Cost of office call with an orthopedic doctor?

[LisaR]

DD has had on again / off again knee pain. Her regular doctor ordered x-rays and an MRI. The MRI showed a soft tissue infection and she sent us to an orthopedic specialist.

He was very nice but he spent 5 minutes, at best, in the room with us. He said he looked at the MRI results and doesn't have a clue why is showed a soft tissue infection. He told her to just tighten the muscles around her knee 20 times a day and lift her leg while lying on her side.

We got the bill today. He charged our insurance company $350 for the office call. I think that is absurd. Is that really considered reasonable?

Our insurance paid $150.

 

[honugirl]

That's about average for a specialist. I've seen some specialist that bill out as high as $600-800 depending on what they do and how long the consult is.