Cost of a test

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Granbonny

Granbonny

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 21, 2002
Messages
5,710
Location
Georgia
I saw a neurologist a few weeks ago for an EMG...to find out why my hand had been tingling....Received the statement today...$1,737.00:eek: :eek: :eek: Office consultion..$104.00....( he asked me Why are you here?)EMG 1 extremity...$190.00.....13...Nerve conduction w/o F W..$90.00 each..... 1 nerve conduction F Wave..$120.00.....3 Nerve Conduction at $78.00 each...Total..$1,737.00....Took all of 20 minutes...He said, I don't think you have Carpal tunnel..You might have a pinched nerve in your neck....Goodbye..........Orthopaedic read his results to me the following Monday..Same thing..We decided not to do any furthur tests..and for me to come back in a month.....Tingling is going away LITTLE by LITTLE each day... all started about 7 weeks ago..with slight pain in lower arm.. the only reason I went to orth..he sent me to the Neurologist... I think this is outrageous..for 1 test ( and it hurt.:eek: )..I haven't received a statement from the Orthpaedic..Saw him 3 times..for 5 minutes.....I suppose the arm brace he gave me will cost $1,000..:p that I never wore...........I feel sorry for those without insurance.Medicare and Unitedhealth will have to pick up the tab..Sure I will have to pay some.....Just awful what these doctors are charging...:mad: :mad: Bonnie
 
Grief!!! Wow, that is a lot for little done..why cant we shop around?? Like for a mortgage or something..:eek:
 
Before my Valve surgery..I only used our Insurance 2 times..for babies.:D No health problems before...In the last 4 years..just regular checkup with PCP and Cardiologist...(echo once a year)........Would have never gone to see the orthopaedic if I had not have had the slight pain in arm......pain now gone...but once you go see 1 doctor..they want you to go see another doctor..and on and on..With medicare/Unitedhealth...never thought about the cost of this test..Reserched what it was..EMG test..so, I guess I was thinking a few hundred dollars........Bonnie
 
$1737.00 is what they'll bill the insurance company, but that is not what they'll pay. I bet the insurance pays less then $860. Medical billing is such a scam. If you don't know how to play it, your in deep crap because not even you have to pay that amount.
 
You are absolutely right Ross-a huge scam. I am still paying for my 8 yr old son's blood test this spring-after insurance we still owed 407 dollars. For one blood test! And we have good insurance. With my mom and her valve issues and my stepdad's leukemia-super scary:eek: Deb
 
Bonnie, I am also fed up with doctors and insurance run arounds. I have carpal tunnel in right arm and I just found out I am diabetic. My doctor called in prescription for lancets and strips so I can check my blood daily and when my husband stopped to pick them up we were told neither of our insurances cover these. 100.00 for 100 strips.

Then husband went in for INR test yesterday and we were so excited because they got in a new tester that gives immediate results. Well, our insurance refused to pay for it to be tested that way so he had to have the his blood drawn the old way and we have to wait 1-2 days for results. He pays over 120.00 per month for insurance and so do I. I don't see it getting any better.

My mom reached her cap on her Part D(?) medicare and now she has to pay 3500.00 out of pocket for drugs before they will pay anything else. She gets a small S.S. check and she nannies parttime for extra money. She is 74 years old.
 
Hi Sue-My mom is in that same lovely boat-she has it the "doughnut" in her part D coverage too. She is a part time bank teller and REALLY wants to quit but can't afford too beacuse of her drug costs:mad: Coreg alone is 120 dollars a month...and she in on a bunch of others too....
 
terryj said:
My mom reached her cap on her Part D(?) medicare and now she has to pay 3500.00 out of pocket for drugs before they will pay anything else. She gets a small S.S. check and she nannies parttime for extra money. She is 74 years old.
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Terry did she check into the extra help? Depending on her income, if she's eligible for the extra help, she could be paying as little as $2 per prescription once over her cap.
 
Did you know they count your life insurance policies now as income. She has enough to bury her and take care of her affairs and that puts her over the top for assistance. She was going to skip her medications last month and I found out about it from my aunt and went and picked them up for her. They were 519.00. I told her to ask for samples from the Dr. this month and she also changed some of her prescriptions to cheaper brands. They were still over 300.00.

I also found out that my insurance won't pay for my last fasting blood glucose test because it was less than 30 days from the last one. This was when he was diagnosing me and ran the test twice to be sure I have type 2 diabetes.
 
I called the business office..at exactly 8:30 a.m....asking if there had been a mistake?..no, she said..I asked about the 13 charges of $90.00 each forNerve Conduction W/O F W?She said, anytime they have to move the machine, ect.... Bill been sent to medicare/ UnitedHealth..she doesn't see a problem with them paying..since I was referred by another doctor?.... I still think it was an awful cost for a test...Bonnie
 
Costs

Costs

Ross this sounds like dealing in some kind of flee market not with medical professionals, make an ambit claim expecting to get paid half of what your asking. :confused:

Debster Carvedilol (trade name Coreg) also sounds like a rip off. The price in Australia for foreigners is AUD$92 about US$68 for a months supply. Some one is certainly on a nice little earner if it is being sold for US$120 for a months supply. They should be cheaper because a lot more would be sold in the US than Australia with its smaller population. :(
 
terryj said:
Did you know they count your life insurance policies now as income. She has enough to bury her and take care of her affairs and that puts her over the top for assistance. She was going to skip her medications last month and I found out about it from my aunt and went and picked them up for her. They were 519.00. I told her to ask for samples from the Dr. this month and she also changed some of her prescriptions to cheaper brands. They were still over 300.00.

I also found out that my insurance won't pay for my last fasting blood glucose test because it was less than 30 days from the last one. This was when he was diagnosing me and ran the test twice to be sure I have type 2 diabetes.
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Yes I'm aware they count that, but if she checked the box that declares that that money is to be used for final expenses and burial, they leave it alone. I suppose it makes a difference in how much the policy is for. I got by, but I have a very tiny amount of life insurance, almost laughable.
 
OldManEmu said:
Ross this sounds like dealing in some kind of flee market not with medical professionals, make an ambit claim expecting to get paid half of what your asking. :confused:

Debster Carvedilol (trade name Coreg) also sounds like a rip off. The price in Australia for foreigners is AUD$92 about US$68 for a months supply. Some one is certainly on a nice little earner if it is being sold for US$120 for a months supply. They should be cheaper because a lot more would be sold in the US than Australia with its smaller population. :(
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Really it is! I kid you not, what they bill and what is paid is drastically different. Insurance companies will only pay between 50 and 65% of the billed price. If you don't have insurance, they play the game the same as if you did. They bill you the full amount and unless your stupid and pay it, it's negotiable. Some play hardball, that's when you let it go to collections and then they'll talk reduction.

A good drug case (Can't haggle drugs though) in point--I just had a prescription for Restoril filled. Get a load out of the brand name price vs the generic:

http://www.drugstore.com/pharmacy/prices/drugprice.asp?ndc=00406991601&trx=1Z5006
 
Ross, thanks for the info on the life insurance. Trust me moms is a small amount also. I think some are policies she bought 40 years ago or more for about 1000.00 each. Its hard to start taking over things for your parents. I don't want to treat her like shes too old to handle her affairs. But,she did almost got ripped off on choosing her supplemental medicare. Someone came to her apartment and tried to scare her into cancelling what she chose and taking his companies. She even gave him a blank check to start drawing the premiums from her checking account. I finally got that all straightened out. I will check into the drug assistance for her.
 
Drug Costs

Drug Costs

Ross are generic substitutions allowed on prescriptions in the US? If they are why would anyone pay almost 15X for the brand name over the generic in the example you have given? I would have thought that insurance companies would have insisted on a generic being prescribed when one was available. The brand name would hardly be worth keeping in stock. :)
 
OldManEmu said:
Ross are generic substitutions allowed on prescriptions in the US? If they are why would anyone pay almost 15X for the brand name over the generic in the example you have given? I would have thought that insurance companies would have insisted on a generic being prescribed when one was available. The brand name would hardly be worth keeping in stock. :)
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Most all insurance companies, if not all, insist on Generic when available or unless the physician has stated "Dispense As Written" on the prescript.

Do you see now why we complain so much here about drug costs?
 
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