Negotiate the Price for a Specialty Dr Visit?

Here is the problem you are going to run into. If you went there without insurance there is a lower amount you would pay. By going there with insurance it applies to your deductible so their hands are tied. They cannot apply 600 to your deductible and then only charge you say 300, it is against the law, it violates the contract they have with your insurance provider.

Now take a deep breath, have you received your EOB? There tends to be a contractual write down also required by that same contract. That may not have been applied yet.

Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear but the doctor's office won't be able to help you, the best you can hope for is that bill was generated before it was submitted to your insurance.

Just read your what happened, did anyone say six hundred is not a lot of money because it is. It is just not possible to lower it if you claimed this under your insurance. :(

You can negotiate doctor's fees, but you have to come with a real reason and your impression of his/her "value" is not a real reason. That's actually fairly reasonable for a specialist.

You can call them and ask if they are willing to let you pay the "insurance rate" if you pay in cash. This is often a valid and honored request. With this pregnancy, my doctor really wanted me to have the 20 week ultrasound (my first child was an emergency c-section). My insurance company authorized it, but then denied the claim when the ultrasound revealed that all was well. I got the $500 bill and was not thrilled. I called and asked if they could do anything and the billing office reduced the cost from the "private pay" rate of $500 to the "insurance" rate of $300. They were willing to do so because I agreed to bring cash.

Again, you can always request a negotiated fee... they don't have to say "yes", but you can't put your own value on their services.

No, I would not negotiate.

It is your job as the patient to check into the cost-shares and copays required of specialty visits. Clinics deal with literally hundreds of different insurance providers every day and do not have the resources available to figure out which ones have high deductibles and which ones don't. That's your job...to call your insurance provider and figure out what the visit will cost you out of pocket.

Doctors already go through about 8 years of school JUST to become doctors...and specialists go through 2-8 MORE years to become Doctors in that specialty. Specialists ARE expensive because they provide a specialized service.

Next time, call and find out what is covered and what your cost-share will be.

A K,

If you went through your insurance, your bill could have been more then $600. In cases like this, it's usually cheaper to be a cash patient. Specialists charge A LOT on insurance. I worked for a chiropractic office, and there were times we told people to just pay cash...because our specialist bill to insurance would be more then the cash price. With that said, you *sometimes* can negotiate HOW you will pay the full amount. That really has to happen before the visit, and before services were rendered and you were billed. Also, you can't negotiate just because you think what you did shouldn't have cost that much.

Just so you know, you are being billed for their TIME with you more then anything. Think about it. Your appointment was an hour. Most offices are open 8-12 hours a day. Your appointment alone was 1 hour. Factor in the astronomical costs of the office paying insurance, the staff, the equipment, the utilities, the fact they they just spent 10-12% of their day with you, eating the cost of people who don't pay, etc. $600 is VERY cheap for a specialist. Trust me when I say $600 is A LOT of my family. In fact, that's only $20 less then our mortgage payment. It would be A LOT for us to handle. However, I've worked in the medical field and I know how much just seeing patients cost. I know it's hard, but perspective is helpful when it comes to bills.

Yes you can negotiate a bill if you are not in a network type of plan. If you are in a ppo, hmo, or pos type of plan and they are network providers then they are not required to accept less than their negotiated rates.

So let's assume they are not a network provider and you feel it's too much money. You can call the billing office and ask if there is a discount for paying cash. They may offer you a 10-25% discount for cash since they won't have to pay credit card fees or worry about a check bouncing.

If they will not give you a discount (and they do not have to) then let them know that you weren't expecting such a high bill and ask about setting up a payment plan. They would rather receive something every month than receive nothing and have to send you to collections.

Cant help you with the billing issue but if your baby needs feeding therapy I recomend calling the early intervention program in your area. My daughter had many feeding and speech issues (like didnt eat a solid piece of food till she was 18 months old) and ECI provided feeding and speech therapy once a week at our home or the daycare for free because of our income, but always at a discounted rate if you qualify.

Did they tell you it was going to be that much when you checked in? I would be mad too! You might've been able to negotiate the cost prior to the meeting, but I'm not sure how much luck you'll have after.

Definitely ask about a payment plan!

I would not go back there.

Ugh! I hate how expensive doctors and health care is...it's crazy!

~When my daughter was @ 2 years old she got knocked into the corner of a wall (thank you to my big dog) and we took her to the ER b/c her nose was swollen and bleeding a lil' and we were there for >1 hour total and all the Dr.(PA really, not even a real Dr.) did was look up her nose with a light then inform us that it was probably broken but as long as she can breath they do not do anything for kids that age...no x-rays, no nothing...and if it was crooked as a teenager she could get a nose job, seriously! That was all they told us! It was seriously the fastest ER visit known to man and when I got the bill for the ER itself and then a bill for the PA, because they are billed individually now, it was $620 total.

Can you believe that? $620 and they used NO instraments, NO band aids, NO medicine, No nothing... all that we 'used' was about 2 mins of a nurse's time and about 5 mins of the PA's time and all the rest was check-in and check-out time and the bill was that high! Outrageous!

So, I feel your pain!

No I've never negotiated the price of a doctor's visit and I'm not so sure it is negotiable.

Does your employer offer a health spending account or flexible spending account? If so than I would recommend that you elect to defer $1,000 of your earnings into the account. The funds are typically available the first of the year even though they will be deducted from your pay over the next 12 months. That way you will have the funds to meet your deductible and this won't be an issue in upcoming years.

We have a deductible and I do not avoid going to the doctors because of it. I just realize that I am responsible for the first $xxxx of the year before the insurance kicks in. I factor that money into our budget so that it is not a huge hit.

Yes, you negotiate the price . You may be able to take off 1/3 of the price.