My primary care physician's office sent me a certified letter:
"This is to notify you that this office will no longer continue to care for you or your family medically or refill your medications." Signed by every practioner in the office.
Here's the back story. I got sick last fall, and I had to leave my job; I couldn't afford COBRA, so I had to go on AHCCCS. During the transition time, my PCP was kind enough to give me samples of my prescription meds. She did ask me to come into the office to discuss the transition (since the practice does not accept AHCCCS). I asked, ahead of time, how much the visit would cost. I was assured that we could work something out.
I went in, paid what they asked for, and saw her for less than 15 minutes. She gave me her business card, and asked me to be sure to have the clinic forward information on my treatment, so that she would be up to date when I was able to get health insurance.
I got a bill for around $70, with an email follow-up. At the time, I was on Food Stamps and selling things on E-Bay to make my truck payments. I explained my situation, and, again, I was assured that we could work something out.
"This action is unfortunately necessary due to a failure by you to comply with repeated requests to pay for services rendered for medical care."
I am astounded. My Dad's best friend was a doctor (small town, he was called "Doc"). He kept his practice open long after he really wanted to (he was pushing 75), because there wasn't another doctor in town who would take his Medicare/Medicaid patients. To say that he made a good living -- or that he was generous -- would be an understatement. The summer I turned 21 (1983), we went to Las Vegas, and, in order to teach me how to play blackjack, he handed me 100 $1 chips. I tried to protest, but he called it "pocket change".
Am I just being a whiner, or should I disclose the name of the practice and the names of its members?
i've got to tell
i've got to tell you.....honestly, i am not surprised. It's sad to say, but i'm not. I am not so sure it was your doctor wanting to take this action or the company your doctor works for and the Managed Care program. So you might want to think twice about putting your doctors name out there.
I worked (not in AZ) for a well known medical facility and this happens quite a bit. 15 minutes is also the standard appointment time and i will have you know, this frustrated many of the doctors i worked with. This was NOT the doctors choice. The doctors were also required to see a specific number of patients each day and if they didn't "make their numbers" they were held accountable. It's sickening!!! It is all about the money these days, not health care.
I will also say, that i was shocked to find out how much these Internist actually made. Not as much as one would think.
Sorry to hear you got fired!!
just~me
I hate to say this but I
I hate to say this but I think you needed to find out exactly what they meant when they said "work something out.'' without a firm commitment from the doc, i think the office had the right to demand payment.
Susie is a discussion leader in the east valley for arizonamoms.com. She has two sons, ages 6 and 2.
I think that it depends on
I think that it depends on how much money was really involved, and how much time has gone by since the last contact from them.....it doesn't make sense that they would send a bill for $70, she would call them to explain, their response would be that they could work something out and then this kiss off letter is generated with no other contact in between......normally there is more communication from them asking for a payment before this kind of action.
I was once fired by an endodontist.....I had a root canal and they said I needed another.....so I made an appt but at the time I was having trouble coming up with the $500 portion I was responsible for on the second one so I re-scheduled that work a bunch of times....and they sent me a letter advising I was to take my business elsewhere due to my unwillingness to follow their treatment plan.
I paid $25 at the time of
I paid $25 at the time of the appointment, so the total bill was $95.
So, they sent a bill for
So, they sent a bill for $70, and you called them and they advised they would work something out, but didn't say what they were expecting.....and there was no further communication from them until the letter advising you were no longer welcome? Did they send the account to a collection agency?
Nope. The last
Nope. The last communication I got was the email.
This is not me pushing back
This is not me pushing back on you, Susie. It's me wondering if, with more info, you still have the same opinion.
You're probably right, but since the illness in question is psychological -- and going without medication could have had dramatic consequences, I was in a fairly vulnerable state.
Do you know what happens if you go to the ER without insurance because you don't have your crazy-lady drugs? You get to spend a week in a locked ward with some really scary people, and spend your time (in specially-marked scrubs) "cooperating with" mind-numbing group therapy. It doesn't matter if you check yourself in; you can't check out until the psychiatrist (who spends about 5 minutes a day with you) decides that you're good to go -- or that your insurance or other funding is exhausted.
On meds, I'm perfectly fine; if you met me, you'd have no clue that I had a problem. Off, I'm a big pain, and I'm in a lot of pain. I took the appointment because I thought it was the only way I could get my meds.
It is sad, but insurance
It is sad, but insurance companies are running our medical services. I also know that a lot of times the Doctors truly do not know what is happening in the front office. They are not there to see how their patients are being handled. The only way they find out is if someone tells them and then there is the possible backlash from said front office person. It is a no win situation and I feel that naming the Doctor and or company would solve nothing.
i don't think you are a whiner, just frustrated by an imperfect system and lucky you getting to be a number.
My OB/GYN just had to retire because of insurance costs. He was a very good Doctor, but didn't play golf and schmooze family doctors to get referrals. He had his own practice and was truly amazing. I will miss him tons and will be looking for a new one.
KarilouMomof2 is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Tempe. Her daughters are 9 and 6.
Earnastine Bellamante Roman
Earnastine Bellamante Roman is my hero OB/GYN. She's in Chandler. I can't say enough about how professional, caring, sensitive and effective her practice is.
Not_the-Mama. I sympathize
Not_the-Mama. I sympathize with you since I am the child of someone who suffers from a mental illness. When I was 18, she quit her job(waasn't on meds) and eventually wound up in the ER because of it. And yes, she was locked up in mental ward like you are talking about. It's a very difficult situation and people, those including the medical profession, are very cruel and unforgiving to those needing drugs for mental stability. It should be treated like any other illness with no punishment(mental ward) or stigma attached. Hope things go better for you!
I had a dentist fire me
I had a dentist fire me once. I innocently missed an appointment, I just completely blanked it, nothing intentional and I received a letter from them stating that if I wanted to remain a patient that I would need to pay them a $50 retainer fee to schedule any additional appointments. The kicker is this, in the same letter they said "we are enclosing the following outstanding invoice that we would appreciate paid in full" the invoice enclosed was for .. okay you ready for this and I'm NOT joking .... 6 CENTS ... yes 6 CENTS ... the insurance company apparently covered everything except for a measely 6 CENTS so on top of trying to get $50 out of me to retain me as a client they also were trying to get me for the 6 CENTS I owed them ... I contemplated sending them 6 pennies in the mail but figured the postage to send it wouldn't be worth it so I never bothered to send them anything ... I sure as heck wasn't sending in a check for 6 cents ....
However in your situation I would call the office and leave a message for the actual physician you saw to call you and talk with them directly, maybe something was not communicated by the physician to the billing department, maybe they use an outside billing department and your billing slipped through the cracks and made it to them with out their knowledge of anything being worked out between you and the doctor/office. Before you get too upset I would call and try and talk with someone.
As for it being sent to collections, they may have or they still might if they haven't already .... sometimes collections agencies are slow to start the process ... or sometimes you don't even realize you have something in collections until your credit is pulled for one reason or another and then bam there it is .. and you're like WHAT ... I had no idea ... I've had that happen to me before and for a small amount too ... like an ER co-pay that was an oversight and I didn't pay and didn't realize and it was sitting on my credit as a collection for $50 ... so just make sure that doesn't happen .. or rather make sure to get it taken care of before they do haul off and send it to a collection agency!!
Good advice. Really. Bad
Good advice. Really. Bad result. I can't even leave a message for the doctor. I can't get an email address. Maybe, the office manager will return my call on Monday.
To be fair, I will heed all the good advice I've gotten, and, for now, I won't disclose names. Thanks for listening and for being there, Moms.
not the mama....I am so
not the mama....I am so sorry to hear this.....( i just shake my head ) !
Every person who is born deserves to have health, dental and mental help and at a price the person can afford!
This issue really pisses me off!
You had stated every doc had signed this letter, so your doctor knew. And reguardless of insurance, doctors can be flexiable.
My son's doctor had seen my cousin for free a few times and gave her samples.My cousin had stayed with me for a summer and had no health benefits.I paid the doctor 20 dollars each time, like it was a copayment.But she was willing to do it for free.
Since you had been there for a while I think it is reasonable to say they could of contacted you personally when they saw a issue had risen.
And I agree insurance companys make situations hard, but I really don't think we can always blame it on insurance.
Anyways, I feel for you and I hope something good comes out of this.
I can't believe they sent
I can't believe they sent you a letter. They really should have called you or maybe let you go back one more time and pulled you in and talked to you about the outstanding bill. How long was this your DR's office? I really feel for you right now. So where have you left it? Are you waiting to hear from them? Have you found a new DR yet? Do you have the meds you need for this month? What CAN you pay when you go to see a DR? Sorry for the 20 Q's.. brainstorming on a way to help!!!
I agree, I would definitely
I agree, I would definitely find out how to take care of the outstanding bill before it gets into collections and ruins your credit.
Again, I can't express how
Again, I can't express how much the support I'm getting from all of you helps. I'm on my meds, thanks to AHCCCS, and, because of the talented folks at Terros, I'm working from home as a contractor. I have a lot of past due and late bills to pay, but I have a plan to take care of those.
Diva, does this mean you forgive me?
I am not sure which plan you
I am not sure which plan you are on under AHCCCS but my husband is on Mercy Care due to heart problems and they had done A LOT for him. You may want to consider switching to Mercy Care if you are on another AHCCCS plan? I know Mercy Care has A LOT to offer such as a lot of providers to choice from than other AHCCCS plans.
H~