Upfront Medical Costs

[Gentle Lamb]

Please does anyone know how I can find a doctor where I can know upfront about how much it will cost and pay upfront? I keep looking online but it seems the only true upfront and affordable option is a virtual visit? My insurance made me pay about 3 times as much as I was told the Urgent Care visit would cost when I went through them a few months ago. I'm trying to see a doctor without spending an arm and a leg

 

[HTacianas]

Please does anyone know how I can find a doctor where I can know upfront about how much it will cost and pay upfront? I keep looking online but it seems the only true upfront and affordable option is a virtual visit? My insurance made me pay about 3 times as much as I was told the Urgent Care visit would cost when I went through them a few months ago. I'm trying to see a doctor without spending an arm and a leg

Make an appointment with any doctor and ask for their "self pay" rate. They should be able to tell you what it will be up front. But some doctors will not see patients who self pay because they assume you have no insurance.

 

[timf]

My father was a doctor in the 1950s and charged $5 for an office visit. He had observed in the 1960s that doctors were starting to organize themselves for what might be called "conveyor line" medicine and were making much more money.

In the 1970s many doctors immigrated to the US to cash in on the growing opportunities to make a good living. In the 1980s HMOs started to get doctors into their employ so that they could make the money.

Now big corporations run the healthcare industry and make massive amounts of money.

To try to survive, you may find a medical "clinic" run by a group of doctors and avoid the layer of corporate bureaucracy and the expense they contribute.

You may call the county medical association to see if there are any doctors that still have a private practice, but they are mostly all gone by now.

You might find a medical resident who as a doctor could write a perscription and see if they were willing to treat you. however, most doctors are fearful of getting sued (with good reason) and are reluctant to treat someone as an individual.

 

[JAM2b]

Does your insurance not have a co-payment or coinsurance for you to pay? If so, then that should be the only thing you have to pay upfront unless you having a procedure done.

The only way of finding out how much the doctors will want is to call and ask them. Also, check with your insurance to make sure they are in network. Insurance companies won't pay as much if they are not in network. You could start by checking there and only contacting doctors that are in network.

 

[JAM2b]

It could be possible that the urgent care clinic you went to was not in network with your insurance. That would make it cost more for you.

 

[Rachel20]

Please does anyone know how I can find a doctor where I can know upfront about how much it will cost and pay upfront? I keep looking online but it seems the only true upfront and affordable option is a virtual visit? My insurance made me pay about 3 times as much as I was told the Urgent Care visit would cost when I went through them a few months ago. I'm trying to see a doctor without spending an arm and a leg

Hello, there's an online group of doctors at below link whose teledoc services are free, though you would need to pay for any prescriptions. I haven't personally used them, so this isn't an endorsement, but their website does show they're endorsed by the AAPS and lists the conditions they treat (I don't think it's a complete list though so could still reach out to them even if your issue isn't on the list). I only stumbled on to them through a video of an interview of one of their docs - they are apparently a nondenominational faith-based org.

https://myfreedoctor.com

 

[Greengardener]

Good reference, Rachel: I hadn't heard of myfreedomdoctor. If you click the link to the conditions they treat, you can also get to more of the web-site to read what they say about themselves.

Another option might be community health centers who charge (or at least used to charge) on a sliding scale. And there were still some "free" clinics around last time I checked.

 

[Gentle Lamb]

Okay great thank you so much everyone. All the advice is much appreciated, God bless you all

 

[Gentle Lamb]

Hello, there's an online group of doctors at below link whose teledoc services are free, though you would need to pay for any prescriptions. I haven't personally used them, so this isn't an endorsement, but their website does show they're endorsed by the AAPS and lists the conditions they treat (I don't think it's a complete list though so could still reach out to them even if your issue isn't on the list). I only stumbled on to them through a video of an interview of one of their docs - they are apparently a nondenominational faith-based org.

https://myfreedoctor.com

God bless you @Rachel20 , these people are legitimate, this has been helpful. Thank you so much for sharing.

 

[Rachel20]

these people are legitimate, this has been helpful.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad it was helpful

 

[Gentle Lamb]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad it was helpful

You're welcome