DoctorTricks.Com

Here’s how I got nailed for $153.50 extra dollars (above what I would have normally paid - with insurance), because I went to the wrong Emergency Room.

So, to continue from The Emergency Room Trick - Part I - Beware… I’d spoken to the Insurance Commissioner’s consumer hotline and the gentleman there brought up a point I hadn’t thought of. Even if the hospital had told me that all the ER doctors didn’t take Blue Cross, was I in a position at that time to go somewhere else?

An article in the May 1 issue of Time, titled “Q: What Scares Doctors? A: Being The Patient“, struck a chord with me. While a lot of it was about things specific to the situation of doctors being patients, there was a quote that really got my attention.

I’m going to turn a slightly crude phrase here: “The doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies are involved in a pissing contest, but it’s the consumers who are getting soaked.” Please feel free to quote me on that one.

I got forwarded an interesting letter asking me to write my congressperson and others about Blue Cross denying anesthesia benefits for colonoscopy and endoscopy procedures.

So, sadly, the infection that hospitalized me in February came back about 3 weeks after it had been determined to be cleared up. I made an appointment with my regular doctor for the next day, but the rate of its spread had me concerned. So it was off to the emergency room again, but this time with my eyes open a bit more.

A friend of mine told me her regular doctor is considered “out of network” by her insurance company, but this is okay with her because it actually costs her less while he gets more than if he accepted her insurance. Wacky, you say? Impossible, you say? Nope, totally real.

As I’ve been telling friends about my story, they’ve been sharing their stories with me, and one really stood out as a good reason why even a little health insurance is better than none. It’s not just because you at least have some coverage if something really awful happens, but because you can still save money even when you don’t meet your deductible.