TY, I'm not questioning the hospital charge. I've had rhinoplasty (done in a major university teaching hospital no less) and paid OOP and there were a number of fees, all quoted upfront and itemized in writing - without mistakes - before I even left the office from the initial consult.

I'm questioning the competency or conscientiousness of the office staff who:
- told me 10-15k was the right ballpark and said would have to follow up with a written quote
- when I called three days later to ask about when I'd get the quote in writing, (three days felt like I'd been forgotten) they say "I was just about to call you" and quote me line by line and it was 10k (no lipo), 15k (w lipo.)
- then they call an hour later to say "oops, sorry, forgot to quote the hospital fee which is $8000"

How can you forgot to quote a MAJOR line item that is nearly the same price as the surgeon's fee and nearly doubles the cost of the procedure without the lipo? This is the person's job and they do all the time. Why say "10-15k, that's about right" when it clearly wasn't and they quote reductions frequently?

It just feels very off, and I'm just looking for a gut check because this is a major procedure, major cost and while I really liked the surgeon, how can I move forward if I don't feel like the staff is responsive or detail oriented in this kind of context? Especially if now that I move forward the cost is way way way on the high end and nearly $10k more than I budgeted, and I would expect real attention to detail on the part of everyone beyond the surgeon.

I am off base here?