Free Republic

It starts with a call. A sore knee, a lingering cough, a changing mole - nothing urgent - but not quite ignorable. The receptionist is polite, but the first available appointment is three weeks away.For millions of Americans, health care begins with a wait. For many, walk-in clinics have replaced family medicine.“People have started to accept that,” Dr. Dorothy Serna, a primary care physician who left traditional practice for a concierge model, told The Epoch Times. “They think, ‘I can’t get my doctor, so I won’t even try. I’ll just go to urgent care. I’ll wait. I’ll Google it.’”Such scenarios...

I have a question for anyone who might have been through this and what their experiences were? My wife had to go for a thyroid scan. On the insurers website they stated and still do that the company was an in network provider. They also stated that you have to call the company to confirm. I called the company and was told that they were in network( I did not note the name) The bill comes and they are out of network but the insurance company still has them as in network(website). I called the billing office to see if...

One in three Americans with private health insurance has been hit with a surprise medical bill, according to a new survey by Consumers Union. The study of 2,200 individuals also found consumers overall are confused when it comes to how to fight a surprise bill. Among the surprises: bills that were for higher amounts than customer’s expected, bills for out-of-network services that customers believed were in-network, and bills from doctors they did not expect would send them a bill. Betsy Imholz of Consumers Union says few people who receive surprise bills ever file a complaint with a state agency. “Nobody...