Posted on 03/22/2013 12:52:54 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Deep breath.
I am going to write this in the calmest way possible. I am not here to air out dirty laundry but just like my last post back in Jan about Obamacare and law enforcement officials and doctors...this one leaps another level.
I went to a doctor this morning for a follow up to an appointment I went to at the end of January. During my last appointment other than just getting some prescriptions refilled we went over some MRI results and talked about a different course of action regarding an injury.
This morning I show up for a follow up to see how the new scripts are going and what not...I get to the front desk and the doctor's assistant says to me "You have an outstanding balance of $75.00", I said no that is impossible...I pay everything up front for my appointments. I pay cash up front for any visit.
Then she lays it on me.
"Your doctor went 13 minutes over time last visit and you owe $75.00 for it."
I said like hell I do...I paid for a full visit last time like I do every time and why should I suddenly pay more?
Quote "As of January..and the change to the medical laws and rules and the "Affordable Health Care Act", we have to by law charge after 15 minutes for a separate appointment because the first 15 minutes are considered "Prescription Recheck". If anything goes over the 15 minutes it becomes "Therapeutic Visit". If the doctor does not account for his time with you he will be fined $600.00 and he must account for every single thing that goes on behind that door."
She then puts a 2013 medical code book and shows me that there were hundreds of pages of code they were still learning and that they were told to expect a new bigger book in December.
I was furious at the fact that there was no notice of this anywhere and why in the hell am I just being told this now and not when I left the office the last time?
The assistant said "The notices are on the door over there".......................the door to a closet that nobody reads really because it had about 17 pieces of different things written in various sized print. By law all the office has to do is post it but not tell the patients about it.
They have stopped accepting new patients..FOREVER. They have had to close another office they had 65 miles away because since the Newton shootings...there are landlords that do not want to have anything from neurologists to psychologists to psychiatrists (anything brain related) in their building in case "one of them snaps".
I was told to expect it to become much, much, much worse and that people are just not showing up for appointments any longer.
Not that it matters but this was for a neurologist who sees me for a fall from a 2 story house.
My employer doesn't offer health insurance...they can't afford to. So I am compensated more to make up for what they can as far as me handling my own medical care.
A $75.00 extra fee. If he didn't report it he would be brought up for medical fraud and the $600.00 fine would put him on a probation.
I hate typing about my own personal life like this but you know what...this is the kind of thing that needs to be known. My doctor said his hands are tied. He tries every route he can to avoid billing cash patients more and tries to do a discount but has been warned if he does that then he will be charged with fraud as well. That is why he stopped seeing new patients so he won't be shopped.
He said psychiatrists and psychologists are going through some serious problems right now and they are completely turning all cash only. No insurance at all.
My venting is over.
Amaizing.. 10 minutes apart even :O
Agreed, great minds think alike... seems like real Conservatives have some link... just wish we could get them all synced :p
On a daily basis I am in fear/anger of obamadeathcare. Vent all you need to. You are not alone.
They took a badly flawed system (American healthcare) and ground it into dust. It will only get worse in the next year and a half.
Nobody in our little family unit has even been to a doctor yet this year. We have the Rolls Royce of health insurance plans, and our baby is due for a check-up at the end of the month. I am so not looking forward to this, even though he’s in perfect health (thank God).
Don’t bet on it. People have become sheep. They’ll just go back to grazing and watching reality TV.
That’s what I’m wondering. The gov’t can micro manage Docs even if it’s not insurance related? If I were a DocI would have to do something to fight for what’s right other than retire early.
> reality TV.
A contradiction in terms if ever there was one.
I pray that you’re wrong, but I fear that you may be right.
Exactly.
What is the current cost estimate of implmenting Obamacare?
It was $1Trillion as advertised, but everyone forgets the “Government Rule of
10” which says that everything the government does will cost 10 times as much as originally estimated.
I thought I had heard somewhere that is was up to $6Trillion now
Many years ago, say 1978, I had a physician for a customer, good customer.
Un characteristically he got behind on his bill and I called him. He told me to visit his office, 20 miles away, and ask the nurse to pay me.
When out that way, I did just that. She apologized and showed me an empty cigar box. some body beat me to it that day. He charged cash and then paid cash. If you got there when the till, the cigar box, was empty ...... tough nookies.
Looks like the underground medical economy is going to blossom
Often it isn’t the MD who has their hand in your wallet. It is the hospital or other organization that owns and runs the practice. The $ doesn’t even end up in the same hands; it goes back to the government, the oversight groups, the malpractice insurance policy,the certified providers of CMEU, the re-certification exams. Any that does go to the MD is then, of course taxed at the highest rate, state and Federal.
The clinicians are on the front lines of all this. They turf the confrontations to the mid-level employees because no one really wants to deal with the irate and stunned patient.
I won’t add our story just yet, as we are awaiting a yea-or-nay on a so-called Bridge Policy. Suffice to say, the underwriters are doing all they can to disqualify people. Our agent has horror stories (ours is one) where the underwriter consistently misinterprets a test or procedure, looking for some underlying extreme medical condition that will justify a higher premium or a disqualification. Suffice to say, if this policy is denied, my husband goes bare and pays the fine (we won’t have a refund coming, so IRS will have nothing to withhold) for 3 years until Medicare. I am considering dropping Part D, since I take no meds, it goes up 10%/year and if I need it in future and will be charged more as a punishment for not having been enrolled prior, so be it. I will likely come out even.
Every day, more people find out more about this monstrosity. In the end, no one will be insured because no one will be left to rape for the funding.
My company moved everyone to contractor/per-Diem status. SOL.
Are you really surprised, wait until Jan first 2014 when your premium doubles, than you’ll be surprised.
Libtards don’t care if Obamacare fails. The next step will be single payer socialized medicine which is actually what they really want in the long run.
” they are completely turning all cash only. No insurance at all.”
BING BING BING!!!
Here is where it will go. “Everyone” will have to pay insurance unless they are part of the great unwashed mass in which case they will get it for free and we will all be stuck with the same crappy service. While the rich will pay cash for their concierge medical service. 2 classes 1 for the rich and the politicians and 1 for the rest of us. Welcome to the USSA comrade!
My doctor said his hands are tied. He tries every route he can to avoid billing cash patients more and tries to do a discount but has been warned if he does that then he will be charged with fraud as well. That is why he stopped seeing new patients so he won't be shopped.
How many doctors are going to be willing to put up with that? How many will be able to comply even if they try?
I hate typing about my own personal life like this but you know what...this is the kind of thing that needs to be known.
Thank you for posting it. It is the kind of thing that should be known far and wide. A year from now I think it will be but the MSM is going to do everything it can to hide and downplay it.
These anecdotes and definitely any letters need to be posted online and shared through Facebook and social media outlets. If needed, we need to organize to do it. We have to create a massive shift of public opinion in this country, and the people need to do it. The party definitely is not.
These anecdotes and definitely any letters need to be posted online and shared through Facebook and social media outlets. If needed, we need to organize to do it. We have to create a massive shift of public opinion in this country, and the people need to do it. The party definitely is not.
Yes, they said everything 100% must be electronic records as well and that if they kept just paper files only that that too would be a punishable offense. EVERYTHING has to be electronic. No and’s, if’s, or buts.
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