Second time this has been experienced in our family. You go to the doctor for a check-up and get billed for a well check visit but if you discuss anything else you get billed for a second visit. My daughter took her baby for one week checkup and asked about the cord and was charged for well baby visit and for a problem visit. Of course insurance only pays for one visit so the patient pays not only an additional co-pay but the physician charge. I went for my yearly and was charged for a physical and for a medication check because my prescriptions were renewed. Just wondering how common this is and how to avoid it in the future.

boy, that doesn't sound right to me. i'd discuss it with the insurance company to make sure the doctor is billing properly. the insurance company knows how to break down the different codes for different types of payments. the doctor does not have to try to manipulate that. and it would seem that the doctor should look at the cord in a well baby visit anyway.

I'm not sure if that is right, I would call my insurance company and the BBB to find out if this is the new rules.

I'd get with your insurance if your doctor has a contract with them. I do believe that that is wrong....... In our office we can only charge the insurance for one MD code, one injection code at a time (I am in allergy). Each of the codes are set up for complexity of appointment and they should just be going the next step up in complexity, not adding on another code.

What is a well check up if not to ask question? Also, if you had a 'problem' are they then going to tack on a 'wellness' check up if there wasn't a true problem?

This just sounds plain wrong to me!

I would find a new doctor!!! That is not right!!
Just a thought, maybe the billing clerk is new and didn't know any better.

Time for a new doctor!

That's just not right. Check with the attorney general's office.

That is so wrong. I work for a doctor and we would NEVER charge the patient for 2 visits in the same day. Is that even legal?

I believe this happend to me with gynocologist a few yrs. back. The next time I went for my yearly pap test & he asked me how I'm doing, I told him I could not tell him without them billing me extra. Gyno doc was the one originally discovered my thyroid problem. He still checks my thyroid, but I don't get a double billing. I don't think all the dr.'s actually know what happens with the billing & you have to be challenge the bills at times.

I actually switched GP doc as you could only talk about 1 issue per visit. I had been complaining about my neck for 4-5 yrs. & he never did any testing for thyroid.

This is what is wrong with our healthcare system. it is called double billing. I would call the insurance company and ask them if this is a common practice and why? The doctor should have looked at the cord without being asked. This was a well baby checkup for pete sake. Please call your insurance office

I am being told this is legal and when I checked on the internet it seems that billing coders are saying you can do this. Personally I do not feel it is very ethical. My insurance paid only 10 % of the second visit and indicated I am responsible for the rest of it. Yes, I will be changing physicians and certainly will be checking to see what the billing policies are before I pick a new one. I do realize that physicians are often poorly reimbursed, but do not feel this is fair to the patient. My daughter finally moved from Savannah and now has new doctors who do not bill this way. She got it removed from her bill but still had to pay a large amt for the doctor doing a procedure on the cord---which was only using a nitro stick on it. And I agree this should have been part of that visit----as a nurse I would think it would have been just a normal part of the recheck exam. I live in GA now and wonder if this is something that is specific to this states law. I could not find anything when I did a Google search.

This.

I went to the ER late one night and got billed for two visit, two days, as I was there from say 11:25PM to 12:15AM.

complain to the insurance company. he is not billing correctly unless she actually made two visits. he can charge more of course, but on one visit only. My doctor does that if i ask questions.

I went to talk with my doctor about feelings of fatigue, inability to lose weight and various other symptoms, one of which was low labido...we talked about a lot of things. He puts down low labido for everything in my chart and the labs not mentioning anything else discussed and sends me for hormone check up-which I've had before to see if I'm hitting menopause. Insurance declined saying they don't pay for anything sexual....What?

Turns out low labido is not a covered problem and the doctors' office wouldn't change the code for the inurance company because the doctor didn't write anything else down.

That one visit would have cost me out of pocket over $600. I called, the lab agreed to charge me the uninsured rate-wich was way less, and the doctor tried to charge me $150 but I had a letter from the insurance company stating I did not owe the doctor anything because they gave service without pre-aproving.

So I lucked out and got it under $200. I changed back to an HMO after that.

You have got to really pay attention the bills and what your policy covers, down to the fine print. It's so very annoying.

Here is what I have found out today. My insurance rep told me that if the doctor would code it differently they would pay. I have called the doctor and am waiting on a response. I go to a GP who does my Pap which I thought ended up saving money for all of us and that is called a Well Woman visit and that is not what my doctor coded it as. So the saga continues. I just wnated to try to let others know that this could happen and like someone said watch your bills carefully and ask a lot of questions.

I've never heard of that! I'd be complaining all over the place.

I've not been charged for two visits, but a few years ago, when I had a PPO, I tried to ask some questions during a visit and was told I would need to make another appt. to discuss the additional issue.

My hubby and I are on Medicare with Ins. backup. I had an MRI 2 months ago for my back and no co-pay. He went yesterday for his MRI as prelim to an upcoming operation and had to pay $175.00 co-pay. Same insurance, different DR. What's up with this? I am waiting for a call back from the Ins. company, see if they can explain this one. However, both DR's. say "you have 15 minutes ask me anything you need to know" and we just pay one co-pay.

yea that doens't sound right to me... sounds like the dr is trying to get richer....

I would investigate it further

No absolutely not. Your insurance won't pay for 2 in one day either.

I'm with QuiltnNan, that sounds like fraud to me. In addition to reporting them to your insurance company, I'd find another doctor, one that's honest.

This is what they are doing now. My doctor splits up her checkups. She does half today and makes you reschedule for the 2nd half and she won't answer any other questions (unless it's an emergency)--just tells you to make another appointment! At least with the double billing you don't have to pay for extra gas or your precious time! I hate it!

if my doctors did that I would absolutely change Doctors..its one visit..they should charge more for each symptom which mine does..not two visits

I have never heard of this.... and also think it is unethical. geeze.... just plain greedy. I would find another doctor.

virtualbernie-I would definitely find another doctor also.

I was charged for everything and no service provided by a local hospital when I took my infant in because of dehydration. Also do not let them put you in a special room unless you need it because the room that was free and they put us in was more. It is crazy.

My doctor will treat any problem, write any prescription that you tell him about. If it is some sort of minor surgery such as removing a mole you will have to reschedule in order to schedule more time than the usual appointment. You can be sick with the flu, have a turned ankle and an ear infection and need a pap smear all in one visit plus a prescription that needs to be renewed for the price of one visit.

my mother went to the dr and had another question to aske him and he told her to make another appointment. Its not right... just not right. I ask my dr. a ton of questions. In fact she usually asks me.

Thats not right. We have Kaiser and I love it. I can ask as many questions and she only bills me for one visit. Plus I can be sick and call her and she will help me out over the phone.. No charge there just for the medican. Plus she is always trying to help me to keep the cost down. She is a GREAT Doctor.. I just love her.

I just got two separate bills today for the same visit to a pain clinic. I had a co-pay for the doctor, but the "facility" charged a $75 fee for the "facility use". Huh?

That has happened to me two years in a row. This April I went for my wellness check up like I do every year. This time I kept my mouth shut and didn't complain about any aches or pains and I was still charged for two visits. The South Bend clinic billing department didn't code as a wellness visit so my BCBS insurance wouldn't pay for it. I have called my insurance company twice and called South Bend Clinic twice. The clinic insists that I was sick. I am sick. Sick an tired of getting the run around. I paid the $400+ bill. I just don't know what to do. I am retired and too young for Medicare. I buy my own health insurance which has been really good except for paying on the wellness benefit. Luckily, I don't get sick very often.

Charity-crafter,

Re: low libido....What do they say to men that ask for 'The Little Blue Pill' because they have low libido and low something else!

Quilter68

I work in a doctor's office, we only charge one per day and believe me some of our patients have a long list to talk about. In fact if we send a patient to the ER we don't bill for the visit cause insurance won't pay for it.

This doesn't sound legit at all.. I'd have to give them a call to see if this is a mistake and if it isn't I'd get a new doctor and make a call to my insurance carrier to lodge a complaint And if this dbl charge isn't legit the ins. co. will know what to do about them

I am a manager for a medical billing service. I can say with absolute certainty that if a doctor properly documents what services were performed and what issues were addressed with a particular patient, they are indeed allowed to bill for two visits done the same day -- one as the scheduled routine physical, and the other for problems that were brought up by the patient. Coding and billing rules are very strict on when a physician is allowed to do this. From what some of you say, your doctors are not following the rules. The rules are too varied to go into here, but if anyone has any specific questions about your situations, please feel free to PM me. I read where some people have just paid the bills --- they can be appealed, and with a favorable outcome for you. I would be happy to share how.

Edited to add.....before you pay any bill to a doctor's office, question the processing with the insurance carrier first. If a visit is denied, depending on the reason, the doctor has the write it off (or fight it themselves) and is not allowed to bill you for it per their contract with the insurance carrier.

complain to your insurance company, this is so wrong.

find another doctor if they don't make it right.

I believe I would find a new doctor. You are being ripped off. I only pay my copay for any visit and I talk to my doctor about multiple things,Sad to say there are greedy people out there.