Out of pocket/copay questions

Sure. If they have already had it preauthorized and know what your portion will be, why couldn't they?

I don't know about procedures but it has become customary for doctors to collect their copays up front. I had to pay a $25 one at the doctor to get a cut on my head stitched up and I'm standing there with my hand with a cloth pressed to my head. It's my hometown, they all know me and all of my family, but they got their money before I got my stitches.

I always have to pay my co-pay upfront, but I only have a co-pay for office visits.

My co-insurance portion is billed to me, because they first have to submit it and get it down to the contracted rate and whatever that other nonsense is on my EOB.

Yes, they can ask for prepayment. DH prepaid about $600 IIRC for a recent tricep surgery at an outpatient surgical center.

We also had to prepay 2 nights hospital stay a few years ago for hip replacement surgery. DH only stayed one night and they did eventually reimburse us.

When I had surgery a few years ago, I had to pay the copay in advance. I did have the option to pay when they gave me the schedule or the day of but it before the surgery happened.

It also used to be that as long as you were paying on your bill they couldn't take you to collections. Nope, they do that now too!

I think they do it because people would get the surgery and then bail on the bill. I know a friend of mine had to do that for her pre-planned surgery through the exchange insurance. They did not have to when her dh was diagnosed with cancer.

With our insurance, for an expensive treatment, they tell us how much we will probably pay before we get the treatment and make us sign that we will pay it. Then they submit it and bill us later.

I just got the bill for radiating my thyroid. Before the treatment, they told me I would be responsible up to $250 (my deductible)

ETA:  I almost always have to pay my co-pay up front for office visits, urgent care, ER

I had to pay for an MRI upfront because I hadn't met the deductible, yet. Also had to pay Dr for a large part of surgery and had to pay for the presurgery exam... All because I hadn't met the deductible yet. Once claims were filed I was owed several refunds because my deductible was paid several times over

We always have to pay our portion the morning we check in for surgery. They do a payment plan. $200 down and the rest spread out evenly over 6 months with no interest. I always do that because sometimes when they pre-authorize not all the bills leading up to the surgery have hit. My last surgery I did'nt have to pay the last two and a half payments.

I had to pre-pay for my daughter's birth 15 years ago. And then pay some more after because we ended up with a c-section, which is a lot more expensive than vaginal birth! Fortunately, at that time, hospitals did not send you to collections as long as you had set up a payment plan. I think we paid that baby off twenty dollars at a time.

When our son was born, the hospital had not imagined that I would have to be hospitalized in midst of pregnancy, so when the total bill was due we still owed several hundred dollars.  They sent a bill--I sent them a check for ? amount (it has been too long to remember) with a note that I would pay xx amount each month until it was paid off.

Imagine my surprise when the check was returned with a letter saying they would not accept installment payments, and either pay it all or they would write it off as a bad debt.  I am not sure if I even answered the letter or not.  For many years I wanted to write a letter to the local newspaper and call the hospital out for costing the taxpayers money and rejecting money when offered. ( I didn't ever do that.)    I still am amazed that my check was returned to me.

That is really too bad.  I do remember having to go in and set up a payment plan and sign for it, and there was interest applied to the account, but as I recall it wasn't egregious.  I know we had her "paid off" by the time her sister was born 21 months later.