Doctors are scamming us!

hi lelin I also live in the Us southern California b ut I am 85 and have medicare and united health insurance evercare program so my doctor appts are free and my meds a s long as I have generic are one dollar and ten cents each so being a senior citizen here in theUS does have a few benefits. here 25 dollars is pretty reasonable but how come you have no health insurance like blue cross and blue shield?

Hiya lelin, Sinusitis is a nasty experience if you get it bad enough I have had one or two of those as well. Anyway apart from that think its an awful lot to charge you just for checking you out like that and then charging you on top. Is that because you don´t have Insurance and they charge you like that because of you having none or is it in case you might not go to the next Appointment which I think is scandalous anyway. No we don´t get charged like that here at the moment but I can guarantee that Spain is going to have a lot of Private Practices like this soon. They have begun by charging us a Euro per perscription. Doctors here are not really free as you have to pay Health Insurance even if you are out of work. At the moment People are getting their Health cover like that but it will dwindle in time with loads of Private Practices all over this Country. Here if you fail to keep an Appointment in some places you can get charged depends on the Doctor if he is Private or National Health really. Hope you are over it now although it can take ages to clear up. In Spanish I would have felt like telling the Doctor more than the Nurse all what you felt then more than an earful I can tell you (grin). Might also have said it in English but in Spanish sounds much better I think anyway. What a lot of money to have to pay just for that. Trouble with Sinusitis is that it can make you feel really down depending on the amount of inflamation and pressure inside the Nose.xxx

I don't go to the doctor, I haven't been in quite some time. To be honest I don't believe I've ever been to the doctor with anything other then when I had medicaid as a child. I've had insurances in the past but never went to the doctor whilst having them. I have been to the hospital and to a county health department before, and the hospital was a rip off. They try to rip you off anyway they can and it's ridiculous.

Me again, I was just remembering the time I took my youngest to the main Hospital for him to be examined and I did not know that they charged you there if you needed any other kind of treatment. He was way below par in health with one Asthma attack after the other and with one Cold after another if it was not one thing it was the other. Doctor looked at him very carefully yes but then she came out with a real Bombshell for me if you want any Medical Test doing like I think he needs doing you will have to pay this and she handed me a huge amount of Papers and what it would cost me. I left there in tears I can tell you because when you do not have any money to pay for such ridiculous things that you are not even sure he needs. Because the thing is she did not even bother to explain anything much to me and said that otherwise she could not do anything else for me in particular hinting that unless I did all the Medical Tests on him that it would be useless going back. I was at my wits end honest I was. He was underweight being sick a lot and other things too. Great turnaround I just kept going for the whole next Week and I paid for an Insurance in one of Spain´s best Clinics Clinica Universitaria and it was much cheaper than all those Medical Tests they wanted me to pay for in the other Hospital. I paid for it in two or three parts and I never looked back because they started to treat him and he started to get better over time regain weight the other symptoms lessened and him and me were able to get to the main door of the house and out into the Sunshine without him being sick and me having to change him from top to bottom because of the effects of the bad medicines they were giving him you see. He spent most of his time in the Sunshine every Day of the Week I followed my instinct and he got better and better of course this was very tiring for me all I could do was to walk and walk with him but he got cured almost cured he still has a little Asthma but nothing like before. They have wonderful Specialists in that Clinic the treatment they gave him helped him to cure it a lot but also my instinct was the best medicine. Lots of fresh Air and Sunshine and keeping him out of the Heat of the very hot Days I have never regretted paying that Insurance and at least we were treated with dignity and respect. I can tell you I was so fed up of going to the normal Doctor and him fobbing me off with another Bottle of Medicine that did nothing but fill him with Toxins more and more. So Insurance for little Ones I feel is a must if they are in such a state as mine was. I was given the cold Shoulder by the ordinary Doctor because I went to that Clinic but the very same Doctor has a Private Practice and he charges a fortune how can you beat that?. Take care now.xxx

Doctors right now are scammers. Big time! Every appointment should be paid even if its only for a followup. Maybe because they feel that we're wasting their precious time. I went to a doctor last year and I waited for four hours only to be told that he doesn't want to check me up because he thinks that I'm too young to have gastric ulcers. That maybe my stomach is just hurting due to constipation or gas. And he billed my insurance that time for a nonsense 5 minutes. Turns out after a few months and going to a different doctor, after endoscopy and colonoscopy, the new doctor told me that I have new and healing ulcers and I need to take medications. I want to ring the neck of my old doctor because if it wasn't for the new doctor who examined me and took lab tests, then I'd be having serious pain right now. Here in the Philippines everything is being charged. Even if you only want to ask something and they didn't really do anything to you they still charge you a doctors fee.

It has been years I am not seeing any doctor for any treatment. Thanks to God I am healthy but my other family members especially the little one always need to bring to the clinic. Fortunately my sister does not need to pay for the treatment as her company will cover the bills. I did not know we need to pay for a follow-up.(^^)

Doctors here charge for a follow up, but not as much as the first visit for the same reason. It's more than $25, but I'm not sure just how much it is right now. You might have been able to call for the results and have your doctor phone the prescription to the pharmacy. They will do that here in some situations. I would ask the doctor about it, if I were you.

Our doctor does not charge as much for a follow up as the first appointment, but it is a lot more than $25 for the first visit. I know they are at least $70.

Yep, I would be charged for a follow up appointment however I would call the dr. and have a prescription prescribed instead of going back into the office to see her. Would require a trip to the pharmacy and I'd be on the road to recovery. I also am over 65 so my dr. visits are paid by Medicare. I also have a supplemental insurance to cover what Medicare doesn't pay. But I have to call each dr. prior to the initial visit with a new dr. to make certain they accept Medicare. Once I establish a relationship with a new doctor or old doctor, I call and talk to the dr. to get an antibiotic if needed. All this coverage costs us a pretty penny each year so I suppose nothing is free or discounted. Sorry to hear you were stiffed with a pretty good bill.

I know just what you mean. Yes my Doctor charges for follow up, but he will usually call me with lab results and then call in the necessary meds. No cost to me for the phone call.

Am I wrong if i say all doctors love ripping us off? Rip offs occur in every field including medical services.

Hi lelin! Here in the Philippines, yes.. our doctors charge us for a follow-up..

They sure do. Even if we have HMO I still feel ripped off every time I go see a doctor. There was one time I went for check up and the doctor just went over her stethoscope to listen to my heart beat and my lungs said something about it all within five minutes and were finished. Gosh! they don't even issue official reciepts for their professional fee that's why I'm happy that the government are running after them for tax evasion . Even as simple as reading an x-ray, you will be required to come back and pay another fee again .

Hi! My name is Santosh singh and I am from India. I have read your topics and wants to discuss about this with you. Yes you are right that doctors are scamming us. They have forgetton their duties and they only wants money and money. But here is also a exception. There are also some doctors in the world who beleived in following their duties honestly. In our city, there are some doctors who always try to make you fools and take money.

I do have to pay a copay when I go back for a follow-up but they should be more mindful of people and their situation. I have often felt like they order extra tests and prescribe extra medicines. I have even be skeptical of the surgeries that they have put people through sometimes. I definitely think that follow-ups should be included in the original visit. Especially if it is to let you know you are ok.