Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Cheryl, You have every right to be angry! I'm stunned by the indifference exhibited by the staff at your pain doc. Makes me realize how lucky I am with mine, though. So are you saying that you've never had a surprise urine test in four years? Why did they make you take one now? I'd be more upset by their attitude than by the bill for the lab work. Can you insist upon seeing the doc him/herself at your next appt and ask why you were tested and discuss your dismay over the inflexibility over the timing of the test and the resulting huge bill? Wish I had an answer for you. Unfortunately, we're at the mercy of our docs. It just sure would be nice if, of all people, our pain docs understood what we're dealing with. Hugs, a --------------------------------- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 --- Cheryl in AZ wrote: > So, for the privilege of being treated like a drug addict for no reason, today I got a bill of $287 for the test!!! Hi Cheryl I'm sorry you have been treated with such disrespect. It is inexcusable. Contact the lab, or hospital that did the test. They are charging you an insane fee, because that is quite often what they do to people who are private pay. Ask them what the rate would have been if it were covered by insurance. I can just about guarantee, that it isn't nearly that expensive. Call other labs, and hospitals, and see how much they charge for this test. Bargain with them. They will probably lower the price. This is common practice these days. It's how they claim to make up for the uninsured, or with the lower amount are compensated, when they are a PPO. I cannot understand why they didn't just do a dip stick for narcotics, marijuana, etc. right there in the office. You can buy these tests at Walmart, for about $50. Take the bill with you to your next appointment with the physician. Let him know what his patients are being gouged. He probably has no idea what the test costs. I wonder if your physician is being scrutinized by the one of the federal agencies, and that is why all of his patients, were being tested? Once again, it was inexcusable not to wait until October, to perform the test. I'm sorry you were both degraded, and had these extra stressors dumped on you. Kaylene __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Cheryl Is it the drs office that does the testing? I go to a Quest labs office for mine (every 3rd month) and they told me they bill the insurance company like $47-55 dollars for the drug testing and they test the urine for the whole range of illicits. Now I don't know what they would charge a non-insurance person but maybe you could look into getting them done thee Jim __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Have you talked to the doctor about ALL of this?? I would be very angry too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 --- " Granada Family " wrote: > > Have you talked to the doctor about ALL of this?? No, because I just got the bill last night after I got home from work, and his office was closed today. I have an appointment coming up in a couple of weeks, so I'm going to call and insist that I get to see the doc himself this next visit, instead of just the nurse. I *will* get to the bottom of this! Cheryl in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 --- " Granada Family " wrote: > > Have you talked to the doctor about ALL of this?? No, because I just got the bill last night after I got home from work, and his office was closed today. I have an appointment coming up in a couple of weeks, so I'm going to call and insist that I get to see the doc himself this next visit, instead of just the nurse. I *will* get to the bottom of this! Cheryl in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 --- a wrote: > > So are you saying that you've never had a surprise urine test in four years? Why did they make you take one now? Nope. I expect he's getting some heat from somewhere, because he had to fire his office staff last year when he found out they weren't following procedures with the opiate scrips, and he's implemented a lot of new rules and his new staff is following up with all the details that the old staff never bothered with. For example, he told me he would have me sign a " contract " on my first visit with him years ago, but his staff never gave me one to sign until the change to the new office manager in January of this year. I imagine the sweep of urine tests is a long-overdue effort to prove to the feds that he's doing things right. It was clear by the supplies in the nurses's office that they were doing them to everyone. > Can you insist upon seeing the doc him/herself at your next appt and ask why you were tested and discuss your dismay over the inflexibility over the timing of the test and the resulting huge bill? That's what I plan to do, a. I'm calling Monday morning to switch my next appt in a couple of weeks from the nurse to him. He's really very good, and has always worked with me - since I had to go to cash when he quit taking my insurance, he gave me a very reasonable rate. I just don't think he has a clue what's happening. Thanks for your support, a! It helped immensely to be able to vent about it here where everyone understands. You can't talk to non-pain friends about being required to take urine tests without them thinking you really must be a drug addict! Cheryl in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 --- a wrote: > > So are you saying that you've never had a surprise urine test in four years? Why did they make you take one now? Nope. I expect he's getting some heat from somewhere, because he had to fire his office staff last year when he found out they weren't following procedures with the opiate scrips, and he's implemented a lot of new rules and his new staff is following up with all the details that the old staff never bothered with. For example, he told me he would have me sign a " contract " on my first visit with him years ago, but his staff never gave me one to sign until the change to the new office manager in January of this year. I imagine the sweep of urine tests is a long-overdue effort to prove to the feds that he's doing things right. It was clear by the supplies in the nurses's office that they were doing them to everyone. > Can you insist upon seeing the doc him/herself at your next appt and ask why you were tested and discuss your dismay over the inflexibility over the timing of the test and the resulting huge bill? That's what I plan to do, a. I'm calling Monday morning to switch my next appt in a couple of weeks from the nurse to him. He's really very good, and has always worked with me - since I had to go to cash when he quit taking my insurance, he gave me a very reasonable rate. I just don't think he has a clue what's happening. Thanks for your support, a! It helped immensely to be able to vent about it here where everyone understands. You can't talk to non-pain friends about being required to take urine tests without them thinking you really must be a drug addict! Cheryl in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 --- J L Misener wrote: > Is it the drs office that does the testing? > I go to a Quest labs office for mine (every 3rd month) > and they told me they bill the insurance company like > $47-55 dollars for the drug testing and they test the > urine for the whole range of illicits. Thanks for this info, Jim. It will give me leverage when I talk to my doc. They sent it off to a lab and it's actually the lab that's billing me, so my doc very well may not have a clue how outrageous their charges are! Cheryl in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 --- J L Misener wrote: > Is it the drs office that does the testing? > I go to a Quest labs office for mine (every 3rd month) > and they told me they bill the insurance company like > $47-55 dollars for the drug testing and they test the > urine for the whole range of illicits. Thanks for this info, Jim. It will give me leverage when I talk to my doc. They sent it off to a lab and it's actually the lab that's billing me, so my doc very well may not have a clue how outrageous their charges are! Cheryl in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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