Today’s guest blogger is Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC. You’ve seen her on Oprah. She’s been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Malaysia’s Star newspaper and the Borneo Bulletin, to name a few. She is an international speaker, bestselling author – a pro at workplace effectiveness.
No one likes a surprise bill. Whether if it’s for more than expected, or for something you thought was included in the price. So when should any extra charges be discussed?
Common sense says they should be discussed before the service is provided or the product delivered. But some employees are either timid about mentioning it or not aware that the customer may have a problem with the increased charge.
Case in point: A recent unexpected charge after a doctor’s visit.
For the last 10 years, I’ve belonged to an HMO that covers nearly everything for a reasonable co-pay. Name-brand prescriptions are more, and a few procedures may cost an extra co-pay. I’m grateful that I’ve been healthy and not had onerous health expenditures. So imagine my surprise to be billed $550 for a 30-second medical procedure that I thought was included in my co-pay.
Common sense says that any unexpected charges should be discussed before the service is provided or the product delivered.
While I suppose I should have asked the doctor if there would be an extra charge, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to ask since in the last 10 years, I’ve not been charged more than the co-pay for this bi-annual check up. I realize that doctors often don’t know if there is an extra charge, but I think now, in these days of financial uncertainty, it is their responsibility to discuss with the patient that there may be. There can then be a discussion on how critical the procedure is and the nurse or MA can look up the charge before the procedure is done. I think saddling a patient with an unexpected $550 charge for a non-critical procedure is unacceptable. more…
















































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