Will you be paying the $5000 deductible in 2020, regardless of the surgery? What I mean is, will you have enough expenses to add up to the $5000 during the year, without the surgery? If yes, than you have lost nothing and just paid it up front and aren't out of pocket, for the rest of the year.
If you won't have any medical expenses in 2020, then yes, you are out $5000.

If the second, I would stop by the office and talk to them. They will hopefully understand and see if anyone else can be bumped without it costing them $5,000.

Pro tip: donuts for the staff.

Bruce

my wife schedules the operating room surgeries for the 8 doctors at her practice. It sucks but sometimes things come up that requires the doctor to clear their schedule. Other then a we,re sorry but.... you won't get an explanation. It would be unprofessional to share private things in the doctor's life with patients like the doctor's mother just passed or his child got injured had is going into surgery that day.

It really sucks about the insurance hit. My wife usually has the Dec surgery dates filled in early Oct. Then she spend the rest of the year telling people that they cannot get in before their benefits reset.

Remember that you are not talking to the doctor, the person you are talking to has absolutely no control over it.

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Understandable to be upset. I'd call back once you've settled down. Explain your situation and ask for some assistance in getting in prior to the end of the year for your work and deductible related issues.

Very frustrating but things do happen and it could be a valid reason for the cancellation.

I'd squeal like a stuck pig, given your situation, and insist on getting a more fulsome explanation of the schedule change. I would really press for some other accommodation.

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
my wife schedules the operating room surgeries for the 8 doctors at her practice. It sucks but sometimes things come up that requires the doctor to clear their schedule. Other then a we,re sorry but.... you won't get an explanation. It would be unprofessional to share private things in the doctor's life with patients like the doctor's mother just passed or his child got injured had is going into surgery that day.

With all due respect to your wife, that is bullshit.

It isn't unprofessional to explain a personal but unavoidable situation. I am a lawyer and I have done it. "I am sorry that I need to change our meeting day, but my father passed away."

I think it is unprofessional to cancel with no explanation. That leads everyone to think the Doc got a great deal on a ski package in Aspen. If there is a good, legit reason, provide it.

quote:

Originally posted by RNshooter:
Will you be paying the $5000 deductible in 2020, regardless of the surgery? What I mean is, will you have enough expenses to add up to the $5000 during the year, without the surgery? If yes, than you have lost nothing and just paid it up front and aren't out of pocket, for the rest of the year.
If you won't have any medical expenses in 2020, then yes, you are out $5000.

If the second, I would stop by the office and talk to them. They will hopefully understand and see if anyone else can be bumped without it costing them $5,000.

Pro tip: donuts for the staff.

Bruce

That is a great point and more than likely he will be doing many sessions in rehab for months. At least that is what my surgeon told me about major shoulder surgery. Heck I spent over 2 months doing rehabs for shoulder impingement and that added up.

I get your frustration. Probably happened to a lot of us. Not much you can do. Except, suck it up, put on your big boy pants, move on.

You ALWAYS have the right to be upset. However, it is generally useless negative energy that does absolutely nothing to improve your life.

As far as changing docs, that all depends. If he is some “Meh.” guy that is probably capable of doing whatever you need done, but not really anything special and you don’t have much of a relationship or history with him, it might make a whole lot of sense to find another doctor. It still might be worth getting on the waitlist though. On the other hand, if this guy is the preeminent expert in the US, if not the world, you have been working with him for a long time, you have a long and complicated history that he is completely up to speed on which you’d have to bring any new guy up to speed on, then patience might be advised.

I guess the other thing to consider is we have no idea why he isn’t doing surgery that day. He may have had a medical issue of his own come up, he may have had a family emergency come up, something else legitimate and out of his control may have arisen that his front office folks are absolutely not going to advertise.

At the end of the day, you are greatly inconvenienced and that sucks. It may have been for an entirely legitimate reason and it may not. Your best course is to put that aside and decide what is going to work best for you in light of the situation you’re in rather than wasting energy fretting about how you got here.

Good luck whatever you decide!

Per usual, Slosig makes an excellent point: is this surgeon "a guy" or "THE Guy". If you only picked him because he was available, get waitlisted and look for another available surgeon.
I am more picky but priorities vary.

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
my wife schedules the operating room surgeries for the 8 doctors at her practice. It sucks but sometimes things come up that requires the doctor to clear their schedule. Other then a we,re sorry but.... you won't get an explanation. It would be unprofessional to share private things in the doctor's life with patients like the doctor's mother just passed or his child got injured had is going into surgery that day.

With all due respect to your wife, that is bullshit.

It isn't unprofessional to explain a personal but unavoidable situation. I am a lawyer and I have done it. "I am sorry that I need to change our meeting day, but my father passed away."

I think it is unprofessional to cancel with no explanation. That leads everyone to think the Doc got a great deal on a ski package in Aspen. If there is a good, legit reason, provide it.

I agree.

I'd tell them you have a 30 day No Cancelation policy...



Link to original video: https://youtu.be/ECmtCdUtEMI

quote:

Originally posted by RNshooter:
I am more picky but priorities vary.

Bruce

Yes, when Mrs. slosig needed shoulder surgery, they had to schedule her a week further out than all of us wanted because the doc was going to be in Italy visited with the head of the Italian Shoulder Institute (who had trained under the doc). Sometimes it is worth waiting for “The Guy.”

I understand things come up for doctors just as they do for all of us. Still, I hope they realize the stress this puts on their patients.

Last summer, I was scheduled for my PTE (Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy) Surgery I got a call that it had to be reschedule for about a month out. This is a very major surgery and I had been psyching myself for this for a couple of months. Needless to say I was really upset. However I found out the OR and surgical team had to be used for a lung transplant which of course can't wait. So, I waited a month and all went well.

I guess my point is try not to get to upset about it. I think most doctors have your best interests at heart, but shit happens.

This has happened to me. When I finally saw the doctor months later he was perturbed as well. He had a total knee replacement as a result of an injury and could not work. The hospital took charge of rescheduling all his surgeries and offered no explanation as to why. He was angry that the hosptial did not handle things appropriately by offering an explanation of some sort. He is older and some of his patients thought he was never coming back.

Doctors are human and have health issues. They also need money. You need more information at this point. If you approach the situation well, you might be surprised at the outcome. Doctors understand deductibles and insurance. The office staff needs better direction.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
my wife schedules the operating room surgeries for the 8 doctors at her practice. It sucks but sometimes things come up that requires the doctor to clear their schedule. Other then a we,re sorry but.... you won't get an explanation. It would be unprofessional to share private things in the doctor's life with patients like the doctor's mother just passed or his child got injured had is going into surgery that day.

With all due respect to your wife, that is bullshit.

It isn't unprofessional to explain a personal but unavoidable situation. I am a lawyer and I have done it. "I am sorry that I need to change our meeting day, but my father passed away."

I think it is unprofessional to cancel with no explanation. That leads everyone to think the Doc got a great deal on a ski package in Aspen. If there is a good, legit reason, provide it.

Fair enough. Perhaps I should have said "her office policy is that it is unprofessional to discuss the doctor's personal issues with a patient. Your office, your rules but as a peon in the medical field for 30 years this is her norm.

I'm in the camp of is this THE GUY. Where I live there is seriously only one shoulder guy to work on you. And its always a wait...But when I have non emergency surgery I find the right DR. And then pretty much I'm sticking with him/her. If it isn't life altering for the delay that's what I'd do here. If it is life altering I'd get a personal consult with the DR for any comparable surgeon and then see how their schedule is comparatively.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Understandable to be upset. I'd call back once you've settled down. Explain your situation and ask for some assistance in getting in prior to the end of the year for your work and deductible related issues.

Very frustrating but things do happen and it could be a valid reason for the cancellation.

I'd squeal like a stuck pig, given your situation, and insist on getting a more fulsome explanation of the schedule change. I would really press for some other accommodation.

You think there may be a legal case here if 280nosler is unable to get it scheduled before the new year and he can prove it cost him an additional $5000 as well as the inconvenience and potential extension of the physical pain associated with the delay? I suspect it's a stretch, may depend on the laws in the state, and $5000 is likely a too small an amount to get anyone's attention, but the OP is thrown into a bad position not of his making.

quote:

Originally posted by 280nosler:

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Food for thought. Do you want your surgeon to be rushed while doing your surgery or relaxed.

I mean I’d be pissed too but maybe it’s for the best.

Keep in mind, he cancelled 9 other surgical appointments today over a 2 day period - I'm not the only one. Going into the next year, I do not have the money saved to come out of pocket for another $7,000 (I pay the first $5,000, then my 80/20 leaves me on the hook for an additional $2,000 before I have fulfilled my part.)

The other issue is that they will not do surgery more than 6 months removed from the MRI. My last MRI was done on August 2nd, so I will likely need another MRI. This whole thing is a clusterfuck.

I would walk into their office ASAP and have a nice conversation with them explaining all of this.....sometimes they can magically fit you in somewhere...…..

quote:

You think there may be a legal case here if 280nosler is unable to get it scheduled before the new year and he can prove it cost him an additional $5000 as well as the inconvenience and potential extension of the physical pain associated with the delay? I suspect it's a stretch, may depend on the laws in the state, and $5000 is likely a too small an amount to get anyone's attention, but the OP is thrown into a bad position not of his making.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Unlikely. Doctors do not like suit happy patients or malpractice lawyers in general. Word gets around. There are databases that physicians can search to determine whether patients have sued before. Insurance companies maintain databases regarding settlements and much of this is public record. You might find yourself becoming an medical tourist and getting your care in Mexico or India.

Grievances such as the OP has are not made better by engaging in litigation. In fact, such a suit would be considered frivilous in some jurisdictions.

Look up Vexatious litigation. I do not think it rises to this level, but you never know.

Iwould think they should be able to bill you immediately so its covered under current year insurance even if the surgery takes place early next year.

When I lived in Anchorage, there were 2 orthopedic surgeons. One fell of his ladder putting up Christmas lights. He not only couldn’t perform surgeries, he took up the other surgeons time getting orthopedic surgery.

In other words, sometimes shit happens. Doctors are people too.

Did you get a second opinion on the surgery? If so, perhaps that doctor can perform it, or recommend a surgeon.

You have undoubtedly already been waiting for the surgery for while now. And your shoulder must be hampering you in some way. The doctor or hospital may be able to prioritize you and re-schedule someone scheduled for February.