Oct 26, 2015 2 min read

I have observed several things occurring in doctors’ offices that need to be outlawed. One is doing procedures not covered by your insurance before telling the patient, then expecting the patient to cough up out-of-pocket money for something they didn’t ask for and were never informed that the cost wasn’t covered. The second is one doctor’s office referring a patient to an out-of-network doctor and that doctor not informing the patient they are out of network until after the procedure is done.

It’s time every doctor opens up about cost BEFORE doing anything, including scheduling and appointment. I recently saw a patient who was seeing an in-network doctor have to pay a $30 referral fee plus a $60 copay just to walk in the door. Then AFTER the appointment, they found out the doctor did things not covered by the insurance without telling the patient, costing them an additional $35. This patient’s monthly income is $600. This case was a rip-off by both the insurance company (HMO) and the doctors office.

I never thought I would ever say this, but after watching similar rip-offs, it’s time to go to a single-payer system and get rid of all HMOs. Why do HMOs require an expensive referral every time someone sees the same specialist for an existing problem. An initial referral should be all that is required. If you have a heart problem you should not be required to get a referral every time you see your cardiologist.

George Dawes

Washington