Doctors, Hospitals Nationwide Adding (Non-Covered) Fees to Medical Bills

[Newsjock]

Source: CBS Sacramento

Hospitals and doctors offices across the country are tacking fees onto your bill, a CBS13 Call Kurtis investigation has learned.

Doug Rischbieter of Arnold booked his appointment six weeks early, he said, with a doctor he’d seen for elbow problems five years earlier.

But when Rischbieter arrived, he learned the hospital had changed his doctor.

His elbow felt much better when he left, but he said the bill he received stung — it included a $164 new patient fee his insurance didn’t cover, he said.

... CBS Minnesota reported Friday medical offices charging a “split visit charge” if patients ask doctors about health concerns unrelated to their visit.

Read more: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/10/22/call-kurtis-investigates-doctors-hospitals-nationwide-adding-extra-fees-to-bills/

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Single payer. Now.

[Vincardog]

3. Single payer. Now. +1

[valerief]

4. +1

[bvar22]

13. Single payer. Now.

Medicare for ALL.
Everybody IN.
Nobody OUT.


[font color=firebrick size=3][center]"If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for,
at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them."
--- Paul Wellstone[/font][/center]
[center][/font]
[font size=1]photo by bvar22
Shortly before Sen Wellstone was killed[/center][/font]

[KamaAina]

2. Are they taking lessons from the airlines?

A "split visit charge" is the medical equivalent of the "you get to sit with your family" charge.

[riderinthestorm]

5. Another voice for single payer now. nt

[WinkyDink]

6. No wonder the receptionist/nurse grills you on "What is the nature of your concern?"

[RB TexLa]

7. Doctors are going to steal every cent they can.

From the insurance companies, the government and their patients.

[nichomachus]

9. If you belong to an HMO

the doctor normally doesn't get anything extra for doing extra procedures. This is the HMO corporation gouging you -- not the doctor.

[Mojorabbit]

11. I have never heard of charges like this

My hubby is a family practice doctor but he is an old time doc with his own practice. Almost all the people coming out of medical school now are being hired by the huge hospital corporations and there as employees they will have to do what they are told. They are also buying up all manner of private practices. When medicine goes corporate you are going to see more and more of this kind of behavior. The whole face of medicine is changing because of these huge corps and it is not good.

[nichomachus]

8. I recently went to the hospital for surgery

I had to have a pre-surgical visit. During the visit, I had blood drawn and had a chest xray. The charges for the visit, the nurse who did it, the lab, and the chest xray were all billed by different entities. The operation itself was billed by the hospital and the doctor separately. So, for this one operation, there were six bills generated by five different entities and paid by three entities -- Medicare, my supplement plan, and me.

This is why we need single payer.

[Horse with no Name]

10. My GYN started some type of annual administrative fee a couple of years ago for $25

I didn't like it, but I don't want to change docs either.

[RagAss]

12. If these fuckers don't burn in hell.....nobody does.