I read a great blog post about a Doctor's Office scam that millions may be affected by but never realized. When I read about this it was like waking up from a deep sleep. Chances are you and I have been scammed by the people we pay to trust which are our medical professionals. Now I don't want to argue that all Doctors are guilty of this scam but you should be aware of it nonetheless.
Here's how the scam works:
Most of us have to cough up a co-pay payment when visiting our doctors. Unfortunately it's the state of our Health Insurance nowadays.
So you go to your doctor's office to get a normal physical or some other routine procedure. Sometimes they'll even run a few tests while you're there.
Apparently what some sketchy doctors are doing is asking you to come back to the office another day to perform blood work and charge you another co-pay payment.
Do you see the scam here? You don't? Ask yourself why couldn't the doctor do the blood work while you were there? After all you spent a few hours in the office already, what would've stopped them from doing it that day?
Well for some shady doctors there is no valid reason but to squeeze out an extra co-pay from you. Hey, if you don't mind giving a person that makes more money than you'll probably ever see in your life more money then by all means stop reading this post. But for the rest of you, this is a total outrage! Those extra co-payments add up really quickly when a doctor is seeing dozens of patients a day!
Now don't get me wrong, there are some legitimate reasons when this occurs in which case the doctor should explain why you have to come back. For instance if the lab is closed, or you need to fast for some reason then the doctor should let you know that.
But most people just take a doctor's order without questioning it. So next time you're at the doctor's office and they ask you to come back for some other test, be sure to ask them why it couldn't be done the day you're there. And if they can't give you a good reason then just ask for the co-pay to be waived then.
Again, I'm not hating on all doctors here. I just want people to be aware of the shady ones. Now go and spread this information so it doesn't happen to your friends or family members.
I completely agree with the assessment described regarding co-pay scams. I’ve recently become victim to a co-pay scam myself and I’m not happy about it. I was referred to a specialist by my PC doctor after not having any luck resolving a medical issue I was experiencing. This was no problem at all. I made the appointment, arrived at the dr.’s office, made the $40 co-pay and saw the doctor. In a matter of 30 seconds, he determined that I would need to go see another doctor for test. I was in luck because the other doctor could see me right away. I left the office drove a few miles across town, reached the new office, took a few test and was told the results would be sent back to the specialist. The specialist then booked another appointment for me to come back. A couple of days later, I’m back in the specialist office, I pay the $40.00 co-pay and saw the doctor. In a matter of 30 seconds, he determined (without even touching me) that I would need to go for an MRI. Okay. I make the appointment to have the MRI. I have the MRI and a few days later return back to the specialist, pay $40 copay and I see the Doctor. Within 30 seconds, the doctor tells me the MRI shows a condition that he’s not qualified to treat, thus I’ll need to be sent to another Doctor. Okay… $120 and 1.5 minuets and this Doctor can’t help me. Not to mention the money my insurance will pay for each of those office visit. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not upset that he can’t treat my medical condition….I’m trouble by the fact that he called me into the office on 2 occasions, took my money, just to tell me I’d needed to go somewhere else. 2 of the 3 visits were absolutely unnecessary. On both occasions, a simple phone call to notify me of the need to go for test or another specialist would have done the trick. What a complete waist of resources, mine and the insurance company. I’m so disturbed by this practice. Now I don’t trust this doctor and as a result will delay my treatment while I look for a better doctor.
Thanks for sharing your experience Kym. It’s bad enough we don’t have national health care but it’s even worst when you do have health care and you have to worry about doctors trying to make a quick buck off us.