The recepionist/billing woman at my Doctor's office doesn't have health insurance

[shadowknows69]

Because they don't offer it. Let that sink in for a minute

ETA: I told her that was probably the most obscene thing I'd heard all month.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. That's it ..........

That's the perfect punctuation - an exclamation point, I should think - for what our country has become.

How did you learn this?

[shadowknows69]

19. My Doctor scheduled me an MRI and I was telling the woman checking me out

That I didn't think the doc heard me when I said I don't have insurance. She simply mentioned she didn't have it either, and I asked if they even offered her a plan and she said they didn't.

[Lars39]

2. Almost as bad: the receptionist at my doctor's office offers insurance,

but he doesn't accept the plan. Totally outrageous.

[sandnsea]

5. Maybe it's too expensive

and choosing to pay for food, power, and a home for your kids has to come first.

[redqueen]

8. I got the impression that the insurance the doctor's employees use

is not accepted by that same doctor.

Could be mistaken...

[sandnsea]

10. Ooooh, I missed that

Yep, that sounds like it. And it is about as outrageous as the doc in the OP.

[redqueen]

11. Or the one in post 6!

Greedy people really do make me sick.

[Lars39]

9. No...the doctor's office didn't accept the insurance policy they chose

for the employees.

[sandnsea]

13. Right, thanks

Estrogen deprivation. Can't help that. :)

[undeterred]

3. People are cancelling their appts for radiation therapy

for their cancer because they no longer have insurance.

[sandnsea]

7. I got an ENT appt in 3 days

It used to take 3-4 months. I figure people are cancelling these too.

[county worker]

4. It doesn't surprise me.

I use to be a controller at a medical clinic. We could never cover our costs after the doctors got their contracted amount of the cash receipts. As health care, pharmaceuticals and insurance costs (both malpractice and other types went up and what the insurance companies and medicare reimbursed us went down it became harder and harder to offer any benefits or salary increases.

The only place to take money would have been from the doctors who would have went somewhere else to practice.

[Donnachaidh]

6. the same was true at my pain management doc's office

He actually had the GALL to complain about paying too much for his office help, which was making under 7 bucks an hour. Then I find out he's so *broke* because he and his partners are developing medical office buildings all over the frigging state - something like 4 locations at once.

But the cheap bastard cannot provide a living wage or benefits for the front office. SCHMUCK.

He wasn't real happy with me when I asked him how he could have all this costly, brand-new real estate when he swore it was too costly to pay his staff a decent wage... :grr:

[county worker]

12. You are one of the few who understand doctors.

It's all about the money.

I know some who are very care oriented but those are few and far between.

[nightrain]

15. I forget what percentage it is of doctors that support single payer. Something like

60% or more. I don't think the caring ones are so few actually. And yes, of course in any line of work there are greedy bastards....

[county worker]

18. If you had a business and your customers were being restricted from buying your product,

and the federal government had a plan to lift the restrictions would you be for the plan? It isn't altruism that motivates them.

[Dappleganger]

17. Our pediatrician is like that...

she has one nurse and one part-time office person, and her husband helps when he's not on duty. The office is tiny but we've been with her since she left the giant Baptist hospital group because the staff was so bad. She was barely making more than my husband was at the beginning of this year. She tries to keep her overhead as low as possible and has always had reasonable prices. People like her and many family doctors are NOT making a ton of money after paying insurance and staffing needs, rent, etc. (not much more than an engineer).

[shadowknows69]

20. At $145 cash per visit I bet mine is doing pretty well.

[Donnachaidh]

24. you see, this is what I don't understand

I would receive information from my insurance, on what the doctor billed, and what the insurance actually paid him. He would bill $163 dollars a visit, but the insurance only paid $68. Include the $25 dollar co-pay I had to pay, he made $93 dollars for a 10 minute visit. They scheduled people in 10 minute increments at this office.

So $93 a pop, times 6 is $558 per hour. Not bad if you work 8 to 5, even with an hour lunch.

WHY can't these doctors offer the same price - that $93 charge, or better yet, that $68 charge, to their uninsured patients? They don't get better payments from the insurance companies - why should the uninsured be penalized with such huge charges, when the doctors DON'T get paid these charges by the insurance companies?

It doesn't make sense -- and it seems awfully mean-spirited on the part of the doctors. :shrug:

[Donnachaidh]

23. our first family doctor in NY was CARE oriented

He took care of 4 generations of our family, even doing housecalls to this day. He's in his 90's now. I went to school with his kids.

He had his practice out of a converted house for decades. He wasn't interested in investing in real estate - he cared about his patients, and his kids getting a good education. He still takes care of my older brother, and he keeps Doc informed about the rest of us.

This man is considered a SAINT by all who he has cared for. He's only recently added younger doctors - but he has kept his old ways - taking care of the folks who work for him, housecalls, and his rounds at the office and the hospital. He NEVER turns away people who are broke - because he knows if he is just patient, he will get paid. And he doesn't schedule patients in 5 minute increments. Amazing, in this day and age.

He is more concerned about keeping his patients HEALTHY. He set such high standards with his ethics and CARING, he kind of made it difficult for his former patients to be satisfied with the McDonald's Drive Thru doctoring that has become the norm in this country.

He's never talked of retiring. He's involved - he loves what he does. And his patients adore him.

[nightrain]

14. yep. Sadly, not too surprising... Many folks in private practice

cannot afford to buy private insurance. Isn't that ironic?!--your healthcare practitioner/therapist/counselor/nurse/nursing assistant/social worker/psychotherapist might not have coverage....

That's some of who the 48? million people are.

[earth mom]

16. Now that is shocking.

:wtf:

[demosincebirth]

21. I don;t know of any Doctors offices (or dental) that offer any medical coverage, unless you're

an RN or NP

[shadowknows69]

22. That doesn't mean it doesn't suck