Just got a $400 bill for the blood work for my yearly physical. Routine stuff, should be almost totally covered by my insurance (which isn’t cheap). In the past, it has.
Naturally the bill is due within days of me receiving it, despite the visit being months ago. It just takes that long for anything to wind through the labyrinth-like entrails of coding, billing, and negotiation. Also I get the sense there’s some high-pressure tactics here.
I waited until business hours then I spoke to an AI voice agent. These things now include small breathing sounds and “background noise” that sounds like they exist in a call center instead of the bowels of a data center that is deafening and poisoning everyone within a quarter mile. It still responds too quickly and too cheerfully to be human, though. This thing finally directs me to a person.
She sounds like she is in India. She also sounds terminally bored, which is good. That is the proper response and anything else puts me on guard. Turns out the bill was submitted with my middle initial, while the name on my insurance card is without my middle initial. This is a pretext, of course, the insurance company could easily make that connection (and hundreds of other services do). But they are hoping I would just pay the bill. She resubmits. Now I wait another two months for another bill, or perhaps nothing gets changed and the first bill is now overdue, with fines, or going to collections. Whatever.
What a fucking privilege to live in this system. I’m more insulted by how much of my doctor’s time this wastes, since her time is so much more valuable than mine.
I just went for my annual physical at a new doctor (my old one got bought out and no longer accepts my insurance). The doctor chatted with me for 15 min, never even laid hands on me or anything, and sent me on my way to get blood work. Imagine my surprise at getting an $80 bill the next month.
Apparently we discussed something not covered under the annual physical umbrella so they had 2 different codes for “New Patient Office Visit” that were charged to insurance (each roughly $400 a piece). Insurance covered all but the $80 I was then charged.
This was literally the least hands on physical I’ve ever had but somehow the most expensive. It really turned me off of the new doc, but not sure it’s worth the pain to find a new one (took me 3 years to find this one navigating my insurances atrocious interface of in network providers).
Anyone else in the US struggling to find and get into a primary care doctor?
I’m near enough to major metro area but can’t find one that is:
- within 10 miles of me
- taking actual in-person appointments
- is covered by my insurance
- is accepting new patients
I tried going through the insurance carrier app, tried Zocdoc etc. Several of the options are telehealth only… How the hell do you do preventative physical exams, tetanus booster shots, blood tests etc. with only telehealth appointments?
Good news because once you actually find one they will book you several months out and then reschedule you multiple times.
And then tell you that you need to go to another doctor because they don’t do those kinds of tests at their office or something
How’s the greatest country on earth over here 🙄
It’s shit
Is this what winning feels like?
Only shocking if you haven’t paid attention for the last 40 years.
Had to drive an hour and a half to the nearest available doctor that took my insurance. I got a physical and then got recommended like a dozen other tests each requiring their own appointment. I take even more time off work to get a possible pinched nerve checked out. They do some stuff, tell me I probably do and should do physical therapy. It cost $800 with my insurance. I have not been to the doctor since then. Nerve feels fine after I stopped spending so much time at my desk and did some personal PT.
I’m one of them. My fucking ear has been clogged for a week and I can barely hear out of it unless I put pressure on it. Not that anyone gives a shit.
Debrox drops and a warm water lavage at least 12 hours later can help a lot with built up wax. May not resolve your issue, but you may get some relief. Best of luck.
do you know the hydrogen peroxide trick?
Not sure its standard medical advice, but My gaurdian had me to this often when younger as I was prone to ear infections and blockages. Its better than blasting it with the water bulb.
Assuming impacted wax is the culprit (seriously, don’t clean inside your ears with q-tips) then soak the ear with hydrogen peroxide. It breaks up the wax pretty quickly.
