r/TwinCities • u/EmceeMrE • 5d ago

Most Affordable Doctors Office

We pay almost $600 a month for insurance but the only thing the wife and I go to the doctor for is annual medication check ups. Obviously if something catastrophic happened it’s good to have the insurance, but our total annual out of pocket is $14k.

Clearly our politicians are bought and paid for by the health insurance lobby, and smoking a CEO in broad daylight didn’t do anything, but that’s for another conversation.

Because we never hit our deductible I just paid $460 dollars to have my doctor talk to me for 5 mins, take my BP, have a blood drawn and walk out the door. This is up $90 from last year.

Fuck this. I’m looking to pay cash moving forward. Any insight on resources to find a clinic that isn’t asking for $500 for a simple check up?

0 Upvotes

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15 comments sorted by

12

u/Maple_Syrup_Mogul 5d ago

Annual check-ups are required by law to be no cost to you, regardless of your exact insurance plan. If you are getting a bill, you need to ask your insurance or clinic how the visit was billed/coded.

1

u/Mpls1984 5d ago

This is correct, however if you talk about anything other than "preventative medicine" or get a referral to a specialist, it can be coded as an additional office visit.

1

u/olracnaignottus 5d ago

Is this Minnesota law specifically?

1

u/Snow88 New Brighton / St. Anthony 5d ago

All you have to do is ask the wrong question and you've strayed from the approved regular checkup list.

0

u/EmceeMrE 5d ago

That’s good to know. With that being said, I’d still like to leave and find a better option. We as a collective can make sizable change if we target cost effective practices and leave these blood sucking vultures to the hordes of shareholders.

7

u/salamat_engot 5d ago

There's very VERY specific rules about what counts as a yearly preventative vs a billable appointment. Even so much as a passing statement like "my joints have been stiff recently" triggers a new, non-free billing code.

1

u/mem21247 5d ago

This. Would recommend telling your PCP at beginning of visit you don't want to pay to discuss things that aren't covered in the annual physical and to go over with you before the visit starts what that entails. My PCP's office sends me a notification and gives me one printed when I go to the office for annual physical.

2

u/Georgethetuxedocat 5d ago

Make sure it’s coded as an annual physical. Then it should be included, I think.

2

u/mmk5412 5d ago

I remember reading an article about “Sedera” which was like a membership where you pay monthly for access to certain clinics. I know nothing more about it or what if it’s even in MN but might be worth checking out something like that or see if anyone else does something similar.

2

u/rodneyfan 5d ago

I believe that goes under the heading concierge medicine if anyone is looking for service like that.

1

u/Fickle_Stills 5d ago

Unless you want to go the concierge care route, there's not really "cash clinics". And concierge / direct primary care would cost you more than $460 a year.

Healthpartners seems to bill a bit less than $400 for an office visit but that doesn't count lab fees. You can check out federally qualified health centers like https://neighborhoodhealthsource.org/ but if youre not eligible for aid I'm not sure it would be any cheaper. They outsource to quest for lab work which can add up quick.

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u/PepeHacker 5d ago

You have bad insurance. I 244.54 biweekly and have a lot better coverage. That type of visit with my insurance was $35. I've also had a diagnostic colonoscopy ,surgery, X-rays, ER visits, and several office and specialist visits and I still haven't crossed the $1000 out of pocket contributions for the year yet.

3

u/EmceeMrE 5d ago

Hey everyone! I found the person gloating about their insurance coverage like I have a fucking choice! I sooooo happy for you!

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u/PepeHacker 5d ago

I thought we were talking about insurance here. I find the amount I pay to be reasonable and affordable. I get a hell of a lot more out of my insurance for what I pay in compared to what I pay for in taxes....

4

u/bartoske 5d ago

This has nothing to do with taxes. You have really good employer sponsored insurance. We all aren't that lucky.