Bizarre California health care sitch
I'm hoping you folks might have some insight to what just happened to me.
Last year, I got sick while camping in Cali. Went to a local doc, who ran some tests, figured out what was wrong, and fixed me. Before handing the lab results to her secretary, she said to me, 'You're paying out of pocket? Here, I'll guve you a discount. 30 percent.' Sick as a dog, I just said 'Thank you!' and did not ask questions.
Fast forward to this year. A different doc, a different city, but again in California. A consult with a specialist at a large teaching hospital. No lab tests. Again, at checkout, the sec gave me a massive cash discount. This time it was 67%. Hey, I am not going to argue.
That was three months ago. Today, I get a call from the billing dept at the teaching hospital. They say I owe them for the balance. I say, 'But my receipt says paid in full.' Nothing but gibberish from the billing lady. No mention of a mistake, no request for a copy of my receipt, no explanation for the discount or its vanishing.... finally, in frustration, after she refused to transfer me to her supervisor, I said, 'Well, you can have someone who knows what's going on call me, ' and hung up.
I mean, do you buy hamburger on sale and then get a call from the butcher three months later saying you have to pay the balance of the non-sale price for that pound of meat you ate this spring?
My head is spinning. Anybody know what the heck this is about?
Last year, I got sick while camping in Cali. Went to a local doc, who ran some tests, figured out what was wrong, and fixed me. Before handing the lab results to her secretary, she said to me, 'You're paying out of pocket? Here, I'll guve you a discount. 30 percent.' Sick as a dog, I just said 'Thank you!' and did not ask questions.
Fast forward to this year. A different doc, a different city, but again in California. A consult with a specialist at a large teaching hospital. No lab tests. Again, at checkout, the sec gave me a massive cash discount. This time it was 67%. Hey, I am not going to argue.
That was three months ago. Today, I get a call from the billing dept at the teaching hospital. They say I owe them for the balance. I say, 'But my receipt says paid in full.' Nothing but gibberish from the billing lady. No mention of a mistake, no request for a copy of my receipt, no explanation for the discount or its vanishing.... finally, in frustration, after she refused to transfer me to her supervisor, I said, 'Well, you can have someone who knows what's going on call me, ' and hung up.
I mean, do you buy hamburger on sale and then get a call from the butcher three months later saying you have to pay the balance of the non-sale price for that pound of meat you ate this spring?
My head is spinning. Anybody know what the heck this is about?
