r/HealthInsurance • u/PromotionAgile • 9d ago

Plan Benefits High charge at urgent care

I was charged $900 for a 15 minute visit to urgent care. Insurance doesn't cover any of it because I have a high deductible plan. I called the medical practice saying the charge was ridiculous. They checked the billing codes and found no error.

They said the insurance company sets the price and I can file a grievance with insurance. That seems like a wild goose chase.

Why is it so expensive? Is there anything I can do to reduce the cost?

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u/FollowtheYBRoad 9d ago

Without knowing what your appointment was for, it's hard to say. Yes, for that amount of time, it does seem high, but again, we don't know what was done. (I'm not sure why people seem to normalize the high cost of these short visits.) You can try and set up a payment plan.

I dislike the high deductible plans (have one myself). If your HDHP plan has an HSA, suggest putting money aside in the HSA to help cover the medical bills. Or, at the very least, have money set aside in a savings account somewhere that is equivalent to amount of your deductible.

The HDHPs are part of the reason why people probably don't go to the doctor that often. It's just too expensive for people to come up with/meet the high deductible amount.

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u/tre91396 8d ago

Why do you dislike HDHP plans ? Do you not like to take advantage of the single best tax benefit there is in the US tax law?

You can pay a higher premium to the insurance company for a lower deductible and the insurance company keeps all that money.

Or you can pay yourself thru the HSA and you keep the money. Once you have enough in there to cover your deductible, the deductible stops mattering.

The only thing to remember, is in either case, you are paying roughly the same amount. The only difference is who has the ability/opportunity to keep that money you are paying either way.

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u/FollowtheYBRoad 8d ago

I pay an extremely high premium of over $1,500 per month for myself with a very high deductible of over $7,000 for an ACA bronze marketplace plan. If I were 20 years old and didn't go to the doctor very often, I would definitely do an HSA. That's what I've recommended to our college-age children.

We had an HSA as older parents of four kids back when we were in the workforce. We could never make it work. Every one in the family was either at the dentist, doctor, or eye doctor. We just could never save enough in it to make it work for us financially.

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u/tre91396 8d ago

That is certainly extremely high! Couldn’t imagine what the premium on the “low” deductible plan would be for you.

If it’s 2,100 a month, the higher premium is basically equal to the deductible of the HDHP.

That’s my point, one way or the other, you are paying the same amount. Only difference is who you pay it to.

Either way, I understand your feelings!