Irate over Dr. T's Bill

It isn't enought that RE's are raking us over the coals for money. But today it would seem that my new OB/GYN, a-RE-wanna-be, Dr. T, is doing the same.

About two months ago I went to see Dr. T for a consultation. I was a bit tired of my old OB/GYN's office staff. Her office staff continually lost my labwork, didn't return calls in a timely manner, misquoted my surgery fees by thousands of dollars, etcetera ad nauseum. Although the doc herself is fab, a wonderful surgeon to boot, I just couldn't take it anymore and so I was seeking out a new OB who would also be an advocate for my reproductive immunological issues. (Previous OB wouldn't help me to coordinate IVIg when Dr. Moustache thought that I might need it). I met with Dr. T for about 30 to 40 minutes, gave him a copy of my entire gynecological history, as I have it, we discussed a bit of RE and RI, and left.

In February, after my IVF cycle failed, I again saw Dr. T for an U/S to count antral follicles and check on things. We also did a blood draw for a chlamydia test so I could have "closure" as to whether a nasty infection had caused my tubal scarring or not. While there, I provided him with the study out of Chicago on DHEA and asked him if he would please call or email the doctor who is doing the study to find out what sort of protocol they were finding was effective for increased follicle production.

Shortly thereafter it was discovered that Dr. T's office botched my chlamydia titre test - they didn't do the chlamydia test...but tested me, instead, for pneumonia. Also, the doctor never got back to me on the DHEA protocol. It would seem that I had left Dr. G's office, with the shitty office staff, for more of the same.

So today I received a bill from Dr. T's office. It was for my two office visits and although it looks like they pinged my insurance companies for these two visits, the total was still more than $400. Bills are fine and all. They're even expected. I don't expect services to be free, even with insurance, but this one really pissed me off.

First. Dr. T charged me for a mere consultation. Maybe some of you are fine by this, but for me consulations are about me checking out a doctor...seeing if we might "work together in the future". No advice is really given, no examinations are done. It's all about seeing if there is a fit. A meeting of the minds. I've had many consultations in my life and this is the firest I was charged for without knowing there would in facgt be a charge. Since 2000, I've met with maybe 5 or 6 plastic surgeons, and only one charged a consultation fee. However this doctor was very upfront about the fee BEFORE our appointment. Why Dr. T didn't come clean before the appointment is beyond me, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. When consultations are normally free, wouldn't one think that doctors that charge for them would feel obligated to say something upfront?

Second. Dr. T billed out my U/S for my antral count and it was coded as something that smacked of infertility. That is fine. I don't have infertility coverage with Blue Cross of California. Dr. G would always run my U/S, whatever the real reason we were looking in there for, as checking on my ovary (which required surgery last year). But since the office ran my insurance before I arrived wouldn't it be prudent of them to reaffirm with me before the appointment, "Love, we've checked with your insurance and by the way, this U/S won't be covered"? One thing that drives me a bit batty about disgnosis codes for "infertility" is that I'm not longer being diagnosed for infertility. We know I have blocked tubes - that is the reason I'm having trouble conceiving. So if you strip it down to brass tacks, we're no longer diagnosing, per se, when we do an U/S for antrals. We're not really treating either. We're just looking and collecting data. I understand that it's just a matter of semantics when doctors' offices do their coding and such, or it may also be the inability of insurance companies to come up with a better way of coding things. But I'm certainly not being diagnosed or treated, in the literal sense, for infertility when we do an antral count.

So I have a $400+ bill before me and a huge chunk of it is for a consultation, which really should have been comped, and an U/S, which I'll take the blame for. All the same, I'm going to ask Dr. T's office tor reduce my bill to what the insurance company would have made me responsible for had it been a covered expense. I've done this in the past when laboratory bills have caught me offguard and 9 times out of 10, the lab will allow you to pay a lesser amount. If Dr. T's office balks, it'll be my last visit to his office. I really want a doctor that is an advocate for me - not someone that is out to get every last dollar out of me.