$427 to get a tetanus shot?!? Can I do anything about this?

[bbb]

Lesson number one - if you're going to step on a nail, don't do it on a Friday afternoon, after your doctor is closed.

 

So, I called the doc anyway, to see if they can tell me if I should get a tetanus shot.....The on call doc calls back and says I probably need one....I said OK, my mother is in Mercy, I'll go down to the ER tonight and get one. He's like "OH,no - don't do that! That'll cost way too much. Just go to an urgent care ctr."

 

So, I ended up going to the MAC Center.

 

Got my bills now, and it's 123 bucks for a PA to come in and say Hi, and 304 from Mercy. I just called their billing dept and they're trying to blame Independent Health - I had nothing else this year, so this all went to my $500 deductible.

 

I said IH told me it would have been a $35 copay if I went to an urgent care center. How am I supposed to know that the MAC center isn't considered urgent care. I said what is it? She said a hospital (although she's never been there). I said I've been in hospitals and this is no hospital.

 

WTF - is there any way that I have a legit beef here and somebody will knock down the price. $427 to get a tetanus shot is definitely my most outrageous thing I've had to pay for.

[DrDawkinstein]

no need for healthcare reform in this country....

[bbb]

no need for healthcare reform in this country....

 

I know somebody who goes to the MAC center ALL the time. Every time anybody in her family has the slightest thing. I hardly ever even go to the doctor..........But, she is on the government assistance of every sort, so she doesn't pay anything towards all these visits.

 

Something is wrong with that picture.

[sullim4]

This is precisely why HDHPs and HSAs are the right solution for healthcare in this country. They encourage people to take good care of themselves with preventive care covered at 100% and everything else subject to a high deductible. If you do get cancer or need major surgery, the out of pocket limits on those plans are below $5,000 per year. And with the HSA, that money is never subject to income tax.

 

When was the last time anyone subject to a co-pay ever asked how much a test or a procedure cost? Most doctors offices can't even answer that question for you without consulting large manuals. Forcing people to spend their own money on procedures rather than healthcare premiums puts their focus on controlling their own costs by shopping around rather than taking "full advantage" of their insurance plan.

 

In addition, they quickly teach the irresponsible (who say didn't get a routine tetanus shot every 10 years) and the hypochondriacs (who need to see the doctor at the first sign of sneezing) that their behavior will lead to $427 mistakes every once and awhile.

[thebug]

Did they at least wear a condom before you?

 

I got one a few weeks ago while doing a service call at my doctors office. She stuck me while I fixed the computer. Price $0.00 - That's how I get my flu shot as well.

[bbb]

This is precisely why HDHPs and HSAs are the right solution for healthcare in this country. They encourage people to take good care of themselves with preventive care covered at 100% and everything else subject to a high deductible. If you do get cancer or need major surgery, the out of pocket limits on those plans are below $5,000 per year. And with the HSA, that money is never subject to income tax.

 

When was the last time anyone subject to a co-pay ever asked how much a test or a procedure cost? Most doctors offices can't even answer that question for you without consulting large manuals. Forcing people to spend their own money on procedures rather than healthcare premiums puts their focus on controlling their own costs by shopping around rather than taking "full advantage" of their insurance plan.

 

In addition, they quickly teach the irresponsible (who say didn't get a routine tetanus shot every 10 years) and the hypochondriacs (who need to see the doctor at the first sign of sneezing) that their behavior will lead to $427 mistakes every once and awhile.

 

Irresponsible? BS.....It was something like 6-7 years, and I probably could have waited until Monday. But, that's not even the thing. It's not knowing that the MAC (Mercy Ambulatory Care) is considered a hospital. Sure looks like an urgent care to me.

 

I was talking to my friends over the weekend and they hate having HSAs, just like I did when I had one.....You can plan on paying premiums, but when you get a humongous unexpected bill for some injury or something (my friend had to pay some huge bills that were unexpected from two of his kids).

 

Did they at least wear a condom before you?

 

I got one a few weeks ago while doing a service call at my doctors office. She stuck me while I fixed the computer. Price $0.00 - That's how I get my flu shot as well.

 

Exactly! Something that obviously costs next to nothing if they are giving it to you for free costs me $427.....Now, I definitely feel even more !

[Fezmid]

I was talking to my friends over the weekend and they hate having HSAs, just like I did when I had one.....You can plan on paying premiums, but when you get a humongous unexpected bill for some injury or something (my friend had to pay some huge bills that were unexpected from two of his kids).

I have an HSA and I loved it for the first year. Routine stuff is covered (this will piss you off -- Hep-A, Hep-B and Tetanus vaccines were 100% free - didn't even count towards my HSA account ). My company funds $1k in it, and it rolls over to the next year -- I currently have about $850 in it, so next year I'll have $1850 at this rate.

 

That said, have you called this MAC Center yourself? It's possible that it's a billing snafu. That's where MOST of the health care reform in this country is needed - fixing the convoluted billing codes that nobody can make heads or tails out of!

[DC Tom]

Lesson number one - if you're going to step on a nail, don't do it on a Friday afternoon, after your doctor is closed.

 

So, I called the doc anyway, to see if they can tell me if I should get a tetanus shot.....The on call doc calls back and says I probably need one....I said OK, my mother is in Mercy, I'll go down to the ER tonight and get one. He's like "OH,no - don't do that! That'll cost way too much. Just go to an urgent care ctr."

 

So, I ended up going to the MAC Center.

 

Got my bills now, and it's 123 bucks for a PA to come in and say Hi, and 304 from Mercy. I just called their billing dept and they're trying to blame Independent Health - I had nothing else this year, so this all went to my $500 deductible.

 

I said IH told me it would have been a $35 copay if I went to an urgent care center. How am I supposed to know that the MAC center isn't considered urgent care. I said what is it? She said a hospital (although she's never been there). I said I've been in hospitals and this is no hospital.

 

WTF - is there any way that I have a legit beef here and somebody will knock down the price. $427 to get a tetanus shot is definitely my most outrageous thing I've had to pay for.

 

I've been through the exact same thing. Ridiculous as it sounds...yeah, that's just about right for "preventive" care at an ER. $20 for the shot, $100 for the visit, and about $300 to cover overhead.

 

The real solution is: don't go to an ER unless it's a real emergency. Or don't step on nails late on a Friday (or, in my case, Saturday).

[bbb]

I have an HSA and I loved it for the first year. Routine stuff is covered (this will piss you off -- Hep-A, Hep-B and Tetanus vaccines were 100% free - didn't even count towards my HSA account ). My company funds $1k in it, and it rolls over to the next year -- I currently have about $850 in it, so next year I'll have $1850 at this rate.

 

That said, have you called this MAC Center yourself? It's possible that it's a billing snafu. That's where MOST of the health care reform in this country is needed - fixing the convoluted billing codes that nobody can make heads or tails out of!

 

I did talk to them - you actually talk to Catholic Health Systems billing. It's all because I have a $500 deductible and haven't done anything this year that went towards that, so I'm paying the full bill.

 

I've had friends say they've talked these places down because the places think they're just going to bill the ins. company for some ridiculous amount and they'll get a good percentage of it, but if a real person has to pay it, they've had them cut them in half, etc. But, no luck so far - I have one more call to make.

 

I was hoping somebody here would know if it was worth the fight. My friends did it with individual doctors, but not with a hospital system, and the robots that are in their billing dept.

 

I've been through the exact same thing. Ridiculous as it sounds...yeah, that's just about right for "preventive" care at an ER. $20 for the shot, $100 for the visit, and about $300 to cover overhead.

 

The real solution is: don't go to an ER unless it's a real emergency. Or don't step on nails late on a Friday (or, in my case, Saturday).

 

I guess you can feel my pain! It's actually frustration and befuddlement.......The thing that bugs me the most is I thought I was avoiding an ER by going to the MAC Center. That place is not a hospital. How is a normal consumer supposed to know the difference between that place and whatever an urgent care center is.

Edited November 12, 2010 by bbb

[Chilly]

This is precisely why HDHPs and HSAs are the right solution for healthcare in this country. They encourage people to take good care of themselves with preventive care covered at 100% and everything else subject to a high deductible. If you do get cancer or need major surgery, the out of pocket limits on those plans are below $5,000 per year. And with the HSA, that money is never subject to income tax.

 

When was the last time anyone subject to a co-pay ever asked how much a test or a procedure cost? Most doctors offices can't even answer that question for you without consulting large manuals. Forcing people to spend their own money on procedures rather than healthcare premiums puts their focus on controlling their own costs by shopping around rather than taking "full advantage" of their insurance plan.

 

In addition, they quickly teach the irresponsible (who say didn't get a routine tetanus shot every 10 years) and the hypochondriacs (who need to see the doctor at the first sign of sneezing) that their behavior will lead to $427 mistakes every once and awhile.

 

I agree. I had a 2 night stay in a hospital last year and if I had chosen the HDHP + HSA I would have saved a boatload over what I ended up paying.

 

I absolutely love my HDHP + HSA plan. They save so much money if you're doing routine care + planning for emergencies.

Edited November 12, 2010 by BlueFire

[sullim4]

I agree. I had a 2 night stay in a hospital last year and if I had chosen the HDHP + HSA I would have saved a boatload over what I ended up paying.

 

I absolutely love my HDHP + HSA plan. They save so much money if you're doing routine care + planning for emergencies.

 

Agreed. My large, self-insured employer told us about a month ago that they were going to cut our very generous (100% coverage with no premium) PPO plan after 2012 (or make it obscenely expensive). We could stay with that plan for the next 2 years, move to a health "co-op" that also covered everything at 100% (though no choice of doctor/hospital, must use the co-op), or go with the HDHP/HSA. Under the HSA plan, they give us $1500 a year to put in our accounts, and still cover preventive care at 100%, giving us incentive to keep and stay healthy.

 

Being young, unmarried, and healthy, I jumped all over that last option. Socking away $1500 a year and saving another $1500 of my own pre-tax money for catastrophic health expenses or medical bills for when I am older was way too good to pass up. It's like a traditional and Roth IRA all in one - no tax on the money going in, no tax when it comes out. Under the current plan, I have nothing after the year's coverage has been paid. Under the HDHP, I can carry forward unused benefits in the form of an HSA balance.