 |
 |
Ron McKay wrote: > > I do not know what treatment costs are, and believe there are many out there that have more experience, and can help keep me informed. I went to a local General Practitioner to get a physical, and to see if there might be a cause for my tremors on my right side. He gave me the physical, and sent me to the local hospital for a CAT scan of my brain, and a CAT scan of my nasal sinuses. He also sent me for a full blood check, that included checking for Cholesterol status. I had the blood drawn, and had the two scans, and returned to his office. He told me he found only a need to be on Lipitor, but no other abnormalities. He told me that my tremors could be from natural causes, and not to give them any attention. He recommended that I stay with the Lipitor, and avoid going to any other doctors. He told me I could if I wanted to, but that he thought it would be a waste of my time and money. I received the $3,500 bill for everything that was done, today. I believe it to be > excessive, and need some feedback. $280 for the two doctors visits and the physical. $293 for the CAT scan of the brain. $277 for the CAT scan of the nasal passages. $772.91 for the Blood Tests. $1,670.36 for the interpretation of the two CAT scans. Is this normal, or have I been scammed? I still have the tremors, but at this rate I can not afford to go on looking for the cause. Does ur GP know u have PD? Is this the only testing u ever had for diag. ? COSTS 1)If u have insurance, most of this should be paid for after u paid ur deductible of ur individual out of pocket expenses for the year 2002. Since it is October, good chance that u already met ur deductibles. 2)Call billing and make sure the right insurance info is listed AND that the insurance companieS were sent claims and when were they sent from the hospital, ect. write everything down. Average turn around is 6 months for billing and payments to begin to apply to ur account. 3)When u call ur insurance company- get name, ID, phone ext. or who u are talking to. write it down and the time. follow up with written correspondence. They can tell u when they sent the check and to who it was issued to. 4)U can call another hospital in ur neighborhood and ask their charges. There should be codes on ur itemized bill. ur insurance company pays the usual cust. rates. (80% u pay 20% unless u went out of network). Costs and coverage depends if u are HMO or PPO or indemity (rare) now adays. Look at ur new 2003 insurance coverage. Coverage percentages and deductibles have changed for private and medicare insurance's. MY PERSONAL COSTS FOR CT SCANS - without contrast of the abdom. area- $1370. 10/11/02. I haven't gotten the contrast one nor do I want to see the bill. Urs is of the brain area and where u live matters also when it comes to costs. My brain ones are generally 1500. to 2000. full blood check?? I don't know what urs involved. cholesterol (sp?)-- profile ? ask for HDL, LDL, triglicerides (sp?), ect. Ask for the ranges. Ask about exercise and fluid intake. nancy > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn