I found this article from Dr. Kevin's list of reading material. It is germane for all of us, insured and uninsured... The challenge of pre-authorization for an elective procedure
I can't help but compare this Dr's attitude with my own surgeons attitude. MY surgeon didn't give a damn how much stuff cost! He did me the very great favor of "allowing" me to get away with not having an expensive MRI. (I think he is part owner of the machine) He conned me into a surgery that was a budget buster and refused to allow me to have the "no frills" surgery that I could actually afford. He forgot that my particular surgery has a huge fail rate, necessitating yet more bankruptcy making intervention! That is unless I was going to be HAPPY to be a cripple, in which case all was well. My surgeon said so.
Nobody at the hospital mentioned that there were all kinds of add-ons including the worthless but expensive anesthesia nurse. Of course their main purpose in life as far as I can tell is to soak the patient. So they do anything and everything to maximize their profit at the expense of the patient. Do NOT trust anybody in health care. Sorry to have to say that, but they WILL deliberately omit pertinant details about charges and reimbursement payments in order to get the money. You may end up with a very unpleasant surprise like the person mentioned in the article. Funny how it all comes back to anesthesia in the end.
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