insurance/medical bullshit/tracyr lawyer lady?

Dithyrambic · #1 10-27-2009, 04:37 PM

okay so

this chiropractor told me that my student insurance (through my school) would cover all my chiro stuff.
he went to the school i attend for his undergrad and said he works with the insurance there ALL the time and made SURE his services are covered by it so he can help students since he graduated from there . He ASSURED me it would be covered. I said GOOD because I CANNOT pay.

so I went like 20 times and racked up a couple thousand dollars in charges

apparently only some of it is covered because they're saying now i owe $800 from denied claims

I NEVER would have gone if I knew I would have to pay for it

If the doctor TELLS YOU you are covered, and then the claim is denied, I assume you're still responsible to pay, but HOW can this be right????
I mean, this could ruin my credit (as bad as it already is, I DO NOT have thousands in unpaid bills -- now I will have almost a grand)

Can I sue them or something?
I plan on NOT PAYING. But
I am trying to figure out how this can possibly be right.

Wildwoman · #2 10-27-2009, 05:25 PM

You're sure it's denied claims and not co-pays/percentages that are not covered? Because if it was a couple of grand altogether, then it sounds possible that $800 could be the 'Patient's responsibility.'

Of course I am not an expert or a lawyer or anything. But I have good insurance and I pay a $20 co-pay for pretty much any kind of appointment. If you went 20 times, well that would be about $400 for a $20 co-pay (usually due at the time of service, so it's probably not the case, but just to give some perspective on what 'fully covered with good insurance' can mean).

What are the details of your insurance? Is there a deductable, or a limit, or anything like that?

Dithyrambic · #3 10-27-2009, 06:05 PM

Honestly, I do not know about the deductable/limit etc.
All I know is, when I get prescriptions (birth control shot, even) I send in the receipt and they send me all the money back

The chiro had me fill out a claim form and he said it would all be covered.
I have never had a copay/deductible before now.
But I mean, hardly anything is covered. Prescriptions, doctors visits depending on the cause ... But for example a visit to the ER was not covered. (Have not paid that either)
So I was kind of surprised when he said chiropractics were covered because that is sort of "alternative medicine."
But he said he had a deal with the insurance company and the school because that's where he graduated from or whatever and he wanted to "GIVE BACK" and HELP students with back problems.

I talked to the lady in charge of health/student wellness or whatever and she said "Sounds like you have some 'sticker shock'!"

Wildwoman · #4 10-28-2009, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dithyrambic

I talked to the lady in charge of health/student wellness or whatever and she said "Sounds like you have some 'sticker shock'!"

Well, that seems kind of bitchy if her job is to help you with stuff like that. But it also sounds kind of true. For American heath care, $800 isn't a lot if the total cost was in the thousands for multiple appointments/proceedures. The chiro really should have explained that if he was telling you that you were covered when you thought (correctly) that you couldn't afford it.

mthrfckr. · #5 10-28-2009, 06:49 AM

Srsly 800 is nothing compared to the 7000 in unpaid medical I have.
It was never to get my back cracked either.