Interesting doctor scam at a hospital.
 

I was in the hospital for a few days a couple of months back. When I first checked in the doctor that was attending to me came in, did his workup and told me what steps they were going to take to fix my problem. Great. He got started and everything was good to go.

Over the next couple of hours three other doctors stopped in and talked to me. They didn't do anything other than ask me how I was and ask me about my situation. I told them and the they told me my attending doctor would making all the decisions on my care. Cool. Now the bills are starting to roll in. Those three doctors did nothing. They prescribed nothing. They made no diagnosis. They just stopped in to say hi and each one of them is billing me $280 for their services.

When I called the billing department ask about this I was told that often multiple doctors will talk to you because there is a chance they might be given your case so they want to familiarize themselves with you. I have a feeling they are doing it so they can bill you.

Smells fishy to me.

if they're unable to help out, you can complain directly

The hospital is actually going to send me a detailed breakdown of every cost. The insurance I have kind of sucks so I will have to pay 20% of the cost (so long as the insurance doesn't deny the claim which I and my doctor, expect them to) so every expense I can get removed that I think I am being overcharged for will help me out in the end. So far they have been very cool with the whole thing. Hopefully it stays that way.

I would send all of the information to the local newspaper. That's a story, if you ask me.

It was recently reported that doctors in a particular chinese hospital were removing other organs while doing c-sections.. Count your lucky stars that did not happen to you.

I would do this even if the hospital does give you a discount or a break. Most people don't go through their statements like that, meaning that others are getting screwed. It's one thing to have a backup doctor being filled in on the case, it's another thing to have three backups and all of them charging full rate.

Agreed - those are clearly examples of service stuffing

I have a feeling this is one of the ways the hospital makes up for those who can't/don't pay their bill. It is like when they charge you $25 for two aspirin or $40 to use a blanket etc. They stuff where they can knowing that most people will never take a second glance at the bill.

Several years back when a friend's wife had their baby she had a c-section and was in the hospital for 2 or 3 days. The total bill was about 40K. Their insurance covered it all but their $250 copay so they just shrugged it off and didn't even bother to look at the bill.

Since I have to pay out of pocket I want to make sure I have everything accounted for.

It kind of reminded me of when you go to Hooters and the different girls will come up and say hi then put their name on your napkin so they can get a little piece of the tips.

WAT :disgust

hmmm, never heard that either. Lots of those places have weird rules with tip disbursement anyway.

When I didn't have insurance an ER trip would cost about $1500.

Now with insurance its about $4500 according to the EOBs I get.

My insurance is paying $350 a month to rent a piece of equipment that costs $700. I have brought this up with them multiple times, they keep on renting.

I have only been to Hooters a few times and each time I have been it is the same place, so maybe it is just there, maybe they don't do this anymore, or maybe she was lying to me, but as we ate different waitresses would come up and say hi. Some talked for just a second and others hung out for a little while. They all put their names on a napkin that was on our table.

I asked our main waitress what was for and she told me it is a way for them to make sure that the girls are out talking to the customers and being friendly and they also get a small amount of the tips from each table they visit. The girls can also get better shifts, more tables and other perks if they sign more napkins. The idea is that they want you to feel like every girl in the place thinks you are the man and treats you that way.

Once I knew that it was fascinating to watch. There were girls who would hit 2-3 tables and talk for several minutes and others who, literally would just walk up, say hi, sign the napkin and leave.

My mom has what is essentially a very basic hospital bed that insurance rents for her. The bed has a metal frame and has the rails on the side that can go up or down.The head and feet can be raised. You can buy one of these beds outright for about $2,000-$2,500 depending on the brand. The insurance pays $900 per month for it. My mom pays a $30 per month co-pay. After 12 months of rental she will own it outright so basically the insurance company will pay about $10K for a $2,000 bed.

And all the local TV stations. :thumbsup:thumbsup

In Phoenix, they have a few channels that go after scammers and ripoffs and that includes businesses fucking people over.

I would not pay the bill.....mother fuckers.

You should post this story on Facebook and mention the doctors names ;)

Before I do anything I am waiting to see the full detailed bill so I can see just what they are charging me for.

how much was the total bill?

Should have at least given you a reach around.

So far I have gotten several bills. The hospital sends you a bill, then I got separate bills from from the x-ray people, the ultra-sound people, lab and wound care. The total was right around $20K

Yeah I remember going to the ER when I had no insurance....I maybe spent 15 minutes with a doctor and billed over $1500 :mad:. I still have some friends that have no insurance and it's crazy because they refuse to go to the doctor or hospital even if they think something is seriously wrong because they can't afford it.

How do you know they're really paying $350 per month? Sure the bill may say that, but doesn't mean they really are. And who knows what kind of kick-backs, etc are going on behind the scenes.

As for hospital bills, they're pretty much fabricated to gouge people paying cash / have no insurance. Often one sees all sorts of crazy line itesms, such as $25 for an Aspirin, etc plus all sorts of charges that have nothing whatsoever to do with the stay...

There's no rhyme or reason to such billing other than to pad the costs into the stratosphere. Most people with even somewhat decent insurance pays nowhere near full price - many don't even examine the bills - they just pay their portion without much thought, preferring to put the whole episode behind them, and move on.

Sorry Im no help. I tried to read your post, but my eyes keeps getting drawn to your sig.

Took my daughter to the ER about 7 months ago, after she banged her chin and in the process bit a nice little hole in the side of her tongue. The hole was so close to the edge of her tongue that pretty soon it just tore and a little piece was then dangling off the side of her tongue. The ER doctor and nurse practitioner both took a look at her tongue and were like "that's pretty nasty but the tongue heals quickly and it should be almost good as new in a couple weeks". They were right, it did heal up just fine. Total time in the ER was 30 minutes. Only medical equipment used was a tongue depressor. A month later I got the billing breakdown which showed $1150 for the ER visit!

Another thing that infuriates me, is when I need my Asthma prescription refilled every 6 months and they refuse to refill it, unless I go in to see one of the doctors. I go in, the doctor listens to me breath in and out a few times with his stethoscope, asks how my Asthma medication is working and sends me on my way. They're only making me come in for a doctor visit so that they can bill the insurance company.

This isnt the first time I've heard of this scam.

Another scam is done by ambulance companies. Once I had to be transported from one hospital to another about 100 miles away. They waited until 7pm, and then charged an extra $600 - because it was at night!

I hear you about the medicine stuff. My mom is diabetic and her doctor wants to see her every two months. 90% of the visits are her going in, the doctor asking how things are going and then leaving. But they won't renew her prescriptions without it. We tried to convince the doctor to just let her come in like 1-2 times per year unless something was wrong or she felt bad, but they wouldn't do it.

That sounds like such BS - I hope you're able to fight those two bills. Seeing how high medical bills are and they're all trying to get any penny they can out of patients, they might as well try anything they can. tsk

1: They probably defined in their rules what % of their budget could go to purchases and what could go towards renting equipment
2: They probably own the leasing / rental company

:2 cents::2 cents:

fuck i am so lucky to be in canada lol

I thought they wrote their names so you could peep their boobs?

hmmm,

looks like prechecked cross sales if you ask me.

And you still think private companies can manage your healthcare better?

:thumbsup

:Oh crap :Oh crap

Had a high fever / flu when I was a kid and went to the hospital. It was around Christmas and I spent the night there, all they gave me was a shot of Nyquil and a bed to sleep in. Next day I felt OK enough to go rest at home. They gave me a slinky since it was like Christmas eve or something IDK I had the flu and was out of it. But I remember the bill was around $6,000.

i went to the ER couple months ago, doc came in wrote down what I told him for literally 3 minutes and left. Said nothing except ask me 3 questions and gave me a Xanax prescription. Bill came in a few weeks ago - ~$1300 :1orglaugh

second trip, new doctor came in talked to me. He listened, explained this and that. He was with me probably 5 minutes if that. Bill comes in, ~$960

was in the hospital for 4.5 days back in march. had an allergic reaction to antibiaotics... the total bill was $60K and change.. my portion is $5k and change... be loving that aetna...