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Post by Zee on Aug 27, 2016 23:37:20 GMT
I've never had to pay a percentage of my surgery before the actual procedure, but I'm not surprised by this. I always have to pay my copay before being seen, that's been the same for years, but i don't recall there being a copay for surgery. Just my portion up until I meet my deductible.
Recently, the lab started taking a CC on file and I had to sign a paper saying they could deduct any charges after insurance up to XX dollar amount. Which of course requires a lot of vigilance on my part to make sure I'm not overcharged.
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,179
Location: Western Illinois
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Aug 28, 2016 0:24:58 GMT
I get paying the copay upfront for an office visit; that's usually a small amount and pretty standard.
What I find troubling is having to pay your 20% upfront, even when you have insurance and they know that. I was sent for a CT scan and when they called to schedule I was told that I was expected to pay the 20% either right then over the phone, or when I went in for the scan. I opted to pay the day of the scan - but the 20% they charged was based on a different price for the CT scan than what was paid by the insurance company. So, I ended up overpaying and then having to wait weeks before I got a check back for the overpayment. Yeah, I could afford to wait and didn't have to have that money in my account right away, but that's not true of everyone. I didn't like having to wait until the hospital processed everything to get my money back. And it makes it really hard to know if you are being charged the correct amount or not. They could have sent it through insurance, and then sent me the bill for my part, which is what they used to do.
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Post by freecharlie on Aug 28, 2016 1:08:33 GMT
I get paying the copay upfront for an office visit; that's usually a small amount and pretty standard. What I find troubling is having to pay your 20% upfront, even when you have insurance and they know that. I was sent for a CT scan and when they called to schedule I was told that I was expected to pay the 20% either right then over the phone, or when I went in for the scan. I opted to pay the day of the scan - but the 20% they charged was based on a different price for the CT scan than what was paid by the insurance company. So, I ended up overpaying and then having to wait weeks before I got a check back for the overpayment. Yeah, I could afford to wait and didn't have to have that money in my account right away, but that's not true of everyone. I didn't like having to wait until the hospital processed everything to get my money back. And it makes it really hard to know if you are being charged the correct amount or not. They could have sent it through insurance, and then sent me the bill for my part, which is what they used to do. I find it crap that they want their money before, but can take weeks after insurance pays to get you your money back.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 23:15:32 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2016 1:18:08 GMT
My surgeon's office asked for my co-pay BEFORE my surgery and I told them that I'd pay the day of the surgery and that even THAT was in good faith that the surgery would be completed. Gosh! Who knows what could happen??? What if it got cancelled? What if one of the parties dies beforehand? It's getting so ridiculous now!
I want to add that this whole new billing system has gotten so out of hand. I found out that there are different doctor's appointments, and that (depending on your coverage--I have Medicare) some appts are considered "follow up" and they're not supposed to charge you! Just 3 years ago I had surgery and every single follow-up appt was covered for up to a year! After that Medicare changed their policy to just 4 months (as far as I can tell), but even then, how the doctor inputs the information is ALL that matters.
Paying beforehand, IMO, is terrible. It's an assumption that you'll both be there on that day. When I hear about women having to pay the co-pay for their labor and delivery BEFORE the actual birth, I get really irked. What if something goes wrong? These people are paying off a debt that didn't even happen yet.
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basketdiva
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,619
Member is Online
Jun 26, 2014 11:45:09 GMT
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Post by basketdiva on Aug 28, 2016 2:24:49 GMT
When my husband had surgery in March ,we were offered a 20% discount if we paid the balance of our deductible that day and 20% off the balance of the bill if paid within 30 days. I took them up on the offer.
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Post by gorgeouskid on Aug 28, 2016 4:01:55 GMT
DS had ear surgery earlier this summer, and when they called to do the pre-surgery stuff on the phone, they told me that we would be paying $600 out of pocket when we got to the hospital. We were prepared to, but they didn't ask for a credit card or any kind of payment.
We did get the bill in the mail for our out of pocket. (BTW, total cost was $14,000+ for 3 hours, not including the doctor's fee.)
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Post by Patter on Aug 28, 2016 10:20:48 GMT
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Post by scrappintoee on Aug 28, 2016 11:03:39 GMT
I agree! Wow, your job must've been SO heartbreaking, kellybelly77. I thought that public (I don't know if that's the correct term?) hospitals such as---the ones affiliated with Universities--- took care of people with no insurance/ those that can't afford co-pays? And whoever mentioned the hospital that said gallbladder surgery would be postponed until co-payment could be made? I realize gallbladder isn't usually considered life threatening; but I know 2 people whose gallbladder surgeries were delayed, NOT because of payment-----but, sadly, they were misdiagnosed. Both of them ended up having URGENT gallbladder removal because of potential rupture, both also had to have "open" surgery with large incisions ( instead of the easier, tiny incision laparascopic kind), and both ended up borderline septic...! My point is----the fact that a SUPPOSEDLY non-urgent surgery can be delayed because of money....tragic !!! I'm sure the insurance company would've been THRILLED to pay for a patient's time in the ICU fighting for their life when that all could've been avoided by the patient having the surgery sooner!
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Post by kellybelly77 on Aug 28, 2016 13:23:35 GMT
I agree! Wow, your job must've been SO heartbreaking, kellybelly77. I thought that public (I don't know if that's the correct term?) hospitals such as---the ones affiliated with Universities--- took care of people with no insurance/ those that can't afford co-pays? And whoever mentioned the hospital that said gallbladder surgery would be postponed until co-payment could be made? I realize gallbladder isn't usually considered life threatening; but I know 2 people whose gallbladder surgeries were delayed, NOT because of payment-----but, sadly, they were misdiagnosed. Both of them ended up having URGENT gallbladder removal because of potential rupture, both also had to have "open" surgery with large incisions ( instead of the easier, tiny incision laparascopic kind), and both ended up borderline septic...! My point is----the fact that a SUPPOSEDLY non-urgent surgery can be delayed because of money....tragic !!! I'm sure the insurance company would've been THRILLED to pay for a patient's time in the ICU fighting for their life when that all could've been avoided by the patient having the surgery sooner! We don't have any university hospitals in town, though we do have a Catholic hospital. I am not sure if they have a program for people who can't pay. But, hospitals are required to treat emergent life threatening issues. But at that point his wasn't life threatening. So when it got bad you just go to the ER, get stabilized and get sent home with a plan to follow up with a dr. That's the problem with ER care. You get stabilized but unless you present with your tumor as currently life threatening they don't do much. We had another case that we took all the way to the Kansas Supremem Court regarding a lady who had a bowel condition. It caused her great pain and sacrifice but wasn't currently life threatening. So she would go to the ER once a week or so and get treatment but no one would do the actual surgery because she didn't have insurance. Her plan was to go to the ER when she was in so much pain and hope that it was life threatening enough that they do would do the surgery with that admission. I always wondered what happened to her as her case wound through the courts. Hers was a bit different as it dealt with her ins company cancelling her once she got sick. These were both pre ACA so I would hope they both got coverage now since they can't deny for pre-x any longer. I think everyone who did that job and heard these heartbreaking stories would like to see single payer. I cant think of a colleague who didn't.
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