Pediatrician charges are outrageous!

[JoiseyMom]

I am so glad we have insurance with our dedcutible met! DD wound up with a tick on her head a few weeks ago. I was good, I didn't freak and DH wasn't home so I took her to the doctor. I wanted to make sure it was removed correctly and that it wasn't a deer tick. We were there for under 5 minutes. Doc used tweezers, removed it and told me to put on some neosporin.

Well I got the EOB today. OMG, 95 for office visit, ok, this is fine. 150 for medical services and 150 for office surgery . WTH????????? If this wasnt covered, I would have paid for the office visit and the tweezers..but that would have been all! I mean really??

I am happy my insurance gave them bupkis for the medical services...but geez! It's too much!

 

[worm761]

Doctor's fees are outrageous. My pediatrician charges $155 for a 15 minute visit where we talk about DS's ADHD and meds. She writes a script and we are out of there.

 

[mhsjax]

They are expensive, but I suspect that most Dr's charge as much as they can for an office visit because most insurance companies are only going to pay so much and it is done by procedure code. Every office visit has a different code.

Also most insurance companies require the Dr to write off the difference between what they charge and the allowable, so IMHO they are just trying to get the most for their money. Maybe not all some are probably greedy, but most are dealing with insurance companies

For example, yes 155 for 15 minutes is extreme, however the(and I don't know exactly how your insurance work, but most goes like this). They bill for 155, the insurance company only allows 30, they write off the difference between the 155 and the 30 and you are responsible for your percentage of the 30. Like I said not all ins companies work like this, but if you have a preferred provider program, this is it.

 

[wvjules]

That actually doens't sound too outrageous to me.

 

[Tinkermommy]

I do think medical costs are high, but when people say, "$155 and I only saw the doctor for 15 minutes" they do not take into consideration they saw the receptionist, the nurse, the person who checked you out, etc. Those people are also paid. Then there is the equipment, office space, insurance and all the other costs of keeping the office open and ready for patients. You are not just paying for the doctors time.

It does sound steep though. Although being in the south, you just get the tweezers out of the drawer and do it yourself!

 

[JoiseyMom]

I do think medical costs are high, but when people say, "$155 and I only saw the doctor for 15 minutes" they do not take into consideration they saw the receptionist, the nurse, the person who checked you out, etc. Those people are also paid. Then there is the equipment, office space, insurance and all the other costs of keeping the office open and ready for patients. You are not just paying for the doctors time.

It does sound steep though. Although being in the south, you just get the tweezers out of the drawer and do it yourself!

Well, in my 40plus years and 27 years of being a mom, it was my first tick encounter. The fact that I didt lose it (I HATE bugs) was amazing. I figured I would be charged an office visit. I didn't expect 300.00 in other charges! Her well care visit was about 20 minutes, not 5 and I will not be charged as much.

I know the overhead costs...but they charge the same if you have or don't have insurance. If I didn't have insurance, I would have had to pay that entire charge....it is insane.

 

[mhsjax]

Well, in my 40plus years and 27 years of being a mom, it was my first tick encounter. The fact that I didt lose it (I HATE bugs) was amazing. I figured I would be charged an office visit. I didn't expect 300.00 in other charges! Her well care visit was about 20 minutes, not 5 and I will not be charged as much.

I know the overhead costs...but they charge the same if you have or don't have insurance. If I didn't have insurance, I would have had to pay that entire charge....it is insane.

If they charge the same for non insurance then I agree with you I think it is a little steep. But I also know how much they are to pay in expenses. Mal practice insurance is crazy.

 

[heatherwillmom]

The easiest way to get a tick is to put a substance on it that will suffocate it, like vaseline. Then they slid off & you don't have to worry about squeezing them so hard that they inject anything back into the wound. Removing a tick with tweezers can be hard to do it just right. Always put antibacterial ointment on any bug bite just in case

 

[disney1990]

We have removed lots of ticks and never went to a doctor's office to have it done. It you are concerned, you can put the tick in a jar and save it to be tested.

 

[C.Ann]

The easiest way to get a tick is to put a substance on it that will suffocate it, like vaseline. Then they slid off & you don't have to worry about squeezing them so hard that they inject anything back into the wound. Removing a tick with tweezers can be hard to do it just right. Always put antibacterial ointment on any bug bite just in case

We've done this here in the mountains for ages - long before Lyme Disease ever hit the news.. It's easily dealt with at home..

OP - Having worked in a doctors office, what you "see" isn't always what they get, so I wouldn't be too concerned about it.. Sometimes they're lucky to break even - considering all of their overhead; malpractice insurance; employees that have to be paid; etc..

I'm surprised that you would have been charged the same thing if you didn't have insurance.. I've encountered that with hospitals, Urgent Care Centers, and certain pharmacies, but never in any of the doctors offices I've been to.. Most times the cost of the visit was actually less than the co-pay would have been if I'd had insurance at the time..

Get yourself some good, steady tweezers - along with the proper medications - and you can take care of it at home if it happens again..

 

[golfgal]

The way I see it is that dr's charge these "extras" to discourage people from running to the doctor for silly things. 10 seconds on Google would have saved you the trip and shown you it was a woodtick, not a deer tick and how to remove the tick-liking bugs or not. If you go to the doctor to have him remove a bug, expect to get charged for it. It's visits like these that drive up insurance costs.

 

[fkj2]

The way I see it is that dr's charge these "extras" to discourage people from running to the doctor for silly things.

I'd think that some of these charges are to help defray astronomical college costs to become a physician, combined with malpractice insurance and office overhead. And then there's the doc's actual income...

 

[Kathi OD]

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I'm surprised that you would have been charged the same thing if you didn't have insurance.. I've encountered that with hospitals, Urgent Care Centers, and certain pharmacies, but never in any of the doctors offices I've been to.. Most times the cost of the visit was actually less than the co-pay would have been if I'd had insurance at the time..

Our doctor charges the same fee, insurance or not. DS (24) does not have insurance at the present time and needed to go to the doctor. 15 minutes and $186 later, all he had was a script for meds and tests he can't afford.

 

[ljcrochet]

I had the same thing last year with my DD. Only thing was she had a fever and had stayed home from preschool when I found the tick in her hair. Took her in to the pedi. I don't remember what the bill was but a few weeks later we got a bill from the pedi for $24 for the coinsurance due to "surgery". I had paid the $20 co-pay for the office visit the day of the services.

 

[portocall]

Hummm.. I always thought that Doctors told the insurance companies their going rate (charged to the uninsured) knowing that for insured (HMO at least) patients, they would get substantially less. At least that is how my OB explained it to me when they briefly stopped accepting my insurance. I thought it was just crazy that the bills for my child's one week in NICU were $29,000 yet insurance paid only $3000. If I was uninsured I have to wonder if the hospital would have left me alone after paying the amount that the insurance company did.

Truthfully, I pay way more yearly to the insurance company than the insurance company pays for my family of 5 (we pay $520 per month, but that is only 25% of the full cost of the policy) however, if we went without insurance we would be charged the full doctors rates and pay more. Can't win for losing..

 

[mikehn]

What's all the fuss. The plumber charged me almost $300 to change a pressure valve, about 20 minutes of work.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

What's all the fuss. The plumber charged me almost $300 to change a pressure valve, about 20 minutes of work.

LOL, I agree.

 

[tonilea]

What's all the fuss. The plumber charged me almost $300 to change a pressure valve, about 20 minutes of work.

At least he made a house call!

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

I was flipping out over dr bills on here 2 weeks ago (as some of you may remember).
3 vaccs, physical (eye, ears checked)- $850
sit down and talk to GI dr for 15 mins~ $513
over night stay at hospital hooked up to IV with fluids (dehydrated), 2 urine tests, blood work~ almost $20,000!?!?!?! We have to pay $700 of it.

its really sick and sad!!!!

 

[karibritt01]

Although being in the south, you just get the tweezers out of the drawer and do it yourself!

Pulled one off of DD in the shower a few days ago... didn't even bother with tweezers.

Well, in my 40plus years and 27 years of being a mom, it was my first tick encounter.

I can't even fathom that. On a "bad year for ticks" we will remove 1 or 2 a week during tick season. In a good year, we see 3 or 4 throughout the summer.