How do they get away with charging so much?

[luvdzne]

I am so angry! Back at the end of March, dd fell off her bike, naturally on the weekend. She complained her wrist was hurting really bad, that was on a Saturday. I told her we would keep an eye on it and go to the doctor on Monday (yes, I know, bad mom but she was able to move it just fine and there was no swelling). Well on Sunday she was still complaining so I decided to take her to a urgent care center. They did X rays and she did not break it, but had a contusion (bruised the bone). They put her in a arm brace for a week to help it heal. I got the bill(s) yesterday. I got one from the urgent care center, and one from the doctor. The doctor charged $135 to see her and $155 to slip a splint on her arm and Velcro it. The Urgent care center is charging $125 for the exam room, $25 for the splint and $175 for the doctor to slip the splint on her arm, and I have yet to receive the Xray bill. Now I understand an urgent care will cost much more than a regular office visit, however, I am outraged at the $330 to basically slip a sock on my daughter arm . How on Earth can they get away with charging so much ! This is the number one reason insurance cost so darn much!!! I called the insurance company to find out how both places can charge for the same thing and so charge a ridiculous fee for it to boot. She said where it may not make sense it is legal for them to charge like that . I told her I want it investigated before I will pay a dime to either of these places. I can see the doctor charging for it, although $155 is a bit outrageous (what was included in the original $135 doctor charge?) but for both to charge for it is ridiculous! I may still in the end have to pay the stupid fee, but I will not go down without a fight on this one . I hate being ripped off, and is was definitely a rip off!!! How on earth can doctors get away with charging so much!!!???

 

[caitycaity]

$330 doesn't sound like a lot for urgent care to me.

i had to go to the er once - for a 5 second procedure that i probably could have done myself if i wasn't in so much damn pain. it was almost $3000 - though fortunately our insurance covered all of it but $500.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

3 reasons--it is b/c of health insurance, malpractice insurance and b/c of those who cannot pay.

Sounds like you got off great.

I had PT last winter. I paid the medicare rate which was the "real" costs. Insurance companies are charged more b/c they don't want to pay a fare rate. If the practitioner charges the fair rate--insurance won't pay it. Beats me as to why.

Also--my cat tore every single ligament in her knees. And nothign aside from meds was done for her. So--your urgent care--was about the same for my cat. It isn't about the size of the injury-it is what they have to do to assess wat it is.

They didn't charge you $350 for a sock. They charged you to investigate what her injury was and treat it.

Though I do agree--the double charge for the doctor is suspect. I know when I had my kids--the doctor billed his own fees--not the hospital. That does sound strange.

Think out of the box. If you could have diagnosed it yourself--it would have been free. The person who did diagnose it--had to be educated to do so.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I am confused about 2 charges from a doctor for the same thing?

 

[luvdzne]

$330 doesn't sound like a lot for urgent care to me.

Maybe you missed what I said. The $330 was not for the urgent care, it was for holding a splint (basically a glove) in the air for my dd to slip her arm in. I listed the other charges on top of it. I know and understand that urgent care costs more that a regular office visit, however I am finding this a little outrageous, and believe this is part of the problem in our country dealing with medical care! Doctors are purposely over charging and because the insurance companies allow it, there is nothing we can do about it. And yes $330 to put a splint on an arm is overcharging! Tell me what the $135 charge from the doctor was? A charge for her to say hi? And yes even if it was $330 for the urgent care that is still a lot. It was not an emergency room or even at a hospital, it was a clinic. So where it may be a bargain for you, I am tired of being over charged by doctors that go to seminars to work the system so that they can find ways to over charge for things. I am not saying that all doctors are like this, but quite a few are! No wonder so many people can't afford to go to the doctor, and no wonder insurance companies charge us so much. They don't even look into what a doctor or facility is charging unless you as a patient complains and make them look into it.

I refuse to pay any medical bills until I receive a detailed statement because in just the past 8 months I have found over $1200 in mistakes from both providers and the insurance co. that would have come out of my pocket had I not paid close attention. Most people do not check what their doctor is charging for. I had a dispute in with the insurance company over another claim that I was being charged for that they insisted was right . I got a call tonight from the insurance company that yes indeed I was being billed the wrong copay and saved myself another $50. This is just one of many I have disputed.

I encourage everyone to check their medical bills, because I guarantee that at least once during the year most people are paying more out of their pockets then they should. Just like anything else they are betting on people not really checking their bills.

 

[barkley]

dd had surgery last may, and someone in the billing department "ooop'sd" and sent me a copy of the bill (i usualy never see anything since it goes to my hmo). less than 24 hours in the hospital (not including charges for orthopedic surgeon, anesthiologist-both who billed separatly) $45,000.00.
thankfully we only had a $25 co-pay. we have friends whose child was diagnosed with a life threatening illness, and within less than 6 months had amassed (as their 10% share of cost under their ppo insurance) over $60,000 (they now kick themselves for choosing to go with the lower cost ppo vs. their employer's somewhat higher cost other plans that would have left them with zero share of cost).

 

[luvdzne]

To clear up the charges a bit more

Urgent care center charges:
$125 exam room
$175 for the splint to be put on her wrist
$162 for X rays (have not received a bill for them to be read yet)
$25 for splint

Doctor charges:
$135 medical care
$155 to put the splint on her wrist

total charges so far
$777

Like I said, I understand the high charge for the urgent care, I understand and agree that urgent care is more than an office visit, I am angry that both the doctor and urgent care center are allowed to put the splint on her arm.
So yes $330 for this is ridiculous!

 

[clh2]

Just a thought here...of the total amounts that you listed, which if my math (without a calculator is $615) for the urgent care and the Dr. fee.

Insurance companies generally work on a negotiated rate with their suppliers (which is the clinics and the doctors.) Of the $615, how much are you actually responsible for?

 

[luvdzne]

Just a thought here...of the total amounts that you listed, which if my math (without a calculator is $615) for the urgent care and the Dr. fee.

Insurance companies generally work on a negotiated rate with their suppliers (which is the clinics and the doctors.) Of the $615, how much are you actually responsible for?

As it stand right now because of how it was all billed, $417 is our responsibility.

 

[caitycaity]

there is nothing more that i can honestly say here that will be what you want to hear, so instead...how about this:

wow, that sucks.

 

[JrChurch]

Unfortunately, the cost of providing medical treatment is VERY HIGH and that cost is passed on to the consumer. Believe me, most physicians would like to hang up a shingle and practice medicine with little overhead. Those days are long gone.

 

[luvdzne]

there is nothing more that i can honestly say here that will be what you want to hear, so instead...how about this:

wow, that sucks.

I am sorry if my reply offended you, it wasn't really geared to your post, I was just trying to clear up that the total cost for the visit was more that the $330. I also was more or less just venting the fact that I am being charged twice for the same thing. Again, I'm sorry if I offended you, that wasn't the purpose of my reply.

I don't mind paying my fair share for quality health care, but I am simply stating that lately I am finding an over abondance of medical billing errors lately. Not from just one provider, but several. It is just frustrating that some doctors find the need to over bill and we in the end have to pay more for it is all. Once again, just me venting my frustrations.

 

[caitycaity]

i didn't mean to be so snarky, but i think one of the biggest problems with medical costs today is people not realizing how much medical care actually costs.

you are right, you shouldn't be double billed. at the same time though, medical care actually does cost a lot of money. i think a lot of people have unrealistic expectations of what medical care should be like and how much it should cost. this is sort of a hot topic of mine - i should have just avoided your post. i was taking something out on you that wasn't your fault.

my apologies.

 

[Pooh Crew]

I feel your pain! I took my daughter to a local urgent care center after verifying that they "accepted" our insurance. It was on a Saturday, my ped. was not open, my daughter was in pain, and I knew she had strep. The dr spent two minutes with dd doing a strep test, confirmed what I already knew, and then billed us for almost $700!!! Like you, we had a dr fee and a facility fee--copays for both then percentages of both. We were charged for an emergency room visit (not urgent care) and were then told that they accepted our insurance, but were not ON our insurance (huge difference!). I won't make that mistake again.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

If all they had to do was put a splint on her arm, you could have done that yourself by going to the drugstore and paying the $30 or whatever.

You took her there because you wanted to be sure she was OK, and they checked her out and told you she was. She was seen, evaluated, and treated.

It isn't cheap. If it could be done cheaper, someone would open a clinic and do it for cheaper.

There is also the fact that insurances won't cover actual charges. They just won't. So, medical facilities have to over-charge in order to get paid the right amount when the insurance companies don't pay up. It is basically bargaining.

But I feel for you. It sucks when unexpected things come up that you have to pay for.

 

[MorganLeFey]

When my daughter broke her foot, I took her to my podiatrist. Her first office visit involved taking x-rays of her foot and applying a soft cast -- $315.

Second visit, four days later, he took x-rays of her other foot for comparison purposes, took off the soft cast and applied a hard cast. That visit cost $650.

Of course, these fees were incurred in the doctor's office during his normal office hours. Had I gone to an emergency room or urgent care center, i would have expected to pay double.

Overall, I don't think the fees you were charged were outrageous.

I imagine that when the doctor applied the splint, he was assisted by a nurse or medical technician. that justifies both his bil and a bill from the urgent care center.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I decided to take her to a urgent care center. They did X rays and she did not break it, but had a contusion (bruised the bone).

luvdzny, I realize you are angry but I would like to help you understand it. How do you know your daughther had a contusion and didn't break the bone? The doctor made that diagnosis. That's what you paid him for, not

$135 to see her and $155 to slip a splint on her arm and Velcro it

You may have only seen him for a few minutes, but there were other things he did behind the scenes when you didn't see him do. He reviewed your daughter's past medical, surgical and family history, medications, allergies, chief complaint (reason for being seen), description of the problem, examined your daughter, ordered and studied the XRays, made a diagnosis, applied the splint, gave you instructions, then documented the whole thing in a permanent medical record.

It's oversimplifying what is done to say that he was paid for just putting a splint on. There's a lot more that goes on, and that's what you're paying him for. I don't know that a hospital would have been much less expensive.

I hope your daughter is feeling better.

 

[PhotobearSam]

That is totally awful...I am so sorry that this had to happen to you and your child.

All I can say is thank God I live in Canada. Last week I had my gall bladder out and I will never see a bill and I don't have Out of Pocket insurance either...my bill is 100% covered by the Goverment Health Care Plan. I can now see how lucky we really are...

 

[jodifla]

OP, other folks aren't getting what you're saying, but I sure am.

The charges are a blatant ripoff. No way do any of the materials or doctor's time come close to what they are charging you.

Someone's making a lot of money off of sick people. That's what sucks.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

OP, other folks aren't getting what you're saying, but I sure am.

The charges are a blatant ripoff. No way do any of the materials or doctor's time come close to what they are charging you.

Someone's making a lot of money off of sick people. That's what sucks.

If they can't make money, they won't do it. People don't do that stuff for free. We are very lucky that we have the fantastic health care we do. Most countries don't have it.

And when people get really sick in countries like Canada, they come here for medical care...because it is better. Don't tell me they don't, I work for the Cleveland Clinic and we get gazillions of Canadians flooding in with horror stories.

Heck, we get the Arab oil sheiks, too. They can buy themselves palaces over there, but they can't buy decent health care...they don't have it to buy.