It is time for healthcare consumers (i.e. you) to
start advocating for yourselves against the big bossy, expensive healthcare
system.
This call to action comes from a recent transaction
with Providence Health when I took my daughter to urgent care a few months ago (before
graduating) because I was fairly certain she had an upper respiratory
infection. It was deemed allergies and we were sent on our way with a
prescription for Flonase. With something that was so simple I was surprised at
a bill for $368. (Mind you, I hadn’t met my deductible of $3000.) I’m used to
getting plenty of medical bills because of my daughter’s health condition, but
simple office visits never cost so much so I looked at the itemized list. There
was a charge of the visit and an extra charge for the removal of impacted
cerumen (earwax).
Not at any point did they irrigate my daughter’s
ears or do any procedure to remove “impacted cerumen.” Impacted means that it’s
stuck in there, pushed up against the ear drum. So I called and questioned the
charge. I was informed that I was correctly billed and would have to cough up
$236 for the removal of said earwax. Excuse me.
I called them again and expressed my concern that no such procedure
occurred. I was read a part of the provider’s note that said she put a curette into
my daughter’s ear to remove earwax.
If that did happen, it was so quick and unimportant that
I don’t remember it. And call me crazy, but as a provider myself, I thought
that removing a piece of earwax that is blocking the view was just a part of a
good ear exam.
So here are my concerns:
1) Why are healthcare consumers being charged extra for
what is part of a normal exam for a given complaint? It was not a “procedure.”
How often do these types of things just slide by because people aren’t
questioning their bill?
2) If there is a charge to the procedure and it does
not necessarily need to be done in the office (i.e. I could take my daughter
home and put drops in her ears) then shouldn’t the consumer be asked first? I
was not asked.
3) How outrageous is it that something so negligible
costs $236?! Really? We were in and out of that room in ten minutes. No special
tools, medications, assistance, time, etc., was needed.
As a country we are busting at the seams because of
high healthcare costs. People cannot afford it and it is becoming less affordable
every day. We want to blame politicians but shouldn’t the blame and the outrage
go to the businesses, pharmaceuticals and hospital systems pocketing outrageous
profits by inflating their costs and slipping in unnecessary charges when we
aren’t looking? These entities are also the ones that get tax deductions and
write-offs when the consumers are unable to pay. I have been saying for a
short-while now that I blame the CEOS and medical directors that make
multi-million dollar salaries for keeping profit margins high. My experiences as
a new provider makes me feel even stronger about it as I waste time combating
insurance companies daily.
It is time to refocus our efforts to fix the
healthcare system. As healthcare
consumers, I urge you to question your provider about the interventions being
performed and any possible related charges. Is it something you can do without?
Is it something you can do at home for less? What would happen if you didn’t do
it? Just ask nicely and a good provider will understand your concerns.
You should also start looking at itemized statements from your visits,
even if you’ve already met your deductible. Do the charges really fit what
happened? If not, make phone calls, insist on seeing the chart note if you have
to. If you don’t get results the first time, try again. If you need to, go to
the insurance company and let them know that the charges are incorrect and they
can investigate for you. You can do these things while being polite and civil.
In the meantime, file complaints to the higher ups.
Express your disgust at being duped and over-charged. Let them know you are
going to take your business somewhere else (if your insurance allows, of course)
if they don’t remedy the situation.
It is an uphill battle to be sure, but it is time to
get angry at the real criminals here. It is also time to start fighting back. As for my example/experience, it is still being
worked on. Providence is listening to my squawking and they are investigating
my complaint still. The most recent
thing I have been told is that they re-coded the charges and have submitted it
to my insurance company for review.
