I’m not generally a fan of medical insurance companies, but boy do I appreciate them at times like this. I just got our claim information for Melissa’s surgery in January.

The total hospital bill was $21,823.93, but we only have to pay $385.51. Not bad, huh?

Keep in mind too that this is just the hospital stuff. The surgeon’s bill is handled separately, as are some of the other things, so the real total bill amount (and the real total out-of-pocket amount) will be much higher.

But, because we have the good sense to be insured against this kind of thing, we’re certainly not at any serious financial risk. The total out-of-pocket amount will probably be less than the cost of a major car repair.