Wednesday, April 02, 2008

It Pays To Shop Around

Wow, after a tip off by one of my workmates I just saved myself nearly $200 in medical expenses by changing my abdominal ultrasound appointment to a different office of the same organisation. WTF? If I have the ultrasound done near my home I have to pay around $200 up front (from $180 to $220 was the estimate), but if I have it done at a different office of the same medical imagining company (one near my work, where I happened to even get a more convenient appointment time) the entire thing is covered by Medicare with no upfront charge.

I'm pleased and annoyed at the same time. Sure I would have eventually gotten a percentage of the fees reimbursed, but it still makes me wonder how many people are shelling out big bucks for a service they could be getting without any upfront charges. Outrageous.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's outragous!

Good luck with your appointment, I'll keep fingers, toes and knees crossed for good results.

Michael said...

Do you have national health insurance? Is that what Medicare is there?

yani said...

Yes Michael, like most developed and civilised countries, we have free universal healthcare (Medicare)... :P

By the way, what's up with your blog? It's all "invitation only" all of a sudden... it's like being left out of a party the cool kids are throwing...

Michael said...

I figured it was your national health care. "Medicare" here is for senior citizens and some folks with disabilities.

Anonymous said...

It's outrageous that we have to shop around for medical procedures at a time when we are most vunlerable. A 'free' society...HUH.

Good luck Andrew.