What Costs What, Medically?

Two months ago, I received a bill from my healthcare provider related to a visit a month prior where some medical things were done. It was a simple one page document listing the dates of service and a hand written request for several hundred dollars for services on those dates. Apparently my health care plan did not cover whatever it was that occurred during that visit and the provider did not know until a month later. Missing from this bill was any information regarding what it was that I was paying for. At the bottom of the page was a phone number for a “Jessica”.

I called and left a message informing “Jessica” that I do not pay several hundred dollars for anything in the absence of details regarding services performed. My call was unanswered but several days later I received another package from the provider containing several pages detailing my account showing that according to their records that I owed several hundred dollars for a visit but alas there was no information about what exactly I was paying for. I called “Jessica” the next day and left another message requesting detailed billing information. My call again went unreturned and a couple days later I received another bill, this time asking for several hundred dollars plus twenty dollars for another visit. Of course there were no details beyond dates.

The next day I called several times until “Jessica” actually answered the phone. I was told multiple times that the cost of the service received was what I owed but was not told what those services were. I mentioned that I was not even given a choice during the visits nor was I presented with cost information that could have been used to make an informed decision. “Jessica’s” reply was that it was my responsibility to request that information and that the doctor only acts in my best interests. After restating my case several times, “Jessica” repeated the same information over and over again, raising her voice to the point where she was basically incoherently screeching. I needed to talk to an adult. I inquired about her supervisor and was given the number for and transferred to “Mary Bell”.

After a couple of calls I was able to reach “Mary Bell” who had a very sympathetic tone and promised to send me the requested information and was able to describe a couple of the services performed and their incredibly high costs. I balked at those costs and “Mary Bell” told me that their costs were set by Medicare. I told “Mary Bell” that I did not care about Medicare as I was not a Medicare patient. She then told me that the costs were set by insurance. I replied that this obviously wasn’t true because if my insurance had set the costs wouldn’t they had paid it? I mean, I pay them. “Mary Bell” very sympathetically attempted to feign empathy and again promised to send me the requested details and offered to have someone call me to discuss prices. That was three weeks ago and I have received no more information and have not been called by anyone from the provider.

I ask myself why is it that my healthcare provider does not want to send me details regarding services performed leading to a bill for several hundred dollars? Should I not expect to know what it is that I’m paying for? This is a huge problem with our country’s third party (that would be my health plan) payer health care system, providers become incredulous when the receiver (me) wants to know what’s behind the curtain. Imagine if you went to a restaurant and the waiter decided what you would eat and instead of paying for the meal, you “co-pay” according to a food provider that you pay monthly and then later you receive another bill for the meal because the food provider didn’t cover the meal that the waiter chose for you. That’s insane and so is what I’m dealing with. And to think, some uniformed people think the answer is to involve the government. We’re doomed.