Getting anonymous treatment

[cowman]

The depression thread got me thinking about this...

Has anyone actually gone into a doctor's office, psychiatrist, whatever and refused to give any identity and offered cash for treatment? How did that go?

Healthcare workers, has anyone ever done this where you work? How did it get handled?

This option comes up in a lot of these medical discussions and I wonder if it really is viable. The only doctor's office that ever took money from me the day I was there was the AME that I got my third class from. Given the myriad of regulations, laws, rules, insurance requirements, liability, and billing complexity will many doctor's offices really do this? Will there be a phone call to homeland security or law enforcement right after you leave?

and no, nothing is wrong with me that I'm needing this option for. At least not that I know of yet.

 

[FORANE]

Only time I have seen it is outside the US, or within the US as the so-called sidewalk consult. When someone knows the healthcare provider, frequently medical care is done under the table. This under the table stuff ranges from handing out sample medications to minor surgery.

 

[Unregistered]

I saw a psychiatrist when I was 15-18 bc I was having a hard time with teen hood, it was all under the table and the records were destroyed as soon as it met the states requirements. It was the best help I had ever gotten and really made a difference. I know for a fact they were destroyed.

 

[weilke]

I may or may not know a psychiatrist who has two cabinets with charts. One set of charts is out in the administrative office and contains the usual insurance and billing information. The other set is in a safe in his office. Those charts only say 'Bob', 'Evan' or 'Mike' and contain dated notes for the encounters and copies of prescriptions with the address block cut off.

It's only confidential if it is between two people and the walls.

 

[JHW]

I once got my hand stitched up by a veterinarian in germany because it was going to be a couple days wait to see a doctor. Soon americans will have a standard of care on par with europeans.

 

[Piloto]

Getting anonymous treatment

Isn't that what Obamacare is all about.

José

 

[txflyer]

I just asked our doctor the other day if I could negotiate a cash deal with him outside insurance, and he said he would get in trouble if he tried because of O'care.

It had nothing to do with my medical, my wife was in there getting looked at and I went in with her. I wanted to know if there was a cheaper way since we have a $10K deductible.

 

[Jthamilton]

If the physician were to take cash less the what his lowest payor pays him he can be penalized. Its called indiscriminate billing and is a total crock!

I started a cash clinic with some friends in Tulsa 2 yers ago before moving. I continue to love the concept, this after 8 years of fighting to get money owed to me by the govt and private payors. Oh....the govt is the worst, big surprise huh!

I would never see anyone if they didn't have some form of identification. However to flip the tables and something went wrong and I didn't have a record to back up the visit but my name was on a rx. That just isn't good medicine and carries a helluva lot liability.

 

[Jthamilton]

I just asked our doctor the other day if I could negotiate a cash deal with him outside insurance, and he said he would get in trouble if he tried because of O'care.

It had nothing to do with my medical, my wife was in there getting looked at and I went in with her. I wanted to know if there was a cheaper way since we have a $10K deductible.

Its the high deductible plans that will only foster the cash clinic and other forms of healthcare.

 

[weilke]

I just asked our doctor the other day if I could negotiate a cash deal with him outside insurance, and he said he would get in trouble if he tried because of O'care.

Another example of people making stuff up. The law is bad enough by itself, no need to make stuff up.

The prohibition against giving anyone a better deal than the goverment to an individual was in effect when Mr O was still a chain-smoking fast-talking chicago lawyer.

 

[murphey]

I just asked our doctor the other day if I could negotiate a cash deal with him outside insurance, and he said he would get in trouble if he tried because of O'care.

It had nothing to do with my medical, my wife was in there getting looked at and I went in with her. I wanted to know if there was a cheaper way since we have a $10K deductible.

strange....Other than surgery and the ER, I always pay cash/check and get a substantial discount between 10 and 50%. As far as I can tell about ACA, I'm required to carry insurance, but it's my choice when to invoke it. Haven't had any physician tell me otherwise since ACA took effect last fall. everyone is very happy with immediate payment.

 

[txflyer]

Another example of people making stuff up. The law is bad enough by itself, no need to make stuff up.

The prohibition against giving anyone a better deal than the goverment to an individual was in effect when Mr O was still a chain-smoking fast-talking chicago lawyer.

I'll PM you his name and number, and you can call him yourself if you want.

If anyone was making it up, he was. I repeated here what he said to us verbatim.

I never 'make stuff up' as you imply. I abhor exaggerator's, liars, and know-it-alls.

 

[weilke]

I'll PM you his name and number, and you can call him yourself if you want.

If anyone was making it up, he was. I repeated here what he said to us verbatim.

I never 'make stuff up' as you imply. I abhor exaggerator's, liars, and know-it-alls.

He is the one who makes stuff up, not you.

 

[Sac Arrow]

I once got my hand stitched up by a veterinarian in germany because it was going to be a couple days wait to see a doctor. Soon americans will have a standard of care on par with europeans.

Did he declare you healthy as a horse afterwards?

 

[JHW]

Did he declare you healthy as a horse afterwards?

he was a nice guy. I paid him with a case of beer.

while i was there a guy came in and said "the big dog can't get rid of this bad cough". The vet listened to his chest, rummaged around for some antibiotics and came up with some kind of horse pill, and asked him "do you think the big dog could choke down one of these twice a day?"

 

[Palmpilot]

When I had a colonoscopy, I got a bill from Stanford, because somebody there had presumably looked at something or other in connection with it. They thought I was uninsured, and offered me a large discount if I paid them within a certain period of time. At the time, my health insurance policy had a very high deductible, so I might as well have been uninsured. You never saw me pay a bill so fast!

 

[Palmpilot]

What about illegal immigrants? They're said to be "undocumented," but they're not refused medical care, are they?

 

[Jthamilton]

strange....Other than surgery and the ER, I always pay cash/check and get a substantial discount between 10 and 50%. As far as I can tell about ACA, I'm required to carry insurance, but it's my choice when to invoke it. Haven't had any physician tell me otherwise since ACA took effect last fall. everyone is very happy with immediate payment.

Murph, let me clarify. Cash is fine, in fact I always gave discount for it. However if you take a substantial discount that is when it gets dicey.

I treasured cash pay patients the most, I didn't have to jump through any hoops for the funds and didn't have to wait 30-60 days.

 

[weilke]

I treasured cash pay patients the most, I didn't have to jump through any hoops for the funds and didn't have to wait 30-60 days.

I love cash payers, I mean people with actual cash in hand, not the high-deductible crowd with HSA debit cards that NEVER work. No worry about checks not clearing, no discount fees on their rewards credit card, no arguing over unmet deductibles after their cheap-arse HMO sends back a remittance advice on day 89 . I really like the construction guys, they know it costs money if you hire someone and dont have a problem to peel off a couple of notes to pay for services rendered. The worst are the folks who dont have a copay listed on their card and then try to short you by $5 or $10.

 

[Swampfox201]

Can I go to the dr, tell them I don't have insurance, get a discount, pay the bill then turn it into insurance myself? I have a 10,000 deductible.

 

[weilke]

Can I go to the dr, tell them I don't have insurance, get a discount, pay the bill then turn it into insurance myself? I have a 10,000 deductible.

If they made me king of all healthcare, I would issue a decree that the insurance company has to credit your out of pocket expenses against the deductible, even if you didn't run it through their re-pricing system.

But they wont make me king.

 

[Lawreston]

Then there was Dr. Richard "W." from Waldoboro, Maine. Doc would go out at any time of night if needed, on HOUSE CALLS a considerable distance from his medical office. Of course, such scenario was 50+ years ago. Payment? Legend(more truth than legend) has it that, more than a few sides of beef, sacks of vegetables, dressed chickens, et al made the return trip to Waldoboro. Wonderful man; beautiful young child-cousin of mine took sick. There was no "Bring her over in the morning." He was out of there(his somewhat distant home) at night, to the patient whom he accompanied to the hospital and resuscitated her three times during the trip. Tragically, creeping pneumonia won.
Doc was a true definition of Affordable Care Act.

HR

 

[dans2992]

The next best thing I suppose would be to go to a doctor, subtly mis-spell your name, give an incorrect SS# and pay out of pocket... Should keep you clear of the "databases" I'd imagine.