Pediatrician charges are outrageous!

[Disneycrazy!!]

this posts reminds me...I got to call the hospital tomorrow to protest a bill. They charged me $45 dollars for a travel size bag of baby wipes and $10.00 for vaseline when my son was circumcised.

 

[LuvLDM]

I'm stunned that you took your child to the Dr. to have a tick removed.

 

[HelenePA]

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



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.

I have NEVER ever seen a tick in my life!! (I'm 31 btw) I would spend hours and hours in the woods and I or my friends never got one? I wouldn't know the first thing about removing one.. no lie.

 

[laurie31]

Well come on down! They're horrible this year.

I have Frontline on the dogs (so they won't attach) but when they come in, I often find one or two crawling on their fur. I've lost count of how many I've pulled off the kids. (No Frontline for them - lol). DH got one on him just walking to the mailbox!

I hate them. They look like tiny spiders, and I hate those too.

Oh - quickie PSA - vasoline or other methods of suffocation are NOT recommended. Mom did do that to me when I was a kid, but current research says that pulling them off at the neck is safer. The reason why is very gross. I'll white it out. Highlight it with your mouse if you want to see. It can cause the tick to regurgitate its stomach contents into the victim. See, told ya it was gross!!

Back to the topic, MDs have to charge something outrageous, so that the percentage they get from insurance is enough to make a living. It's a very convoluted system. I wish we could just all pay what the actual value was and not the inflated prices. There has to be a better way, but I have no idea what it is.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

The reason why is very gross. I'll white it out. Highlight it with your mouse if you want to see.(

Hey, that was fun -- like a secret hidden message. Well, a gross message, anyway...

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I agree also. To the pediatrician to remove a tick? Seriously? And people wonder why medical costs are so high.

First time I seen a tick (I'm a city girl) was about 6 years ago when we lived in the country for a while. I was petting my dog and felt a bump. Seperated her fur and there it was. I could see the little legs squirming. Yep freaked me out. My husband was away. What are you going to do? I certainly wasn'tgoing to take her to the vet to get it taken out. I knew it would cost me out the butt.

I got tweezers and pulled it out. Done , end of story.

Bugs aren't my favorite thing in the world either but sometimes you just have to deal with it. And if you don't want to , you pay. Can't believe you thought you would just be charged an office visit.

 

[luvsJack]

I have been told that if you light a match, blow it out and then hold the hot end to the tick; it will release. Not sure it works every time or not, the ticks I tried it on may not have been fully attached. It does seem to make them easier to remove.

We have to remove a lot of ticks around here too and have to be very diligent in checking the dogs But they just seem to fall out of the air sometimes! The other day we were in WalMart and I just happened to see one crawling in dd's hair!!

I had to go to the dr. a few years ago to get one removed from inside my ear. He didn't charge anything but a normal office visit.

 

[Mkrop]

I dont think that most people realize how much it costs to run a hospital or a doctor's office. These are calculated into costs. A doctor or a hospital can not inflate prices on a whim or they would not get many contracts with insurance companies. Most times, especially in hospitals, Medicare and Medicaid, are very key in computing a cost for a procedure or a room. In fact they dictate the cost that can be charged.

An insurance company and a doctor sign a contract that says that their patients can see said doctor and that insurance companies will pay X. In the case of HMOs a hospital or doctor gets paid a certain amount whether you walk through the door or not.

So say you have a procedure done and it cost a $1000, it appears that the insurance company is only paying $200 and that $800 just magically disappers. That is not the case, this is written off as an expense called a CONTRACTUAL ALLOWANCE and it appears on a hospital or doctor'soffice profit/loss statement as an expense just like salaries of staff or the electric bill does.

I hope this explains it better, a hospital or a doctor is really not trying to rip people off. You are paying for a certain level of expertise, malpractice insurance, other staff, supplies etc wrapped up into that cost.

Also if you did not have insurance many times doctors and hospitals will write off a portion of the charges and take this hit to their bottom line as well. And most would work on a payment plan. they would rather get some money then to have to write the charges off to Bad Debt.

 

[MIGrandma]

I agree with you. A few weeks ago I went to the opthalmologist to have my eye pressure checked. I'm supposed to go every 4 months but I can't afford his fees (our insurance doesn't pay). Usually the pressure is fine, but this last time it was up so he wanted me to start some eye drops, and had me come back for a re-check in 2 weeks. I asked the woman who checked me out how much each of these visits was going to cost me. She said $60 per check. Imagine my surprise when I got the bill and "my share" was $169 with $140 "pending insurance." I called them, they had to "do some research" and call me back. Basically told me it was my bill to pay, even though I argued with her that I had been told $60 per check so I was expecting $120 for the entire bill. She said it had been too long since my last visit so they gave me a "complete eye exam" as well.

I told her it was the shortest "complete eye exam" I'd ever had since all they had me do was hold a piece of black plastic over each eye and read a few lines on the eye chart. Then the doctor came in, checked the pressures, and used the light to check the backs of my eyes. That was it. Heck, the optical dept. at Wal-Mart gives a better "complete eye exam" than that!!

And when they find out my insurance isn't going to pay the other $140 they want, they'll be sending me the bill for it. They don't charge less for people who don't have insurance.

 

[mjkacmom]

I've had bills sent to me from doctors, that outline what was billed, and what was paid by my insurance company - a fraction of what was billed!

 

[dejr_8]

I agree also. To the pediatrician to remove a tick? Seriously? And people wonder why medical costs are so high.

Could not agree with you more.

 

[Mkrop]

I've had bills sent to me from doctors, that outline what was billed, and what was paid by my insurance company - a fraction of what was billed!

see my post, it explains it

 

[mhsjax]

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.

Um, no. I is to cover all the expenses they have and all the silly mal practice insurance they need. I worked for Dr's for 15 years, none of them every complained about a person coming in for something easy.

 

[mhsjax]

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



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.

Oh wow, I have never seen a tick either. and hope I dont. I was on a rant last night, wanting to move to NC because I was hoping for less bugs. (here in Fl and we have mulch, therefore we all have those huge palmetto bugs) I don't think I could handle ticks, but I think they must be better than the huge roaches out side.

 

[Heidict]

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.

Maybe she was unsure how to remove a tick or scared to do it, seeing as how she had never had to do that in her life.

That is what her PCP is for. At least she didn't go running to the ER where it would have cost 2-3 times as much. Of course, she would have had to sit there for hours because of everyone with their sniffles and belly aches and other stupid, non-emergency complaints. Those are the people that are driving up medical costs. Not people who use their pcp for real medical reasons.

this posts reminds me...I got to call the hospital tomorrow to protest a bill. They charged me $45 dollars for a travel size bag of baby wipes and $10.00 for vaseline when my son was circumcised.

WOW, that is ridiculous!!

I've had bills sent to me from doctors, that outline what was billed, and what was paid by my insurance company - a fraction of what was billed!

You insurance company has a contract with your doctor. In this contract they have stipulated exactly what they will pay for every single procedure code that your doctor could possibly bill for.

The doctor may charge $200 for an office visit, but their contract with the insurance states that the "approved" amount for that particular procedure code is $85. You have a $15 copay.

You pay $15
Insurance pays $70
Doctor adjusts $115

Every contract with every insurance company and doctor is different and negotiations can go on and on and on.

If the doctor does not have a contract with your insurance, then your insurance will pay what is "reasonable and customary" for the service. This figure is derived from some ancient and secret formula that the insurance company uses based upon the geographical area that the doctor is practicing. You would be responsible for what ever the insurance does not pay.

The doctors office can not charge the insurance company more then they would charge a patient. Often though, they will reduce or give a percentage off for a patient with no insurance or one who is paying cash.

 

[karibritt01]

Oh wow, I have never seen a tick either. and hope I dont. I was on a rant last night, wanting to move to NC because I was hoping for less bugs. (here in Fl and we have mulch, therefore we all have those huge palmetto bugs) I don't think I could handle ticks, but I think they must be better than the huge roaches out side.

I'd take ticks over palmetto bugs any day! We have more ticks because we live out in the country, and have lots of trees. And while you can find ticks all the warmer months, you tend to find them the worst during the late spring and early summer.

 

[Mkrop]

Maybe she was unsure how to remove a tick or scared to do it, seeing as how she had never had to do that in her life.

That is what her PCP is for. At least she didn't go running to the ER where it would have cost 2-3 times as much. Of course, she would have had to sit there for hours because of everyone with their sniffles and belly aches and other stupid, non-emergency complaints. Those are the people that are driving up medical costs. Not people who use their pcp for real medical reasons.



WOW, that is ridiculous!!


You insurance company has a contract with your doctor. In this contract they have stipulated exactly what they will pay for every single procedure code that your doctor could possibly bill for.

The doctor may charge $200 for an office visit, but their contract with the insurance states that the "approved" amount for that particular procedure code is $85. You have a $15 copay.

You pay $15
Insurance pays $70
Doctor adjusts $115

Every contract with every insurance company and doctor is different and negotiations can go on and on and on.

If the doctor does not have a contract with your insurance, then your insurance will pay what is "reasonable and customary" for the service. This figure is derived from some ancient and secret formula that the insurance company uses based upon the geographical area that the doctor is practicing. You would be responsible for what ever the insurance does not pay.

The doctors office can not charge the insurance company more then they would charge a patient. Often though, they will reduce or give a percentage off for a patient with no insurance or one who is paying cash.

Thank you for explaining this once again.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I'm stunned that you took your child to the Dr. to have a tick removed.

Since I hate bugs and had no idea what to do and didn't wnat to wait the hours for my DH to come home from work, and my DD was freaking out having a bug on top of her head, I took her to the doctor. I am sure I was not the first or last one to do this.

Making sure it was removed correctly and wasn't a deer tick, and knowing that it was covered 100% by my insurance...yes I went.

Should I have let her go nuts while we waited for me DH? Should I have risked removing it incorrectly? Nope... I went to the pros and would do it again in heartbeat!

 

[Mkrop]

Since I hate bugs and had no idea what to do and didn't wnat to wait the hours for my DH to come home from work, and my DD was freaking out having a bug on top of her head, I took her to the doctor. I am sure I was not the first or last one to do this.

Making sure it was removed correctly and wasn't a deer tick, and knowing that it was covered 100% by my insurance...yes I went.

Should I have let her go nuts while we waited for me DH? Should I have risked removing it incorrectly? Nope... I went to the pros and would do it again in heartbeat!

Then you need to pay the pro's prices.

 

[kirbsam]

Then you need to pay the pro's prices.

and quit complaining about it...