Posted on 01/26/2007 12:36:12 AM PST by neverdem
Thanks for the links & comments.
"back to patient-doctor relationship".....A M E N!
Away with middlemen (ins. companies) injecting control and add-on fees to health care costs..
You have summarized my point very well. I make very little on these cases but, I am really just putting in extra time.
And I wasn't trying to minimize your work or attack you or anything -- I re-read my post and it could have been seen that way and I wanted to apologize for the inference....
Thank you for the in-depth post and the link to the Cato article.
Facing the Islamist Menace [Hitchens reviews Steyn]
From time to time, I’ll ping on noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs. FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.
Thanks for the ping!
looks like Medi-Cal still pays more than Medicaid here in NY. $6 bucks for a 99212. and they get THEIR FRIGGIN GAS MONEY PAID BACK TO THEM by NYS tooo!!!
tell your insurance company you want your gas paid for when you go see your Dr. and they'd laugh to death.
my bad... i meant to post to #1.
Whatever. I had an ultrasound the my insurance refused to cover. The bill was $303. After months of the hospital claims department and my insurance company going back and forth, they covered it. Their cost-- $105 with their discount. I like how even though I had insurance that denied the claim, I would have paid the full price to help cover the cost of some non-paying, uninsured person wo goes to the ER for a cold.
A good question.
I think that is a real problem with some kinds of surgery, hysterectomies being the first that come to mind. Would be surprised though if breast cancer surgery is abused in the same way.
At least I hope it isn't.
This doctor is absolutely correct. I work for a California MD and know this is no exageration. It's one reason I get so angry when I read some of the posts right here on FR about overpaid doctors.
They would have rejected it or perhaps even triggered an audit, which even if proven to be billing legitimately would chew up weeks of valuable time that could be spent tending to patient care and records.
These things are all weighed out and many times the person making the decisions on whether the doctor delivered proper care isn't even another doctor, but a RN hire by your insurance carrier.
You are absolutely right. And that's why many or most doctors' practice managers have to become experts in delicate conservative coding. (I believe that in general they are dismissive of the physician's ideas about the proper code anyway.)
Well, what you do is go over the bills with a fine tooth comb and ask questions if something seems out of line. ICU is expensive, the level of care is extraordinary and the personnel working there is as well. The real key to lower healthcare costs is a healthy lifestyle and diet which will keep you out of the doctors office and/or hospitals.
Most Fire Departments are made up of Volunteers
Let me ask you this. Does this hospital care for a lot of indigent people? Illegals? If so you have the reason the bills are so high, they are not a not-for-profit center and have to make up the short-fall to the bottom line with people like you or I who have insurance... and this is totally different from the subject of this article which is what doctors really earn.
The fine Dr makes a boat load on the actual surgery.
Yes, he bites the bullet in the office, but makes it up in the OR
Medi-Cal compensation for surgery is just as pathetic as for office visits. I'd be amazed if she made as much as $300 for the procedure. She is basically giving charity care here.
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