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The same thing just happened to me. I scheduled a physical which is considered preventative which means it's free and covers things like the general blood panel

The same thing just happened to me. I scheduled a physical which is considered preventative which means it's free and covers things like the general blood panels..I go in, they order a blood test and a couple weeks later I got a bill for $800. I called the insurance and they said the doctor billed me as a "visit" and not a physical and I would have to call the doctor to have them change the billing code. So I did that but they wouldn't change, they said that because it was my first time at this office that they have a policy that all first appointments are billed as visits. keep in mind that this was stated no where and this was the first I was hearing about it. Anyway they refused to change the billing code and I'm stuck with $800 bill.

Retric 7y ago
Make it clear you are not going to pay and will dispute anything that shows up on your credit report. It’s obvious you’re never going back to them at this point so burning bridges is perfectly ok. Remember, medical bills don’t mean anything on their own and doctors want to get paid.
cyril_figgis 7y ago
Here's the dirty little secret: in the kafkaesque industry that is 21st century medicine, a bill is like an offer to pay. "$800 is what we think you owe us," isn't even quite the right explanation. It's more like, "we think you're an $800 sucker who will cough up that number because it appears on this official-looking piece of paper." And if you call one of them up (any of them: doctor, insurance, hospital, whatever) they're going to either: a) tell you to talk to one of the other two, or b) exactly what they think you need to hear so that they maximize their conversion rate, i.e. so that you send in your real money for their fake bill. Did you put down your signature on a piece of paper stating to the effect that you owed them $800? Do they have in writing your acknowledgement that you supposedly owe them $800? No? Then why are you acting like it? Collection is their problem, and right now they're playing a psychological trick on you because on works on people like you. patio11 has some good comments on collections. I'm not going to dredge them up but anyone sufficiently interested can do so.
dvfjsdhgfv 7y ago
But all these stories are so absurd it's mind-boggling why you all Americans still put up with this BS. It's unthinkable anyone would even try to pull something like this in Europe. When I was going through a surgery in the facility I choose they presented me with a detailed bill (I could do it for free but I preferred to have more comfort with a private room etc.). Moreover, I paid it in full in advance. I was aware the costs might get higher in the case of complications but I roughly knew their cost. It's really unbelievable anyone would ever agree to pay ridiculously high sums someone else just pulled out of thin air post factum. It's unfair, it's absurd, it's breaking people's lives. Why don't you collectively decide to end it once and for all?

Retric 7y ago

Make it clear you are not going to pay and will dispute anything that shows up on your credit report. It’s obvious you’re never going back to them at this point so burning bridges is perfectly ok. Remember, medical bills don’t mean anything on their own and doctors want to get paid.

cyril_figgis 7y ago

Here's the dirty little secret: in the kafkaesque industry that is 21st century medicine, a bill is like an offer to pay. "$800 is what we think you owe us," isn't even quite the right explanation. It's more like, "we think you're an $800 sucker who will cough up that number because it appears on this official-looking piece of paper." And if you call one of them up (any of them: doctor, insurance, hospital, whatever) they're going to either: a) tell you to talk to one of the other two, or b) exactly what they think you need to hear so that they maximize their conversion rate, i.e. so that you send in your real money for their fake bill. Did you put down your signature on a piece of paper stating to the effect that you owed them $800? Do they have in writing your acknowledgement that you supposedly owe them $800? No? Then why are you acting like it? Collection is their problem, and right now they're playing a psychological trick on you because on works on people like you. patio11 has some good comments on collections. I'm not going to dredge them up but anyone sufficiently interested can do so.

dvfjsdhgfv 7y ago

But all these stories are so absurd it's mind-boggling why you all Americans still put up with this BS. It's unthinkable anyone would even try to pull something like this in Europe. When I was going through a surgery in the facility I choose they presented me with a detailed bill (I could do it for free but I preferred to have more comfort with a private room etc.). Moreover, I paid it in full in advance. I was aware the costs might get higher in the case of complications but I roughly knew their cost. It's really unbelievable anyone would ever agree to pay ridiculously high sums someone else just pulled out of thin air post factum. It's unfair, it's absurd, it's breaking people's lives. Why don't you collectively decide to end it once and for all?