CC on account for medical?

Kelli72 · Oct 19, 2017

Wow! I have never had anything like that happen. I never pay anything at my visit, not even a co-pay, I get a bill in the mail and pay what is due then. I don't think I would like to provide a card for lab work!

Judique · Oct 20, 2017

I have no copay for blood/lab work, but this happened to me about a year ago. I was asked to put a credit card on file by the lab.

LovesTimone · Oct 20, 2017

I personally would not give anyone my CC for them just to charge whatever, or whenever they decided on how much. Just the fact that she was so vague about the charges, would have my eternal bells going off..They do the blood draw at my Dr's office and I pay for all the service's at one time with my co-pay, visit, blood work, and/or shots if necessary or whatever... In fact I over paid back in March which I did not realize at the time as it was around the amount I normally pay, but due to the fact that they did not run some of the test the doctor ordered, I should not have been charged a co-pay on this part of the visit... and just got 22.00 dollars back last week, so almost 7 months for a refund, which I was not expecting. So Yay to refund...Nope to giving anyone my CC to just have free rein...nope not happening.

I had another thought. My Uncle managed all of my grandmothers financial needs (they had a joint CC so he could take care of her payments), so he paid her regular bills, and dealt with Medicare, the supplemental, and the secondary supplemental insurance, over all she was fairly healthy, so trying to keep everything straight was not to hard, but once her health started declining things got really sticky and he would insist on a detailed billed from all parties, before paying the bill, due to the over billing, double and even triple over billing. Keeping up with all this became almost a full time job, and trying to get a corrections would make you want to pull out all your hair. Then when she went to the nursing home it was worse. So when one of us, my mom and dad or myself would take her to the doctors before she went to the nursing home, we would get a detailed bill right then, you would be surprised at how different it would be when he would get the ones in the mail. In one month he found 6,000.00 dollars worth of over billing issues... We lost my grandmother last year in November, so almost a year now. Last month he got a late notice on a doctors bill for a visit in February of this year, how could this be when she passed away 3 months earlier. When he called to let them know there was a mistake, the office manager was beyond rude, and said they don't make mistakes, he had to take her death certificate to prove to the office manager, to get the bill removed. So my point in all this would be if they had the CC back in February, they would have just charge the CC, then my uncle would have had to deal with trying to get his money back.

havaneselover · Oct 20, 2017

gottalovepluto said:
I wouldn't have a problem either if they did it that way- CC points, yay! But if they couldn't tell me how much they would charge they can just wait for my CC until they can.

About two weeks after my visit, I was mailed a bill telling me my card would be charged $188 on a certain date in the future. It made everything simple for me and yes, I got SPG points (which I will transfer to Marriott

and transferred money from my HSA to reimburse myself.

starry_solo · Oct 20, 2017

It has not happened to me, but that's because I have a HMO where all work is done on premises and I get charged the co-pay right there.

lanejudy · Oct 20, 2017

Nope, I haven't run into that specific situation but I would refuse. We did have a couple of similar instances, though. One was a doctor's office that wanted $X from my husband and he paid upfront (because I wasn't with him) and it was a nightmare getting reimbursed back to the HSA when it turned out they overcharged. The other was a hospital wanting $Y on the day of a procedure "because that's what's left of your deductible" -- but I refused, and good thing because by the time the hospital submitted their claim for that procedure, we'd had several other claims processed as well and the remaining deductible was considerably lower (in fact, if I recall correctly, the deductible had been completely met). I won't pay upfront; my HSA specifically states not to pay until the claim has been processed and I tell the provider that. As a provider they agree to abide by the insurance terms, and once I inform them I know the terms of my coverage they don't press further.

mommajo143 · Oct 20, 2017

melanielll said:
To me, having to spend hours on the phone fixing this kind of mistake is a big deal. I had a vet charge me for my visit and the next person's visit. It took over a month to resolve.

Agreed - I was (over) charged for an appt almost a year ago. It wasn't a ton of $ & I really needed to be seen (we were out of town) so I "just paid it" figuring they would refund the overpayment...I've not gotten that money back yet - Even having the receipt showing that I was charged too much, the EOB from insurance showing what my portion should have been, etc - it's been a hassel and honestly I've almost given up.

chicagodisneyfan · Oct 20, 2017

Shrug - it doesn't bother me - and has been happening at most of my doctors for a while. In my experience, there is a no-show fee for missed appointments but outside of that nothing is charged until after 90 days of not paying a bill.
Have never used it, but the practices say it has drastically reduced the number of people who book appointments and then fail to show. Which I like - I think it is easier now to get same day appointments.
Lots of people dont pay their bills or send $5 a month - doctors have to get paid somehow.

Shanti · Oct 20, 2017

lanejudy said:
I won't pay upfront; my HSA specifically states not to pay until the claim has been processed and I tell the provider that. As a provider they agree to abide by the insurance terms, and once I inform them I know the terms of my coverage they don't press further.

That's a good point. We need to get to know our insurers' rules to protect ourselves.

Some medical providers (not all) are very poor at and/or unethical at accounting. Overcharges are extremely common. For that reason alone, I'm not writing them a blank check.

Add to this the fact that you wouldn't know in advance when or how much your card will be charged...Nope.

I don't hand anyone my credit card numbers and say, "Take whatever you want. I'll figure it out later if I disagree with what you charged."

Eureka · Oct 20, 2017

sibesx2 said:
I had some bloodwork done last week and the lab said they now require a credit card be placed on the account. First she said they would only charge what the insurance didn't pay and then she said they would only charge a max of $150. She made it sound like this is fairly common now but this is the first for me.

I refused and she said they would go ahead and do the tests this time but would probably not do it next time. I'm just not comfortable leaving my CC info for them to charge whatever they feel like. And especially since I do not have a co-pay or deductible for lab work. There is no need for them to have that info.

Has anyone had this happen?

That happened to me last time I had bloodwork. I just said I would rather be mailed a bill (for the same reasons you list) and they said no problem and I did not give them a card number.

wgeo · Oct 20, 2017

I just had this happen to me when I got bloodwork this summer. She did a very bad job of explaining it, but had paperwork so I made her wait until I could read through the paperwork. They take the cc number but don't actually charge until they get the insurance money, and there is a max amount they can charge. They also gave me an estimate. After getting the EOB from Blue Cross, their estimate wasn't even in the ball park. The weird part is that BC denied one test (to the tune of $300 for a Vitamin D test ugh) so I kept watching my CC statement for a charge for that. They've never charged.

Just took my son in for bloodwork and they asked for the cc. Gave me an estimate. Got the EOB, they were again way off on their estimate -but we only owed $4.33 total. Got an email from them the next day as a receipt and they charged my card the 4.33.

Overall if things work fine I would be very happy with the ease of it, but when things are denied I'm concerned about what could go wrong.

Grumpy's Gal · Oct 21, 2017

No way would I leave a credit card on file anywhere that multiple people could see it and without knowing how much they may charge.

Grumpy's Gal · Oct 21, 2017

What about people who don't have a credit card?

smokeyblue · Oct 21, 2017

I would refuse to do this as the only hospital in the area is notorious for sending you a bill one month and sending you back a check for the payment you made the next. I never pay any of their bills until a 3 months out to ensure they've had enough time to appropriately bill my insurance and bill be the correct amount.

Pooh2 · Oct 21, 2017

sibesx2 said:
I had some bloodwork done last week and the lab said they now require a credit card be placed on the account. First she said they would only charge what the insurance didn't pay and then she said they would only charge a max of $150. She made it sound like this is fairly common now but this is the first for me.

I refused and she said they would go ahead and do the tests this time but would probably not do it next time. I'm just not comfortable leaving my CC info for them to charge whatever they feel like. And especially since I do not have a co-pay or deductible for lab work. There is no need for them to have that info.

Has anyone had this happen?

Quest Diagnostics did this to me in July. Would not take blood until I gave her a credit card. She said that was the policy for the last 2 years.

I had bloodwork done the week before at the same facility, no one asked for my card.

For both appointments, I was billed in the regular manner after the bill was run through my insurance and my credit card was not automatically charged.

It is the cheapest lab near us so will probably continue to go there but will closely monitor my credit card after appts.

CalDisneyMomof2 · Oct 21, 2017

I think this is similar to being charged for a service prior to the service. Seems to be the norm now? My mom had an epidural earlier this year and she was required to pay her portion up front. I thought it was crazy! Then a few months later I get a bill for my baby that I have yet to deliver. That's when I realized this is the new norm.

I still haven't paid it. I think it's really silly to charge for something that can have SO many variables. What are they going to do, push the baby back in if I haven't paid? I just hate how our insurance has declined in the last several years (and by our, I mean my family's). I didn't get one bill for either of my sons nearly 9 and 7 years ago (except for the voluntary procedure for boys). Premiums are higher, deductibles are outrageous and now they want prepayment for something that can vary by several thousands of dollars! In fact, they sent me the bill while I was still in the first trimester in which there's so much uncertainty at that point!

So while I've never been asked to leave a credit card, I've been asked to prepay!

DisneyHardin · Oct 22, 2017

I had to do it for LabCorp here. I believe I got a letter telling me what was going to be charged before they did it though.

ruadisneyfan2 · Oct 23, 2017

DisneyHardin said:
I had to do it for LabCorp here. I believe I got a letter telling me what was going to be charged before they did it though.

Me too and I gave them my FSA card. For my ins (working at a hospital) it's free if I get it done at work or $20 to go to a LabCorp. I go to LabCorp because it's very close to home and I hate not having my morning coffee as soon as I wake up.
With LabCorp I can run out the door, carrying a huge mug of coffee, keep it in my car, and run in at 6:15am (empty!) and I'm back out the door in 10 mins. I chug down my coffee, go home & shower, go to work, etc.
Crazy that I'm such a caffiene addict.
Work is a 45 min commute. Too long without coffee unless I'm having surgery.

adamak · Oct 23, 2017

What happened if they ask for your CC before the treatment? I have had many doctors whom I have to hand over my card before seeing them. Now I only pay co-pay. Next year I'll have high deductibles. Can I refuse to give them my card and ask them to bill me instead? Can they legally deny me service?

lanejudy · Oct 23, 2017

adamak said:
What happened if they ask for your CC before the treatment? I have had many doctors whom I have to hand over my card before seeing them. Now I only pay co-pay. Next year I'll have high deductibles. Can I refuse to give them my card and ask them to bill me instead? Can they legally deny me service?

I have a high deductible plan. My plan has instructed me to not pay anything at the time of service, not until I receive an EOB. On the few occasions that payment has been requested upfront, I have had no problem reiterating exactly those instructions from my plan. Nobody has denied us service.

CC on account for medical?

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