[shrink]

Has anyone ever heard of a villages dr. who wants payment up front, not just for visits, but also for testing? He says that Medicare and our secondary BC/BS will reimburse US, but I never heard of this before. Any words of wisdom, confirmation, etc?

[aljetmet]

Do not pay! Medicare will pay the DR ( or your plan) not you!

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by shrink

Has anyone ever heard of a villages dr. who wants payment up front, not just for visits, but also for testing? He says that Medicare and our secondary BC/BS will reimburse US, but I never heard of this before. Any words of wisdom, confirmation, etc?

Originally Posted by aljetmet

Do not pay! Medicare will pay the DR ( or your plan) not you!

I totally agree with aljetmet:

Unless I am missing something, my understanding is..........

The doctor has to agree with Medicare on what his payment will be for their services rendered. If you pay your bill in full, you will be absorbing a loss from what the doctor charged Medicare and what they agreed on reimbursement should be.

Your only payment to a doctor should be your co-pay for the initial visit.

IMHO - I would go to another doctor that bills Medicare directly.

[Doodlegirl]

-at least it appears to be from Medicare and it is framed right near the admission desk. It reads something like...If you are a medicare patient and you are asked to pay in advance, please do not. If you feel you have been forced to pay please call Medicare at XXXX or call your local Medicare office.
It is worded much better than what I just outlined, but it was prominently displayed. Possibly your physician is not yet conncected to, or chooses not to be connected to Medicare. I would double check by going to vitals or another site and see what you can find by typing in your physician's name.
There is a place with the physician's name that shows what insurances the doctor accepts. If your doc isn't with Medicare, then you would have to follow his or her office policies if you want to continue to use this physician.