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Any non US goons feel free to mock our lovely health care system. Scenario is as follows: Wife is pregnant, and we decide to see a nurse midwife for our prenatal care (think nurse practitioner specializing in baby deliveries, not hippy dippy). Kid is due early January, a bit lovely because deductibles reset January 1. Midwife informs us at our first visit that she has sold her practice to a larger medical group, she assures us that it will not really be anything but a change in name. We like the larger medical group, and have had good experiences with them. The wife will not meet her deductible this year, unless by the grace of God the kid, shows up prior to January 1. Prenatal care in the USA billed at the time of delivery - this is called 'global billing'. We really like this woman, and I think she's a very good fit for what we need. Some time in early September we get a letter saying OK this transition is happening Oct 1, just to let you know that it'll all be good no big deal. So here is the kicker, when we are moved from her old practice to a new one, apparently her Tax ID is changed. According to her billing person, this is basically the same as us switching doctors/providers. As a result, her old practice sends us a bill for the first 5 visits, to the tune of $600. This bill is a direct result of merger. Normally, all of the bill would be hitting our 2016 deductible, and we most likely will simply hit our max out of pocket. The change in her business is loving me over to the tune of $600. I have followed up with my insurer and with the midwife. I had a civil conversation with the midwife about the fact that I was being penalized because of her business decision, and we had no prior warning about this. I really do feel that the midwife should have been willing to negotiate on the bill, but that wasn't going to happen. In just about any other business on this planet, if they make a decision that penalizes their customer through no fault of their own, I would expect some consideration because of it. This is mostly just a rant than anything else. gently caress our medical system.
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Nov 12, 2015 15:42
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 16:58 |
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The change in firm has made the first visits hit our 2015 deductible instead of our 2016. I'd rather spend this $600 on pretty much anything.
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Nov 12, 2015 17:50
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slap me silly posted:Hoo boy, getting hosed on healthcare in the US and it's only going to cost you 600 clams? I mean, it sucks, I get it, but it is usually soooo much worse. Maybe make lots of phone calls and annoy people, maybe someone will fix it before you decide that it's worth $600 to not have to deal with it anymore. Nah I hit the end of the road on this one. There was this time that United Healthcare denied a hospital stay that would have resulted in a $25k+ bill. Luckily after months of fighting, it went to some sort of arbitration and I got it overturned.
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Nov 13, 2015 07:58
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NarwhalParty posted:Don't be mad at the midwife, she has more than likely zero say in the bill. Instead, there should be a separate billing department that you can contact. After that, there is an appeals department through your insurance. Nah the midwife is the right one to be mad at. She was the owner of the practice prior to being purchased by the larger community healthcare provider. The only way she could have worked around this is to continue to bill us on her old practice. When she moved to the community healthcare provider, it was the same as moving to a new midwife/doctor.
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Nov 23, 2015 16:59
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