Have I mentioned that I've been going to leg therapy for the last two months? Maybe just in passing. I certainly am not one to dwell on such things, heh, heh! It started on May 5 with a consultation and a session. Poor Farmer H drove me, and was waiting in the waiting room. Since it was just an assessment, I didn't think it would take long. But it was 90 minutes!
Anyhoo... I've been keeping my three times per week appointments, just recently reduced to two. For each session, I have to do an online check-in, during which I electronically sign a form stating that I am the responsible party to pay for any fees not covered by my insurance. Just the standard waiver that all medical facilities use.
Thursday on the way to the casino, I got a notice on YourChart that I had a bill. Well. I suppose that's not surprising. There's often a copay for medical visits, and I had received no bills to date. I can't access YourChart on my phone, because I can't get back to the screen that needs the security code they send. Someone more phone savvy, like The Pony, or perhaps a toddler, might be able to do it. The Pony could not, because we were out of internet range, and I said I'd do it back home.
When I logged in, I saw the amount due. I could NOT get an itemization of what the charges were for. It may be SOMEWHERE in YourChart, but I could not find it. I paid anyway, because I figured it was something to do with my therapy.
Monday, I got a paper statement from my hospital/clinic. It was the bill I had already paid through YourChart. But it had the itemized charges.
Well. That was a bit shocking! Let the record show that my appointments, except for the first, are for 60 minutes. I'm usually in and out in about 50-55 minutes. Only once, I went over by 5 minutes. I'm sure all the therapists use the last 10 minutes or so to document what was done, after the patient has left.
Each of my sessions goes the same way. I get called back, remove my velcro leg wraps (which were the short-stretch wraps in the beginning). Then I get on that hydraulic table/bed, and OT does the massage therapy on my legs. Except every couple of weeks, which begins with measurements, then the massage.
It looks like the billing is for EVERY 15 MINUTES! That's the best I can work out from the charges. An hour costs $792! That's $198 for every 15 minutes. That's $13.20 per minute! A more petty person might expect a HAPPY ENDING for such an expensive massage, heh, heh!
This is the problem with our healthcare system! Insurance bloats up those charges, then gets a negotiated discount. The fee for my one month of occupational therapy was $9,167.00. Which was negotiated down to $1,108.57. Of which my responsibility was $360.
I'm pretty sure OT does not reap the rewards of this scam in her salary.
