A few months ago, I went into a medical procedure worried.
Thankfully, I wasn’t concerned about my health. I wasn’t stoked to be getting a colonoscopy at age 32, but it’s about as routine as it gets, and my symptoms were hardly life threatening. Rather, I was worried about what it might cost.
How did I step foot into a surgical center not knowing what the bill would be? It wasn’t for lack of trying. I asked the doctor if the procedure was covered, and he said yes. But my insurance company said I’d be on the hook for a percentage of the cost since I was under 45.
I called the clinic to ask what the full price was, and they told me to call my insurance company. My insurer told me to get in touch with the clinic’s billing department. Billing said they’d call me back. They didn’t. By the time the day of my colonoscopy arrived, I threw my hands up.
The doctor had told me I absolutely needed it. I would just have to eat the cost, whatever it was.
For complex reasons, there was a period where I had dental insurance, and my wife didn’t. The dentist offered a $10 per year discount program for people with no insurance. With that discount program, my wife’s cleaning was $55. Mine was $220, but the insurance “paid” $170 of it.
The receptionist said the insurance insisted on a huge discount, and paid them $10 towards the actual service cost. Pretty much, with twice a year cleaning, my insurance company and I were paying $120… and my wife with no insurance was paying $120.