I went to the eye doctor about a month ago as a new patient and was charged $150 without insurance. I knew this beforehand so I was ok with it. The doctor told me to come back in a month. I asked how much that visit would cost and he said $60. So the day before my appointment I called to confirm the cost and was told $60 by the receptionist. The doctor ended up charging me $120! I was shocked and told them it was only supposed to be $60 and that I was told that by both the receptionist and the doctor. So the nurse spoke to the doctor and came back out and said $85. I decided not to argue and paid that.
The nurse said the doctor had to do a more comprehensive exam than he originally expected so they had to charge me more for that. But then she said that next time I should ask the doctor how much it's going to be beforehand. I'm not sure if she meant I should ask during the exam or before I come in, because that's what I had done. I had taken a sedative before I went in so it didn't even occur to me to question what she meant by that.
If I had known that they could change the price like that, I would have checked during the exam. Usually, when I pay without insurance I'm told a price beforehand and the doctor sticks to it unless he needs to do something extra, like blood work and I know enough to ask how much more I'm going to be charged.
I'd like to get opinions on whether this doctor had the right to change prices on me like he did. I don't know if he was trying to scam me or not. I think he should've said during the exam that the other stuff he was doing would cost extra. He only did one extra thing that he didn't even do during the first exam when I was charged $150. Thoughts?
The nurse said the doctor had to do a more comprehensive exam than he originally expected so they had to charge me more for that. But then she said that next time I should ask the doctor how much it's going to be beforehand. I'm not sure if she meant I should ask during the exam or before I come in, because that's what I had done. I had taken a sedative before I went in so it didn't even occur to me to question what she meant by that.
If I had known that they could change the price like that, I would have checked during the exam. Usually, when I pay without insurance I'm told a price beforehand and the doctor sticks to it unless he needs to do something extra, like blood work and I know enough to ask how much more I'm going to be charged.
I'd like to get opinions on whether this doctor had the right to change prices on me like he did. I don't know if he was trying to scam me or not. I think he should've said during the exam that the other stuff he was doing would cost extra. He only did one extra thing that he didn't even do during the first exam when I was charged $150. Thoughts?