First consultation with neurologist

Hey all,

I have my very first consultation tomorrow with a neurologist. This is about what I think I have: cervical radiculopathy, or in any event I have nerve pain from my shoulder down my arm and numbness in my hand.. mostly thumb and index finger. I also have some unsteadiness in my walking and balance sometimes and have fallen 3 times in the last 6 weeks or so.

But my question is not about my symptoms.

I have health insurance through Florida Blue (an ACA plan) which has an $8000 out of pocket. I am 64 and will start on Medicare using a supplement plan G.

3 weeks ago, my wife had to go to the ER for something (about 3 hours and all is ok) and we believe we will be getting a bill for over $4000.

You can probably see where I am going with this. It seems like if I waited for any major diagnostic tests or treatment until after I am on Medicare I would be much better off with respect to. my out of pocket expenditures.

Would it be reasonable for my first visit to explain that I would like to try something like the cortisone shot before moving on to anything more expensive?
Obviously when I set up this appointment I did not know about the ER bill.

If it were not for having fallen, I would probably have postponed this appointment until after May, as the rest of my symptoms have been present for a couple of years, although they have worsened lately.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.