just told a patient "be lucky you have insurance"

KoriBrett

Yeah, I'm cranky.  Oops.  Then again, he's a dillhole to the Nth degree.  He's been an amputee for about 8 years?  So he knows this is a lifetime gig and that some things need to be replaced every 6mos or so.   He's been through this on a regular basis, so it's not like he doesn't know what's going on.

"how can you people charge this much?" 

"well Sir, medicare sets the prices and the codes that go with each item.  that is the code that goes to your new part for your prosthesis."

"that's bullsh*t the last place I went didn't charge this much for it"

"Sir that was 5 years ago.  Medicare re-assigns pricing and coding yearly"

"bla bla bla bla blither blither"

"well Sir be lucky that you have insurance and didn't have to pay us $800 today.  Have a nice day"

I just wanted to kick him.

DaiLyght

I would have also included the number he could call at Medicare to complain, if he so chooses. Did I understand this right, the part he got is supposed to be replaced every 6 months or so and he hasn't done it in 5 years?

Lisa102304

Might have been a hardass thing to say, but you are right. I am sure there are thousands of people out there that wish they had insurance to help them cover medical costs.

hopefulmom

How much did he have to pay?

My friend (who works for urgent care) just told me about some woman that came in.  She'd been there before and was a cash patient.  When the receptionist asked what she was being seen for the patient pointed to her face and said "this".  My friend (an MA) felt like saying..."sorry maam...we don't do plastic surgery".  Then she sat down across from the check in window.  The receptionist told her how much it was and she literally THREW her credit card at her...seriously!!  My friend takes her back to the room and her DH and 3 kids get up as well.  My friend informs them that they are welcome to come but there is only ONE other chair in the exam room.  They come anyway but once they see how tiny the room is the DH and 2 kids leave.  So...my friend asks the patient, what brings her in.  The woman points to her face and says "this".  My friends says, "I can see your face but I am not a mind reader and do not have a crystal ball so maybe you'd like to tell me what you are seeing the doctor for."  Seems that the woman had a root canal...was already on Darvocet and had Vicodin in her purse but wanted something stronger for pain.  She had called the afterhour number for the dentist (who gave her the Vicodin).  The doctor said she couldn't give her anything else that would reduce the pain more than Vicodin.  The woman was irrate and left slamming the doors but not before demanding her money back...which of course she wasn't given.  My friend called the director up afterwards and said  "if that woman comes in again I'll pay the office charge to NOT see her!!!"  LOL  The director said to mark her account and we would not see her again.

KoriBrett

I offered the #, said he had it at home lol

Yep, he hasn't replaced his liner in that long.  And he wonders why it fit funky and was ripping (they're silicone).  He didn't start here, he's been hopping from clinic to clinic because he won't accept the fact that he might need to have the vascular surgeon fix his residual limb.  He says it's the prosthesis' and "inept female prosthetist's" fault. 

He's a lovely man...

KoriBrett

He had to pay nothing.  His insurance covered it all.

hopefulmom

Why is he complaining if he didn't pay anything?  Like you said...he is lucky he has insurance!!  I would have told him that as well.