Unexpected medical expenses, of course, can often add a little fuel to that fire in terms of your annual deductible. For example, Peter Drier, 37, signed a pile of consent forms before a surgery for herniated disks in his neck. Mr. Drier is a bank technology manager who had researched his insurance coverage. So when large bills started arriving, he knew a majority of the charges would be covered by insurance. What he wasn’t expecting was a $117,000 charge from a doctor he had not met before surgery.
He had some medical bills from the Lenox Hill hospital where he got his surgery done, a bill for the anesthesiologist and another one for the orthopedist. But this particular bill was from a neurosurgeon, Dr. Harrison Mu, and Drier knew nothing about him being related to his surgery.
Dolars
A common sentiment about the practice is that doctors are using the method to be able to charge higher prices in a climate where insurers are paying out less and less to healthcare providers. The practice has even gotten its own term, referred to as “drive by doctors”.
Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens sometimes, maybe more often than it rightfully should. And like the bank manager who did all of his homework and filed all of his paperwork, it can even happen to people who make no mistakes.
And when it does happen—even if you are the most organized file keeper in the whole world—it will always catch you off guard. That’s why it is called an “unexpected medical expense.”
Current laws within the United States do not require that a patient give consent to every medical person or office that contributes to the person’s treatment. There are also no laws holding physicians accountable for who they ask to assist with a procedure or whether or not the doctors they request are necessary or even beneficial to patients. This type of price gouging must be dealt with before more are affected.