[Expletive]!
Last fall, during the state fair, Jen was raving about this new doctor she had been seeing. Apparently this guy, who is also a chiropractor, also does a lot of differing healing practices; a "whole body" approach. Specifically, he had tested her blood and found out why she was feeling so down, etc. Some vitamins, change in diet, etc. and she was feeling much better. Jen was raving about this guy and suggested I go.
You may not know this, but I have had serious back problems for 20 years. I even had major back surgery for it with little improvement. Over the years I have tried this and that. Each time, it just so happens that whatever a person practices (acupuncture, chiropractic, surgery, even generic PT) just so happens to be what I need to fix me. Uh huh. I've kept an open mind; let everybody take a crack. They eventually give up (or I do) and my back still hurts. But, I highly value Jen and Jer's opinion and this place sounded great, so I made an appointment.
Now, the first error I must confess is not making an appointment with Dr. Troy as Jen suggested. While she got follow up treatments with his partner, Dr. Chris, she suggested that Dr. Troy was "the man to see." Well, Dr. Troy's schedule was full for weeks and weeks and my back was killing me. Dr. Chris had an opening. And, what the heck, he's Dr. Troy's partner, right? I mean, it's one small practice and they both operate using the same overall philosophy, I figured.
The small office looked a lot like a lawyer's office. Maybe it was once. It's a small but very attractive place with detailed wood accents, a beautiful tile floor, and LCD monitors on the wall. It's those monitors that first made me feel a bit weird. On them was a never-ending slide-show about all the wonderful benefits of Chiropractic, yada yada. It was a pretty strong pitch. Jennifer, the receptionist who gave me a tour, also showed me this literature room that almost seemed like a temple of success. They even had a huge map on the wall with pushpins representing the locations of people they helped. It just felt like the line between informing their customers and an Amway-like pitch was about to be crossed. It was close, anyway. This place had Jen's endorsement.
My first appointment was what you'd expect, about 90% an interview about my medical history, complaints, etc. I mentioned my usual lower back pain along with the more recent pain in my right hip and lack of motion and numbness in my arms. Dr. Chris then went through a very cool procedure whereby he tested my muscle strength at various angles and positions. At the end he did a quick chiropractic adjustment. He also suggested that we get an MRI of my low-back and hips to see what we were dealing with. After the results were back, in a few days, I'd come in for a follow-up. It should be noted that I mentioned to him my history with different medical disciplines and subsequent disappointment. He assured me that they wouldn't recommend something unles sthey were sure they could treat it; they were looking out for their patients' well being. Okay.
I got the MRI and scheduled a follow-up for 3 days later, as it had been suggested that the results would be back to Dr. Chris within 48 hours. Their receptionist called to confirm my appt the day before. I asked about the MRI results and they had not yet come in. "They're supposed to be here tomorrow," she said. I suggested that the entire point of my follow-up visit was to review the MRI findings, that I push it out until a day after they had arrived. She agreed.
I came in for my follow-up appt. Dr. Chris asked if the adjustment from the week prior had helped any. I think it had and told him as much. He did another adjustment, this one a little more thorough. He then presented me with a 2-3 page, pre-prepared suggested course of therapy. They had checked my insurance coverage and determined that if i were to follow the recommended treatment my out-of-pocket would be about $1400. Ouch. I asked if he though this course of action would help with the arm numbness thing. It looked as if I caught him off guard. He paused for a bit and stammered something about making sure my whole back got adjusted, and that the PT guy also worked peoples' arms, etc. I got the uneasy feeling that the numbness in my arms did not make it into his diagnosis and that my question was being blown off, but he seems like a really nice guy so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
I also asked him "So, did the MRI show my back or hips to be a big mess? Was the cause of pain obvious?" Again, that caught-off-guard look came over his face and he confessed "Oh, I haven't reviewed your MRI yet." What?! I thought that was the whole point of my visit! I had a hard time rationalizing how he came up wit ha course of treatment (based on, I assume, an actual diagnosis) without even looking at the MRI he himself requested. I gave him a puzzled look, but didn't say anything. I was already too stunned by the price. This little nugget just made me want to get the hell out of there. He told me to make sure to schedule an appointment with Jennifer on the way out. I didn't. I just went home.
A week or so went by; I don't quite recall. As should come as no shock, Dr. Chris called to see why I had not come back in. Melinda was home that day and took the call. I was on a conference call at the time. He apparently relayed to her that he reviewed the MRI (finally!) and really didn't see much wrong. He asked her to tell me to call back when I could. I didn't I was busy and still trying to budget for this "treatment." I was also getting about bummed out again about this whole thing.
Last week sometime (maybe it was two weeks ago; whatever.) Dr. Chris called again. He got me this time. I relayed that I was not able to budget for the cost of treatment at this time and that maybe I should have sought out somebody who my insurance considered In Network. He again gave me their spiel about payment plans. He also said that the MRI wasn't very conclusive and that they wanted me to go back in. This time, his office would pay for the MRI. "How much did you wind up paying?" he asked.
"Nothing," I said. "Not even the co-pay. I assume it was fully covered. Nobody mentioned one word about the price. Things like this have been fully covered for me in the past, so I didn't think much of it. Why?"
"Well, normally they're anywhere from $1800 to over $2000. SOme of my patients have had to pay just a small co-pay, other have to carry almost the entire bill. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that we'll pay for it the second time." The latter was obviously the point he wanted to make, how generous and caring they were. SO much so they'd pay for an MRI to get me to come back in for treatment. Yay.
I'll pause here and admit this was a big F-up on my part. I should have checked to see what was covered for the MRI and what wasn't. Melinda even told me to and I didn't. Shame on me for not doing that. But, shame on all the other people involved for not mentioning it!
"Oh wow, I had no idea the MRI would cost that much. I wish I would have known."
"Oh well, I'm sure you were covered, especially if you haven't seen a bill yet." he said. He was trying very hard to get me to get that 2nd MRI scheduled and then set up an appointment with them. They'd pay for it, you know! He must have mentioned that a least 4 times. I said I'd check my schedule and get back to him. I also took this opportunity to ask what the MRI showed about my arm numbness.
"Arm numbness? Did you mention something about that when you first came in? I have to admit that I don't have your chart in front of me right now." Wait a minute. This guy calls me to discuss my treatment and not only does he not recall this arm thing again, but he doesn't have my data right fucking there on his desk when he calls?! Cripes.
Oh, and it gets better...
A bill came from my insurance company this weekend. Did they cover a portion of my MRI? They sure did. The portion I have to pay? $1800. $1756.94, to be exact. I don't have this money. We just adopted a child in the last few years. I'm in debt deep. I have explained this to DR. Chris more than once. Does it look like it sunk in?
Jen,and now Jer, have both had wonderful experiences with Dr. Troy. They love this place and I am really really happy for them. Really. Why, then, have I had this experience. "Should've gon to Dr. Troy," they say. That seems so very true now.
I'm too pissed to call their office. Maybe tomorrow I will. Maybe I'll go in. Heck, maybe I'll just gripe to some agency like the BBB. It won't get me anywhere, but it might make me feel better. I'm out almost two thousand dollars, my back still hurts, and I have yet to even begin the "treatment" that was recommended to me. Yay.
You may not know this, but I have had serious back problems for 20 years. I even had major back surgery for it with little improvement. Over the years I have tried this and that. Each time, it just so happens that whatever a person practices (acupuncture, chiropractic, surgery, even generic PT) just so happens to be what I need to fix me. Uh huh. I've kept an open mind; let everybody take a crack. They eventually give up (or I do) and my back still hurts. But, I highly value Jen and Jer's opinion and this place sounded great, so I made an appointment.
Now, the first error I must confess is not making an appointment with Dr. Troy as Jen suggested. While she got follow up treatments with his partner, Dr. Chris, she suggested that Dr. Troy was "the man to see." Well, Dr. Troy's schedule was full for weeks and weeks and my back was killing me. Dr. Chris had an opening. And, what the heck, he's Dr. Troy's partner, right? I mean, it's one small practice and they both operate using the same overall philosophy, I figured.
The small office looked a lot like a lawyer's office. Maybe it was once. It's a small but very attractive place with detailed wood accents, a beautiful tile floor, and LCD monitors on the wall. It's those monitors that first made me feel a bit weird. On them was a never-ending slide-show about all the wonderful benefits of Chiropractic, yada yada. It was a pretty strong pitch. Jennifer, the receptionist who gave me a tour, also showed me this literature room that almost seemed like a temple of success. They even had a huge map on the wall with pushpins representing the locations of people they helped. It just felt like the line between informing their customers and an Amway-like pitch was about to be crossed. It was close, anyway. This place had Jen's endorsement.
My first appointment was what you'd expect, about 90% an interview about my medical history, complaints, etc. I mentioned my usual lower back pain along with the more recent pain in my right hip and lack of motion and numbness in my arms. Dr. Chris then went through a very cool procedure whereby he tested my muscle strength at various angles and positions. At the end he did a quick chiropractic adjustment. He also suggested that we get an MRI of my low-back and hips to see what we were dealing with. After the results were back, in a few days, I'd come in for a follow-up. It should be noted that I mentioned to him my history with different medical disciplines and subsequent disappointment. He assured me that they wouldn't recommend something unles sthey were sure they could treat it; they were looking out for their patients' well being. Okay.
I got the MRI and scheduled a follow-up for 3 days later, as it had been suggested that the results would be back to Dr. Chris within 48 hours. Their receptionist called to confirm my appt the day before. I asked about the MRI results and they had not yet come in. "They're supposed to be here tomorrow," she said. I suggested that the entire point of my follow-up visit was to review the MRI findings, that I push it out until a day after they had arrived. She agreed.
I came in for my follow-up appt. Dr. Chris asked if the adjustment from the week prior had helped any. I think it had and told him as much. He did another adjustment, this one a little more thorough. He then presented me with a 2-3 page, pre-prepared suggested course of therapy. They had checked my insurance coverage and determined that if i were to follow the recommended treatment my out-of-pocket would be about $1400. Ouch. I asked if he though this course of action would help with the arm numbness thing. It looked as if I caught him off guard. He paused for a bit and stammered something about making sure my whole back got adjusted, and that the PT guy also worked peoples' arms, etc. I got the uneasy feeling that the numbness in my arms did not make it into his diagnosis and that my question was being blown off, but he seems like a really nice guy so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
I also asked him "So, did the MRI show my back or hips to be a big mess? Was the cause of pain obvious?" Again, that caught-off-guard look came over his face and he confessed "Oh, I haven't reviewed your MRI yet." What?! I thought that was the whole point of my visit! I had a hard time rationalizing how he came up wit ha course of treatment (based on, I assume, an actual diagnosis) without even looking at the MRI he himself requested. I gave him a puzzled look, but didn't say anything. I was already too stunned by the price. This little nugget just made me want to get the hell out of there. He told me to make sure to schedule an appointment with Jennifer on the way out. I didn't. I just went home.
A week or so went by; I don't quite recall. As should come as no shock, Dr. Chris called to see why I had not come back in. Melinda was home that day and took the call. I was on a conference call at the time. He apparently relayed to her that he reviewed the MRI (finally!) and really didn't see much wrong. He asked her to tell me to call back when I could. I didn't I was busy and still trying to budget for this "treatment." I was also getting about bummed out again about this whole thing.
Last week sometime (maybe it was two weeks ago; whatever.) Dr. Chris called again. He got me this time. I relayed that I was not able to budget for the cost of treatment at this time and that maybe I should have sought out somebody who my insurance considered In Network. He again gave me their spiel about payment plans. He also said that the MRI wasn't very conclusive and that they wanted me to go back in. This time, his office would pay for the MRI. "How much did you wind up paying?" he asked.
"Nothing," I said. "Not even the co-pay. I assume it was fully covered. Nobody mentioned one word about the price. Things like this have been fully covered for me in the past, so I didn't think much of it. Why?"
"Well, normally they're anywhere from $1800 to over $2000. SOme of my patients have had to pay just a small co-pay, other have to carry almost the entire bill. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that we'll pay for it the second time." The latter was obviously the point he wanted to make, how generous and caring they were. SO much so they'd pay for an MRI to get me to come back in for treatment. Yay.
I'll pause here and admit this was a big F-up on my part. I should have checked to see what was covered for the MRI and what wasn't. Melinda even told me to and I didn't. Shame on me for not doing that. But, shame on all the other people involved for not mentioning it!
"Oh wow, I had no idea the MRI would cost that much. I wish I would have known."
"Oh well, I'm sure you were covered, especially if you haven't seen a bill yet." he said. He was trying very hard to get me to get that 2nd MRI scheduled and then set up an appointment with them. They'd pay for it, you know! He must have mentioned that a least 4 times. I said I'd check my schedule and get back to him. I also took this opportunity to ask what the MRI showed about my arm numbness.
"Arm numbness? Did you mention something about that when you first came in? I have to admit that I don't have your chart in front of me right now." Wait a minute. This guy calls me to discuss my treatment and not only does he not recall this arm thing again, but he doesn't have my data right fucking there on his desk when he calls?! Cripes.
Oh, and it gets better...
A bill came from my insurance company this weekend. Did they cover a portion of my MRI? They sure did. The portion I have to pay? $1800. $1756.94, to be exact. I don't have this money. We just adopted a child in the last few years. I'm in debt deep. I have explained this to DR. Chris more than once. Does it look like it sunk in?
Jen,and now Jer, have both had wonderful experiences with Dr. Troy. They love this place and I am really really happy for them. Really. Why, then, have I had this experience. "Should've gon to Dr. Troy," they say. That seems so very true now.
I'm too pissed to call their office. Maybe tomorrow I will. Maybe I'll go in. Heck, maybe I'll just gripe to some agency like the BBB. It won't get me anywhere, but it might make me feel better. I'm out almost two thousand dollars, my back still hurts, and I have yet to even begin the "treatment" that was recommended to me. Yay.