Why do doctors offices charge so much for a brief visit?

[BrianNole777]

Can any of the medical or legal minds on HBOT explain?

I've had a couple routine doctors visits the last year. One office charged $500 for a 15 minute visit.

Another charged $600 for a 30 minute visit.

They charge it to my insurance company. I usually pay $50 or $90 after my insurance company haggles them down.

Why is this?

TIA.

 

[Rifler]

That's more than just the office consultation I'm sure,.. labs, xrays, meds, procedures, etc. likely also involved here?

 

[The Tradition]

How else do you expect doctors to afford their boat payments?

 

[BrianNole777]

That's more than just the office consultation I'm sure,.. labs, xrays, meds, procedures, etc. likely also involved here?

I dunno.

Maybe behind the scenes?

One was a dermatologist. Another was an urgent care for a flu shot that charged my insurance $522.

 

[stanzithemanzi12]

How else do you expect doctors to afford their boat payments?

Or their malpractice insurance premiums? Or their $300k in medical school?

 

[Aardvark86]

Can any of the medical or legal minds on HBOT explain?

I've had a couple routine doctors visits the last year. One office charged $500 for a 15 minute visit.

Another charged $600 for a 30 minute visit.

They charge it to my insurance company. I usually pay $50 or $90 after my insurance company haggles them down.

Why is this?

TIA.

For starters, their contracts with insurers, and their provider agreements and regs with public programs, specify that they will be paid the lesser of (i) their "usual and customary charge" or (ii) a negotiated/fee schedule amount. So there is an inherent incentive to make damn sure that your charge is substantially higher than even the most generous third party payment rate. In rare/stupid cases, they'll get paid a percentage of their U&C. And of course, since the overwhelming number of their patients now carry insurance, they don't 'really' have to charge anyone those amounts. Except for the uninsured, who are usually either rich enough that they don't care how much the charge is, or poor enough that the doctor can permissibly waive the charge rather than collect it.

In short, the charge is largely a fiction, but it serves the purpose of ensuring they get paid as much as third parties are willing to pay them.

 

[BrianNole777]

The average doctor in America makes $1,000 a day

 

[GOHOX69]

I dunno.

Maybe behind the scenes?

One was a dermatologist. Another was an urgent care for a flu shot that charged my insurance $522.

Why would you go to urgent care for a flu shot?

 

[BrianNole777]

For starters, their contracts with insurers, and their provider agreements and regs with public programs, specify that they will be paid the lesser of (i) their "usual and customary charge" a (ii) a negotiated/fee schedule amount. So there is an inherent incentive to make damn sure that your charge is substantially higher than even the most generous third party payment rate. In rare/stupid cases, they'll get paid a percentage of their U&C. And of course, since the overwhelming number of their patients now carry insurance, they don't 'really' have to charge anyone those amounts. Except for the uninsured, who are usually either rich enough that they don't care how much the charge is, or poor enough that the doctor can permissibly waive the charge rather than collect it.

In short, the charge is largely a fiction.

The doctors office may get $200 for a 20 minute visit.

 

[GOHOX69]

The average doctor in America makes $1,000 a day

Not after we sue for malpractice.

 

[BrianNole777]

Why would you go to urgent care for a flu shot?

I usually do.

It was close by. I hadn't been to this one before but it had great reviews.

 

[Aardvark86]

The doctors office may get $200 for a 20 minute visit.

i am loathe to say it, but that's not much of an hourly rate compared to a DC lawyer.

 

[BrianNole777]

i am loathe to say it, but that's not much of an hourly rate compared to a DC lawyer.

I know.

They can charge $1,300 per hour. 🤢

 

[GOHOX69]

I usually do.

It was close by. I hadn't been to this one before but it had great reviews.

Go to Walgreens. It should be free even on crap insurance.

 

[Aardvark86]

I know.

They can charge $1,300 per hour. 🤢

yes, they can. and more than that for a big swingin' dick ex-doj litigator

 

[GOHOX69]

i am loathe to say it, but that's not much of an hourly rate compared to a DC lawyer.

And it's less than me filling a patent for anyone.

 

[BrianNole777]

Go to Walgreens. It should be free even on crap insurance.

I also asked them to check my ears. Maybe that was the huge charge?

 

[alaskanseminole]

Why do doctors offices charge so much for a brief visit?​

 

[GOHOX69]

I also asked them to check my ears. Maybe that was the huge charge?

That's it. Medical coding would convert that into a procedure.

 

[RileyHawk]

The average doctor in America makes $1,000 a day

The average salary for doctors in the U.S. varies significantly based on specialty, location, and years of experience. Here are some figures:

1. Primary care physicians (e.g., family medicine, internal medicine) earn an average annual salary of around $260,000.
2. Specialists (e.g., surgeons, cardiologists) earn significantly more, with an average salary of about $368,000.

 

[alaskanseminole]

I also asked them to check my ears. Maybe that was the huge charge?

Depends. How big are your ears?

 

[Rifler]

Damn,.. those are some large ears.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

Seems like a PA or Nurse Practitioner could be the front door for many medical inquires and a cheaper rate.

Likely AI and robots will be the ultimate solution. Imagine AI that has instant memory to every medical case in recorded history with all the details and history of every patient and you yourself to compare against.

Same goes for lawyers.

AI has incentives to wipe out the smart people long before the blue collar people.

 

[GOHOX69]

Seems like a PA or Nurse Practitioner could be the front door for many medical inquires and a cheaper rate.

Likely AI and robots will be the ultimate solution.

I will say this. I just recently shadowed an er doc. I have never seen as many hot nurses as that night. One guy had a herniated testicle and this 20 something nurse goes, I've seen lots of balls. His was jammed.

And @joelbc1 nearly every one was wearing Hokas. I thought of you and had an internal chuckle.

 

[millah_22]

Can any of the medical or legal minds on HBOT explain?

I've had a couple routine doctors visits the last year. One office charged $500 for a 15 minute visit.

Another charged $600 for a 30 minute visit.

They charge it to my insurance company. I usually pay $50 or $90 after my insurance company haggles them down.

Why is this?

TIA.

What is your insurance doing that it’s not a $10 copay?

 

[BrianNole777]

What is your insurance doing that it’s not a $10 copay?

Dunno.

My deductible is $9,200 so I'm grateful for anything.

I only pay $100 a month to the insurance company.

 

[GOHOX69]

Dunno.

My deductible is $9,200 so I'm grateful for anything.

I only pay $100 a month to the insurance company.

Are you employed? If you are, that's a huge deductible. If you're not employed, get on the aca starting November 1. That's horrible insurance buddy.

 

[millah_22]

Dunno.

My deductible is $9,200 so I'm grateful for anything.

I only pay $100 a month to the insurance company.

So your insurance plan is basically “at least you won’t be financially f*cked if you get cancer”?

 

[Aardvark86]

Seems like a PA or Nurse Practitioner could be the front door for many medical inquires and a cheaper rate.

Likely AI and robots will be the ultimate solution. Imagine AI that has instant memory to every medical case in recorded history with all the details and history of every patient and you yourself to compare against.

Same goes for lawyers.

AI has incentives to wipe out the smart people long before the blue collar people.

ai would have a much easier time with lawyers than docs, because, as much as good as ai may be at managing a mean patient, the reality is that patients just often present with weird stuff that doesn't make sense.

 

[GOHOX69]

ai would have a much easier time with lawyers than docs, because, as much as good as ai may be at managing a mean patient, the reality is that patients just often present with weird stuff that doesn't make sense.

I've used ai for lawyers for giggles. It cited fictional cases. Judges don't like that.

 

[BrianNole777]

Are you employed? If you are, that's a huge deductible. If you're not employed, get on the aca starting November 1. That's horrible insurance buddy.

I'm self employed and a poor. This was the best plan on the ACA marketplace.

I actually like the insurance because they haggle the doctor's offices down.

 

[GOHOX69]

I'm self employed and a poor. This was the best plan on the ACA marketplace.

I actually like the insurance because they haggle the doctor's offices down.

I'm surprised by that. Look into emplova or similar services. They place you into a much bigger pool. You get better insurance.

 

[BrianNole777]

I'm surprised by that. Look into emplova or similar services. They place you into a much bigger pool. You get better insurance.

I had an echocardiogram and the doctors office charged over 1K and I paid $150.

Not bad.

 

[GOHOX69]

I had an echocardiogram and the doctors office charged over 1K and I paid $150.

Not bad.

Not bad at all. But always shop around.

 

[RileyHawk]

Are you employed? If you are, that's a huge deductible. If you're not employed, get on the aca starting November 1. That's horrible insurance buddy.

It's not. It's standard for high deductible plans and is the same as one would get through an employer. There are low deductible plans available but they have much higher monthly premiums.

Some employers may choose to absorb more of the cost of low deductible plans but that's becoming more rare.

 

[GOHOX69]

It's not. It's standard for high deductible plans and is the same as one would get through an employer. There are low deductible plans available but they have much higher monthly premiums.

Some employers may choose to absorb more of the cost of low deductible plans but that's becoming more rare.

You're right but what I meant is dude could do better. Getting into a bigger pool helps.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

ai would have a much easier time with lawyers than docs, because, as much as good as ai may be at managing a mean patient, the reality is that patients just often present with weird stuff that doesn't make sense.

True but bouncing off the current patients medical history and vitals against every recorded medical case in human history would likely yield some matches.

We will get there.

 

[RileyHawk]

You're right but what I meant is dude could do better. Getting into a bigger pool helps.

The ACA pool is very big. That's a pretty standard high deductible plan.

 

[BrianNole777]

You're right but what I meant is dude could do better. Getting into a bigger pool helps.

I like my insurance, surprisingly, even with the brutal deductible.

 

[GOHOX69]

I like my insurance, surprisingly, even with the brutal deductible.

And Pfizer loves you ❤️