Dr charging double ma rate

[No Name]

Got a bill last night for my Appendicectomy and discovered that the medical aid only paid half of the bill. Phoned them this morning to discover that the dr charged me double the medical aid rate. No wonder they drive the fancy cars.

 

I feel so peeved off.

[EigerSA]

That's ridiculous! I wonder if that's even allowed? Phone him and confront him!

 

[Guest coenie]

Yes they can charge what they want, no doctor is forced to adhere to a medical aid rate. Most doctors charge 150% MA rates.

 

It does suck

 

[EigerSA]

That's crap! Surely they would have to inform you of their rates beforehand? I would still speak to him. A friend of mine had a knee op and she phoned to ask for a discount and accounts department dropped the price by like 75%.

 

Either which way, lpeens that does add insult to injury. Find out if he rides and push him off his bike 

 

[Spinnekop]

That is why Discovery covers 200% of medical aid rates.....because of stuff like this.....

Sad

[techguy]

Ya tell me about it! my 1st son was 7weeks premature and the dr's bill came to R35000 and Med aid paid like R15000 so here's kippie stuck with a massive bill...

 

On top of that my new son is also prem so the dr's secretary decides she's going to make us pay the outstanding amount and another R35000 deposit "just in case" Med aid doesn't pay. We told her she's smoking her Frikken socks and where to go and how to get there! Her response? you should be greatful the dr is looking after your baby!

 

Jeez I would love to earn R35000 for two weeks work from one client!

[Baster Brak]

Think that's bad, so I run out of talent on the Bekker Bundu bash and end up taking a tumble on second or 3 desent of the day, get up feeling ok so I decide to finish the race. End up going to Millpark where they charge me R1200 to be allowed into the casualty and I am told this is what it costs and as I am not on a medical aid I need to pay, so I pay (Price money for the day R500, medical bill R1200, Loss for the day R700). So after waiting about an hour I'm admitted and the doctor briefly shows his face, about 2 min and tells the nurse to clean up the wound and send me for Xray's. Xray bill received through the post R1350 so now the loss for the day is upto R2050. Doctor takes a look at the xray, stiches up my chin (3 stiches) and cleans out my knee as the cut is all the way to the bone and then stiches this up with one stich. Time spent by doctor - 15min. So I go home, sob for 10days as I am not allowed to ride at all and start healing, guess what, I have just received a bill from the doctor for a further R3927, so what the F*CK did I pay the hospital R1200 for and how can he justify a R3927 bill, so one tumble would have cost me more than R6000, I think Medical Proffesionals should be placed in the same category as bankers.

[Danger Dassie]

What a cockbag ....

[EigerSA]

 

Please please please people, don't just bend over and accept the rodgering, try take some action! If we all just accept then nothing changes.

 

Medical Ombudsman

 

Tel: 0800 119 820 / (012) 328 6680  / (012) 431 0800

 

EigerSA2009-12-04 01:56:13

[stevenvj]

It is ridiculous.

 

My wife and daughter went to a dentist and when I got the email

notification from the medical aid, he billed the medical aid twice for the same appointment under two different dependants - 1 for the daughter who had been to see him and the other for my other daughter who has never ever been to him.

 

I phoned him and confronted the lady who does his billing and she was like "Oh I am so sorry, it was a honest mistake and we'll get it reversed, etc". It was reversed but then he tried to do it again but under the pretence of it being some other service and now his LAB is trying to get another R600 odd out of me - to hell with them.

 

Medical Practitioners think they can charge what they want - it's time that they wake up and realise that we are not there to make them get even richer than they already are

[splat]

Very few specialists charge 'medical aid rates'. Many are 3 or 4 times that...

Its a seemingly arbitrary number.

[stevenvj]

EigerSA

Thank you for this.

I am most definitely going to make use of this number.

Saved it in my contacts

[Danger Dassie]

I have to say though, like most other things there are the good ones out there.

 

To give Weltevreden Park Medical Centre a plug, I went there this week for an emergency root canal (joy of joys) they were absolutely brilliant.

 

Did a top job with minimal fuss, great bedside manner and didn't rip my wallet through my asshole.

 

Really good folk there, was attended to by Dr Alicia Oosthuizen.

 

 

[stevenvj]

I agree

You do get the good ones out there that believe providing a good service is better than trying to suck the "life" out of people by robbing them with their pricing.

 

 

[Minion]

 

Medical Practitioners think they can charge what they want - it's time that they wake up and realise that we are not there to make them get even richer than they already are

It's a free market. Professionals in SA can charge what they want. You can then decide whether you want to pay the price or choose another provider.

 

The problem is that people go into treatment not knowing the costs upfront (whether through their own fault or that of the provider).

 

[Matchstix]

 

Medical Practitioners think they can charge what they want - it's time that they wake up and realise that we are not there to make them get even richer than they already are

It's a free market. Professionals in SA can charge what they want. You can then decide whether you want to pay the price or choose another provider.

 

The problem is that people go into treatment not knowing the costs upfront (whether through their own fault or that of the provider).

 

The problem is this. . although its mostly true.. . this make it sound more like a business than to be a practitioner.

its not a Luxury its to a degree a necessity.

Sure you can go to the goverment hospital.

its actually sickening.