Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

Just wondering...

OB must be prepaid.

I have the money, just did not want to give it up in 2009...wanted everything babywise to be paid in 2010 so things can go together when doing our taxes.

I haven't gotten a c-section date yet...he always tells me we will figure one out...then sort of blows it off. which is so unlike him, he's terrific.

well, my first appt in 2010 is Thursday.

I soooo do not want to give up the money yet. My insurance company thinks its a terrible idea since we don't even know what my bill with the OB is going to be yet.

Just wondering what you think.
I do need the date ASAP, my family wants to try and come down and DH needs to put in vacation time.

tia!

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

I would just tell them you do not want to pay yet(or cannot) and give them the date you can.

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

I just looked at your due date. How can they require payment in full in October, when you are still so far from the EDD? I can maybe see them asking for it now, but if you are paying in full and they aren't going through insurance, I can't see why they need it so far in advance.

I wouldn't say anything to them and wait for them to bring it up. If they say anything at this appt. then I would tell them I will mail a check.

The experience that I have had with a few medical offices being paid in full up front (mostly dental, or orthodontic related), I dealt solely with the office staff. I don't know if the doctor had any idea what was going on with payment. The office staff just wouldn't schedule you for the procedure if you didn't pay. If you need a date ASAP, though, you are probably going have to pony up the $$.

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

my OB's office wanted a 10% deposit for the birth as well.

I called my insurance company and was told that it's illegal for the OB to collect a coinsurance up front --- OB's office fired back with "its a deposit, not coinsurance payment".

I didn't want to cause too much of an issue because at the time, i really liked my Dr. I gave them $200 when I was 30wks pg. It was later refunded to me because I went to another hospital/OB for delivery and I will NEVER EVER step foot in that Dr's office again.

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

If you have insurance that will be covering the birth, the only thing they should ask for is your copay at the time of THAT visit. Most OB's are paid as a global service (all prenatal visits and 1-2 post natal are included in the delivery payment) and they may have possibly gotten burned in the past by people who lost insurance or changed Dr's. They shouldn't be billing you for services that haven't happened yet.

If you have a Dr who is doing this, change practices AND complain to your insurer. Asking for more up front may be a violation of their contract with your insurance.

And they may skirt the contract violation by stating it's a "deposit" but that is unethical, complain to the Dept of Insurance, AG and your insurer.

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

When I got pg, I didnt have issurance yet. I enrolled but it was not effective til Jan. My first visit was Oct. I explained this to my Dr office and I made one payment to them as a new patient. They had never seen me before so we didnt have an established relationship.

The next time I went, I expected to have to pay, since I still didnt have the insurance card. The office manager at that time told me that they bill the whole pregnancy and delivery at the END. Not up front... How can they, when they dont know if you will need extra care, extra tests or complications? Doesnt make sense....

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

yeah, it is a nice chunk of change.

1300.00.

the whole thing that gets me is if I were to break my leg tomorrow...then my 750.00 deductible will be met tomorrow.

Then I am charged 20% on top of that till my max out of pocket of 2000.

what if hospital bills out first? or the bill for my spinal?

then i have to pay them the 2K, when i already paid dr 1300.00....then i have to fight with them to get my money back.

its going to be a mess.

thanks!

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

I'd find a new OB.

They basically want their fee up front JUST IN CASE you don't meet your deductible prior to them submitting their bill? If you go to other doctors (like your primary) or have bloodwork done or ultrasound, wouldn't those things also go towards your deductible? $750 doesn't go far these days. If I recall correctly, my bloodwork alone was over that much.

And you're right. If the hospital or anesthesiologist get their bill in first, the deductible would be applied to them first. Then what? You have to fight to get your money from the OB to pay it somewhere else? Ask them, since they claim it's a deposit, what the interest rate on your "deposit" is.

That's so unethical. Possibly a violation of their contract with your insurance.

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

I have no idea...

But I just wanted to offer one thing...

What might be true in NY might not be true for NC...

Insurance laws vary from state to state...

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

thanks!
called around to 4 other offices, common practice now.

this practice is huge, 3 different offices....shocked everyone complies with this.

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?

I gave birth in Nc. I went to Arboretum OB in Matthews/Charlotte. I got PG in 08, had to pay $250 upfront, $950 over a few visits. Then I was still PG in 09 so I got slammed with another deductable fee of $350. But the fee needed to be paid before I gave birth. Then I got an additional bill after all was said and done because I had to have a csection and paid for a vaginal birth.

Re: Has anyone worked in dr office? would dr know i did not prepay yet?