HeidiD Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 The neuropsychs we were referred to by our insurance company have billed $10,550.00 for services encompassing between five and six hours face time with our son, and some phone interviews (pediatrician, speech therapist, two other adults who work with him, and me). This and and a summary report they emailed to us were the sum total of services provided. The final amount they are billing is quadruple the fee estimate we agreed upon and signed a preliminary contract for. I understand from other posters here that these charges are much higher than the typical fee for these services. Is there some way to prove that these charges are in excess of industry standards and therefore excessive? I have no idea how to go about refuting this, or even what neuropsychs typically charge per hour, but we're being charged nearly $1,000 per hour (rough estimate based on the time they spent directly with our son, and the time to produce a report) and that can't be right. Plus, they jacked up the charges after the fact, without providing any services in addition to what we agreed upon. :tongue_smilie: Is this typical of the way neuropsychs operate? What recourse is there when this happens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Something is fishy here. I would call the billing department first and ask if there is an error. Do you have a copy of the fee estimate? I would also call your insurance company and let them know what is going on. I would hope they would stop making referals if this is a "correct" bill. After that, I would start putting up a big stink over the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiD Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Something is fishy here. I would call the billing department first and ask if there is an error. Do you have a copy of the fee estimate? I would also call your insurance company and let them know what is going on. I would hope they would stop making referals if this is a "correct" bill. After that, I would start putting up a big stink over the bill. Yes, this is a "correct" bill, haha! I do have copies of everything, luckily. I'm just wondering how to "put up a big stink" :) - how to actually document that these charges are at least double or triple the norm. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 The final amount they are billing is quadruple the fee estimate we agreed upon and signed a preliminary contract for. It seems to me that a contract is binding in two ways. It protects them *and* you. What exactly does the contract say? Do you know any lawyers? Because I think that's where this might be headed. My son has had several rounds of this sort of testing done and we've never had a surprise at the end regarding fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I would begin by calling your insurance company. Just call the member services number you would have on your card. Tell them what you wrote here. They may want you to fax copies of the contract agreements to them. THen let them handle it for a time. Several years ago I had surgery and the initial bill came back outrageous. When I called the insurance company they began communicating with the hospital and the bill went down to where it should be. Some of mine was billing errors, some of it IMO was the hospital attempting to see how much they could get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiD Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 It seems to me that a contract is binding in two ways. It protects them *and* you. What exactly does the contract say? Do you know any lawyers? Because I think that's where this might be headed. Gosh, I hope not. My SIL is a lawyer, but I'm hoping to make this go away without legal hassles. :tongue_smilie: The contract says "estimate" (not "blank check! :lol:). My son has had several rounds of this sort of testing done and we've never had a surprise at the end regarding fees. Glad to hear it. I have another child I might like to have tested, but not if the costs can't be predetermined. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiD Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 some of it IMO was the hospital attempting to see how much they could get. I think that's what's going on here. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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