What are more healthcare facilities demanding payment up front

It reduces the cost of sending a bill, processing the payment, etc...

On the flipside, my PCP didn't bother collecting the $10.00 copay on my last visit. Probably too much hassle keeping cash on hand and sending someone to the bank every day.

I wish that they would raise the insurance premiums by enough to do away with copays and other annoying little charges.
 
Aunt Bea said:
It reduces the cost of sending a bill, processing the payment, etc...

On the flipside, my PCP didn't bother collecting the $10.00 copay on my last visit. Probably too much hassle keeping cash on hand and sending someone to the bank every day.

I wish that they would raise the insurance premiums by enough to do away with copays and other annoying little charges.
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If they did could you afford the premiums? One nursing home here offers a $76 premium every 2 wks with next to no coverage & you get nothing till you meet the $6,000 out of pocket deductible.
 
Since COVID my eye specialist's office has given the opportunity to register (or update) online as well as provide a payment method. Before that, sometimes they'd take the payment before being seen, sometimes after. The receptionists at my PCP's office have always taken the payment before seeing the doctor. I haven't been there since COVID so don't know how they do it now, but I have the option of choosing a free virtual visit.
 
I was recently at my doc's for a checkup, and at the end, for the first time, they asked me to pay. Usually they wait until Medicare pays up then they bill me for the rest. Maybe it's my age and my chances of dying from the coronavirus. Better get that 20 bucks now or lose it forever.
 
is medicare still struggling to pay on time? if there's too much delay maybe that's why. but then doesn't that place more financial burden on you? or are you still paying what you normally would?
 
I don't see what difference it makes to the patient whether they have to pay the copay up front or wait for a bill. I'd prefer to pay it at time of service and get it out of the way. To me, if there's a copay it's still the $20 or whatever up front, so whether I pay it now or next month doesn't make any difference to me.

It's easier and less of a hassle for the provider if they collect up front.
 
Yesterday I was laughing and cursing because I received a bill from the blood lab for $2.00 that wasn't covered under Medicare or my private insurance.

I hope that it cost them ten times more than it cost me to write a check and stick a stamp on the envelope.

IMO a well-run business should set a why bother threshold to write-off small balances to save themselves the cost of collecting and processing those small balance payments.

"penny wise and pound foolish..." - Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy 1621.
 
StarSong said:
I nearly always have to make office visit and other standard copays up front.

Why would it matter if you pay at the beginning or end of your visit?
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I understand why it matters to deb when I read how she waited in line to redeem 60 cents for bottles. I see why it matters to her if money is coming out when she was used to not paying upfront in the past.
 
StarSong said:
I nearly always have to make office visit and other standard copays up front.

Why would it matter if you pay at the beginning or end of your visit?
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If you have to pay for the test upfront, will Medicare reimburse? I have never been involved in any transaction like that, so I don’t know how that would work out. I would have thought that if the lab accepted Medicare, they would be satisfied with just submitting the claim, unless Deb has an Advantage plan, then it may be different.
 

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