← Return to Seniors with Medicare, is Mayo worth the hassle?

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@johnbishop

Hi, @phoenixpal – I have been a Mayo Clinic patient in the Rochester, MN area since the late 1970's but I did have some billing issues for a short time when my employee HMO did not have Mayo Clinic as my in network provider. Once I switched over to a plan with Mayo as the in network provider I had no problems. I really think a lot of the billing issues are due to the insurance companies. I'm now 76 and have a Medicare Advantage plan (MN UCare) and it is great. I have a $20 copay for regular appointments and recently had a TKR which was covered really well and didn't cost much out of pocket for me. My wife also has Mayo Clinic as her in network provider but has BCBS through her job but her coverage is not very good...but then with her good health it isn't quite as important for her.

I've never had just Medicare insurance with no other coverage as I don't think it's that good (just my opinion). Do you have an insurance adviser that can help explain Medicare billing and charges? Medicare also has some online information that may help:
https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/get-help-paying-costs

Also, have you talked to the Office of Patient Experience about this issue? I wonder if they may be of help. Here's their contact info: https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/patient-experience

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Replies to "Hi, @phoenixpal – I have been a Mayo Clinic patient in the Rochester, MN area since..."

Thanks John. I'm glad that it is working for you. So is that your system then, where you deposit every little check that Medicare sends you and then pay that same amount to Mayo, and it nulls out your Mayo bill? Or, does your Medicare Advantage plan work differently?

That's the first I've heard of the "Office of Patient Experience". I'll have to at least consult with them if we decide to leave Mayo. Meanwhile, as I was told today, I'm on the hook for that $1000 portion of my procedure. And, since it now dates back to October, I need to just pay it before the guys with the baseball bats show up at my door! :-/