r/HealthInsurance • u/arwenthenoble • 14d ago

Claims/Providers Full office visit co-pay charged for MyChart message

I had a question about a temporary medication I was taking and sent a message via MyChart. The message was only regarding the medication (no other health questions were asked).

I received my EOB and was charged a full $50 co-pay like when I go in person for a visit or have a full video visit. When I looked online, I see in general messaging costs listed as much lower than a visit. Does this mean my insurance doesn’t differentiate a full visit from a brief question in a message? If I had known, I would’ve scheduled an online telehealth visit instead.

I’ve had a lot of medical costs this year and another random $50 stings. I will avoid using MyChart going forward.

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u/Outside_Plankton8195 13d ago

It's not common practice at all to hand out personal phone numbers to patients unless it's concierge medicine. We need professional boundaries with patients. We DO and want to care about patients but you are one of the 1000s we see. I don't know what you do for living, but imagine clients reaching out to you on the weekend or during a vacation. You'd want them to respect your privacy right? That doesn't mean you don't care about them. We need the boundaries to keep providing quality care or we would burn out. And we don't give away medical advise for free after having a half million debt and sacrificing health and putting life on pause for years in medical training.

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u/NavyBeanz 13d ago

No I was shocked he called me on a weekend after looking at the portal and then told me I could call him on the cell phone he was calling on, and would answer my texts like immediately when I did.

But he’s also 63 and one of the founders of the urology group, likely doesn’t have debt, blah blah. 

I think it USED to be this way like pre-90s before doctors had so many patients. Hell Doctors used to do house calls back in the day 

Healthcare HAS changed and I’ve been out of it for long time as a patient, then I got sick this year and came into the world of portals, and was told to communicate with the doctors with them. They responded promptly and I never questioned it because they never made it seem like a problem or something they’d charge for. If it’s not a problem for them why is it a problem for me?

My other specialist is also 50 so maybe he’s not worried about loans anymore either