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| Member |
I had a cyst in between my butt cheeks. It HURT like hell, very very painful, and I couldn't get into my primary in time for a referral, so I went straight to a proctologist that was on my insurance list. SO I made an appointment for Monday and this was Friday. I go in there, they told me my insurance wouldn't cover it unless I get a referral from my primary, I asked how much if I just paid cash for the procedure since I was in a terrible amount of pain $250. Ok, here you go. So I call United health care, told them my situation and since I hadn't seen my primary that year, they made her my primary retroactive to the first of the year, so when I go in, 5 days later for a follow up, I tell them they can bill my insurance for it if they want.....So they billed my insurance around $1400, showed my $250 payment and I had to pay an additional $268!!!!!!!!!!! even though they would've simply taken the $250 before for everything. WTF. They told me, once we bill insurance that's how they have to do it and I'm responsible for the co-pays. | |||
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| Eschew Obfuscation |
While I haven’t seen these discounts this does reflect my experience. I have been without insurance for over 2 years now. On the occassions I've had to go to a doc or urgent care, the first thing I say is: I don’t have insurance, I’m willing to pay in full today, what kind of a discount will you give me? I pay 30-50% less and they love me because they don’t even have to send one invoice. In addition, I tell the doc: Just do what you consider medically necessary and skip the cover-your-ass tests, labs, scans, etc. They love it too. They get to be real docs, and not risk adverse bureaucrats. _____________________________________________________________________ “Civilization is not inherited; it has to be learned and earned by each generation anew; if the transmission should be interrupted for one century, civilization would die, and we should be savages again." - Will Durant | |||
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| Staring back from the abyss  |
A co-pay of $2K for a scope?! Most places don't even charge $2K for the whole procedure. ________________________________________________________ "Great danger lies in the notion that we can reason with evil." Doug Patton. | |||
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safe & sound |
I just had one. $200 in labs. $300 anesthesiologist. $300 GI doctor. $1,800 for the hospital's outpatient office. | |||
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| Member |
My new insurance is a high deductible plan, so it looks like I need to be asking any health provider two questions: What discount can you give me with no insurance and I pay today? Next, what's the cost if you file with my high deductible insurance plan? | |||
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| Member |
The health provider better be careful, since MOST insurance contracts do not permit private contracting with the patient. I charge the same amount regardless. That practice is acceptable if the doctor does not have a contract with that insurance company. Medicare does not permit this practice. | |||
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| Member |
The system is terribly borked now. I once broke a collar bone in a motorcycle wreck and found a clinic to go to. Refused pain killers, missed some work, but the Dr. visit was cheap. These days, without medical like I was back then, hello bankruptcy. ___________________________________Sigforum - port in the fake news storm.____________Be kind to the Homeless. A lot of us are one bad decision away from there. | |||
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Member |
There are some doctors now going into private practice who no longer accept any insurance billing. One such opened up in the town near me, and I know the dr, good one and nice guy. He sets a standard monthly fee and all visits, labs, are extremely reasonable. So, a lab charge could possibly cost $12 for you, when if you get it done normally, it’s hundreds of dollars. Might check out your area and see if there are any around like that. | |||
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| Member |
Thanks, M1009. A few google searches guided me to direct primary care provider and some recent laws passed in many states allowing this model. It looks like this is spreading across the US and I see one practice nearby. | |||
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| Member |
Yeah it is called a concierge practice. You still need catastrophic insurance coverage for the hospital bills, but it is great both for the doctor and the patient. It is more common in affluent areas. | |||
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