What About Medical Menus?

Why can't health providers post a list of prices like everybody else in business? Maybe that could infuse some real competition into health care. I'm not talking about insurance. Health care providers charge whatever they want. Insurance companies decide what they're willing pay, and we're stuck in the middle having to pick up the difference. We walk blindly into the doctor's office for help, and have no clue what we will be charged until we get the bill. Or that's the case with Scott and White in Central Texas.

I went to my dermatologist this past year to get checked for skin cancer, which I've done every year or two for a long time now because we have a history of melanoma in the family, so I try to be responsible about getting checked.

The year before I had a basal cell carcinoma shaved off my leg, which involved two office visits-- one to get checked, the second to come back and get the spot removed. That cost me over $500. So when another place showed up on my leg, I figured this would cost about the same thing.

I was wrong. Scott and White charged me $2,550 for the lab work. The dermatologist charged me  $579. This was for TWO office visits for minor procedures, not cosmetic surgery! I cried when I got the bill. At the time, I was living off my savings so I could take care of my mother, so I saw the $3,179 as costing me two months less time that I might need as her caregiver. 

A friend told me that her doctor occasionally froze things off, but that was included in her inexpensive office visit charge. I don't know how S&W came up with over $3,100 for two office visit procedures. When I wrote the dermatologist to tell her I couldn’t afford her anymore, she referred me to their financial office, saying that since I wasn't working, they might reduce my bill. Even though I had no income coming in, the fact that I still had money in savings and wasn't living on the street meant they denied my request. 

Who do we turn to when someone "legally" robs us? Even my insurance company was no help. They weren’t concerned when I told them S&W had way overcharged me; I hadn't reached my deductible so it was no skin off their backs. I actually tried to pay cash at the time of the service, but the office didn't do the billing so they had no clue what numbers S&W would pull out of the air. I'm insured, but I cannot afford even basic health care with Scott & White now when they charge such exorbitant fees. 

I used to go to a wonderful family of dermatologists in San Antonio, and I'm thinking about writing them a letter asking them what they'd charge for the equivalent services S&W charged me. I really don't want to drive the two hours to SA, but I can't afford to keep going here. 

Why can't health care providers post their costs for the different services so we can actually shop around before choosing? I feel like it's Russian Roulette now when I need medical services. I recently received a letter from the dermatologist saying I needed to come back to get checked, and I thought, "Are you kidding me?!!" I threw it in the trash. 

The Affordable Care Act is such a misnomer. It's not just about insurance or the lack thereof. What about the out-of-control medical charges? I can't afford to have any health issues now, even WITH insurance.