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Help with understanding test results
Autoimmune Diseases | Last Active: Jun 29 6:13pm | Replies (79)Comment receiving replies
@elisabeth007 I also think it's best to not linger with a doc who doesn't feel right-I learned that the hard way with a PCP years ago, who was a very bad match. Since then, I had another "iffy" reaction to a pulmonologist (no pun intended) didn't return and now need to find a new one. Among other things, that pulmonologist charged Medicare an office visit fee-for answering a quick question I sent to her through My Chart and that has never "sat" well with me. No other docs I see have ever done that. I also have a Medicare supplement that allows me to see a specialist without a referral but is costly. I was under the impression this was true across the board for Medicare- but I am no longer certain of that. After what I have gone through so far (with good ins), I am concerned over the additional obstacles some people face who don't have good ins.
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We all have the right to challenge questionable bills but particularly for people who don’t have graduate degrees in forensic accounting and who aren’t billing specialists, it’s far from easy.
I am a former Medicare fraud investigator. Medicare is confusing to many and when people are signing up at times they are dealing with aggressive sales people.
“Advantage plans” (the ones that come with vision, dental plans and free rides to doctors offices—-are forms of managed care that the government contracts out to private companies. Those companies have an incentive to manage medical expensive to maximize revenue of the corporation. “Original Medicare” like you and i have, tends to be considerably more expensive and is intended to provide us as policyholders with much more control in self referral and in getting multiple second opinion.
What you mentioned re getting billed for asking a simple question appears to represent a relatively new “policy/protocol@ that i first saw emerge about 18 months to 2 years ago. What i saw was a number of major medical facilities starting posting on my chart that they reserved the right to bill patients for asking questions. The criteria for doing so, is highly ambiguous and acceptable medical coding and billing can’t represent an outright lie.