Güneş sigorta. The only drawback for us is that we started the policy with our accountant ( he is an agent) in Turkey. When we moved here we got in touch with head office in Istanbul and they said 'no problem' we could continue the policy and just get in touch with Güneş here and all would be sorted. Not so!!! We are not able to renew our policy here, we have to do it through our agent in Turkey! How ridiculous is that? If we want to renew here we have to start again!! So every year we havale money to Turkey and he posts our policy on to us! But, yes, we are fortunate in that they continue to cover us.

Result

Payment to the Near East Hospital

We believed we where given a estimate for the procedure but in fact we where given a fixed price for the procedure, that's why we found it difficult to get the bill, no bill necessary no extra charges. all done on a fixed fee.

For those who would like to think it was lost in translation, this was not the case, it was down to one department not communicating with another.

Case closed

Many thanks

Thomas

Excellent. So glad you got it sorted. And thanks for coming back with the result.

Give you the bill last minute dot com they charge you for absolutely everything please scrutinise it and don’t be shy to ask questions my mother has been at Dr Suat hospital for over a year now when I pay the bill monthly I ask for an itemised bill I often find mistakes as I said don’t be shy to ask

Regards payment with these hospitals having had experience for over a year with my mother in the geriatric Ward time and time again every month on payment there is always mistakes you need to check and don’t be shy to ask as I have said before they make mistakes all the time I think it’s bad management there it’s all about money and inexperienced young staff