Hi,

My wife recently went in for a physical exam. They found her blood-pressure was a bit high so the doctor advised her to cut back on salt and get exercise.

I just got the bill and found that they billed extra. I called the doctor's office and was told that the doctor billed for an additional visit at $73 for that little advice about lowering blood pressure. My wife went in for only one visit. Can they legally charge for a second visit when only one was made?

It seems to me that when you have a physical and they take your blood pressure that any comments on the result of your physical would be included in the physical exam.

What are my options? If this is a standard practice this seems highly unfair as I have to pay for that "Second Visit" out of pocket since my health insurance only covers preventative care.

I agree with you.

Call back, complain again.

Don't pay it.

When next you have a Doctor's appt, speak with the Doctor himself.

~~~~Just my 2 cents worth~~~~

I would say to look at exactly what the exact insurance coding for the billing is.

Normally a basic physcial exam is one billing code, if there was some level of physical exam beyond a basic physcial exam, then this would be an addition coding.

For example, I sell medical supplies, if you buy for example an electric wheel chair, I will bill it out as a basic chair, I will also bill out the arm rests as an additional code and fee, plus the seat belt on it as an additoinal billing code and an additional fee, I will also charge another charge for the batteries in the chair.

Every part has its own specific billing code, this is exactly the same with a doctors office visit, normally you get a baisc office visit fee, and then anything else they do will have an additional fee.

You can and should talk to them, at times mistakes in billing happens, but most likely this is the allowed insurance billing amounts according to insurace coding rules.

Also remember ( esp if you don't have insurance) all fees and payments are and can be negotiated. Normally after my insurance pays their 80 percent, I settle with the doctors or hospitals for about 2/3 of what the balance is just by asking.

Thank you for your responses. I talked to the accountant at her doctor's office and it was no mistake. She said that that's how they bill and wouldn't negotiate.

I talked to my health insurance provider who said I can appeal. That's what I plan to do at this point.
This was the first time we used this doctor. We have no plans to see her again.