The other day I received a bill from Eva's cardiologist (yeah...remember
THAT fiasco?) for $300 bucks. (yes...this is AFTER the insurance. they took care of $7 bless their generous little hearts) Honestly thinking they must have sent this by mistake I calmly call they next day and tell them they sent me a bill. Yeah..they know. They tell me that if the doctor was IN the room I have to pay it. Regardless of the fact that he nor the nurse could even get near her with a stethoscope, much less take a good look at her heart. (The doctor himself sent a letter to her pediatrician that says "the evaluation was impossible") Now I'll admit...it's because she was being a pill...but come on....so anyway, I asked what the protocol for appealing this would be and they said I could send a letter, but being that the doc was in the room at one point they're just going to discard it. So I guess I'm in need of some straight forward honesty and advice. Am I in the wrong? I mean..we DID use up this guys time, but I kinda figured that's why we forked over the $40 co-pay. Or am I right and I should fight this? Honestly now...I'd hate to get all worked up when I really owe these people money. YUCK. Now I feel all depressed. I'm going to go make some of
Amy's Oreo balls to make myself feel better. (recipe follows) Afterall..there's nothing like 10 extra pounds to remind you of the Happy Holidays. :)
Oreo balls, a little bit of heaven, or oreo "truffles" depending on what you feel like calling them:
1 (18 oz) package Oreo's, finely crushed, divided
8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese, softened (1/3 less fat works great)
2 (8 oz) packages semisweet baking chocolate, melted
toothpicks
- Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
- Mix 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 1 inch balls. Insert a toothpick into each ball.
- Dip balls in melted chocolate; place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in a tightly covered container in the fridge.
Amy: I'm sure I botched this recipe! I think you used almond bark, but I couldn't find any. : /
10 comments:
Get 'em girl! I don't know much but talk about LAME! Gay doctors
Well here's my thinking: what does it hurt to fight it? You could at least try and either they say no and you have to pay or you don't. They can't add money to your bill, can they? (I hope not!) Anyway, so I think fight it. :)
Also, I LOVE the oreo balls. Jordan makes them but her recipe is a tiny bit different...but overall the same. Anyway, DELICIOUS and so easy! I like to call them "Yummy Balls". ;)
Yeah, I say keep fighting it, girl. And I'm sure Amy could give you advice since she's good at that kind of stuff...
...and you crack me up. I'm ready for more ranting about a big bill when BAM there's a recipe for oreo balls. But you know, those do sound pretty good right now... and they make me miss AMY!!
I would fight. $300 is a lot of money and what they are doing seems strange to me. I can't imagine you would have to pay for something that you never received, but what do I know?
Are they charging you for the drs. time or for the procedure itself? That would make a difference. If it's for the time, then I would offer to pay for the amount of time he was in the room. ie. 10 minutes = $20 or whatever. But I would definitely not pay for any procedures because you didn't have anything done. If he billed the insurance company for something he didn't do, then that's called insurance fraud...
Usually they have a written policy for these types of situations. Did you sign anything stating that you would agree to pay in full if the dr. enters the exam room even if nothing is done? That would also make a difference. If you didn't sign anything, then you have some room to negotiate. I would think they would have to inform patients of this policy for it to be enforced. (Not 100% sure though.)
Sorry for the long ramble. I get fired up over these kinds of things. If I feel like I'm getting ripped off, then the gloves come off. Our dentist just loves me right now... Good luck!
Oh, Oreo balls! I had totally forgotten about them. They have oreos here, but I think you get about 10 in a package, and they cost just as much or more as a full U.S. size package. Rip off.
Speaking of rips offs, the whole doctor thing is SO LAME! I was pretty much going to say what Jill did. You can look into what you actually are agreeing to pay. I know I've had doctor's bills from the ER and each doctor who comes in to say, "give the girl some more drugs" charges me another $80-100. I do think it's pretty normal. But at least they're doing something. Yours did not. I would think paying some of it would be in order since he did come and he did try. But $300 - no freakin' way. That sounds more like the price of an actual evaluation. My guess is that in frustration over Eva being, let's say, a diva :) he stormed out and put you down for the full bill because of the "trouble" of it all. Boohoo for him, I say. It should come with the territory.
Find out more and fight it, girl!!!
Oh, and my word of advice when actually talking to people about it, don't be wishy-washy. You don't have to be rude, but be very assertive like you're not going to take no for an answer and you know exactly what you're talking about. Even think through responses ahead of time to different things they might say to you.
Maybe even call and find out the answers to the different things that Jill mentioned, without even mentioning who you are, and you can ask to see the policies in writing. Then you know what you're dealing with.
The thing that gets me fired up about these kinds of things, is if no one ever fights them on unfair billing, they'll just keep doing it. Think of it as fighting the battle for everyone who sees that doctor.
Rant over :)
OK, here's my take...this guy is a pediatric heart specialist, right? Then if he could not handle a 12 month old, who was understandably frightened, he should be ashamed and apologizing, and offering to reschedule the appointment...not charging you for his failure! Fight it, Tara, be polite, but firm. You are in the right.
Mom
Hey! Heather found this post and sent it to me. Can you email me and let me know the current status of the situation? Maybe a little bit more information about what Eva was being evaluated for, etc?
I'll be glad to offer some advice!
-Mark
christensen.mark(at)gmail.com
Eva is a cutie!
P.S. Mark and I are friends of Megan's from Alabama.
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