I now have Medicare coverage. Let me emphasize that
1) I am grateful to have it
2) it certainly is cheaper than the COBRA insurance from my workplace (Not sure if it is cheaper than our ACA policy)
3) I am happy with the quality of health care I receive
I have always said that despite my conviction that expanded social programs of government funded health care is a wrong move for our country, i would be happy enough with the care, mainly because I dont know enough to spot problems in the low level care I consume.
But.
Now that I actually have a doctor and am under a doctors care* the usual billing problems show up. Yeah I’ve heard that and the stories about them.Even though I’m doing my damnedest to not spend my prime retirement years fussing around with stupid medical bills, they Consume my attention.
So my very first foray into medical testing, a mammogram, took place last February. Here it is October and I’m still getting bills for that event. The first bill for $300 I just paid. I didn’t want to investigate it even tho my friend said”you should look into that, mammograms are supposed to be free.” Yeah whatever, just keep me out of medical billing hell.
So when the second bill came for $200 last week I thought oh fk, this is ridiculous. I sat down with all of the billing notices from our federal government, the Medicaid statements, and couldn’t figure out much.
So I called the hospital where the mammogram event took place. They made a mistake. They overbilled me.Hunh, what a surprise. Not.
This is so incredibly irritating because this is the first medical bill I have received That I remember in decades. I mean it’s the first procedure I’ve had that I can think of in a long time. Well I did get a dog bite years ago when I was employed and that was more straightforward in that I had insurance, I had a deductible, I had to pay something on it and that was expected. But this whole mix of government paid Medicare and a supplement plan is messy.
This is mostly a rant, no real purpose other than to rant.
* I didn’t go to a doctor for around 15 years. Am now going to a Doctor who does not take insurance but requires a fee. I like that model. It’s so damn simple.P and it keeps me somewhat out of medical billing hell.