By Virgil Wong
You wake up one morning and see that your discolored toenail isn’t improving from an over-the-counter cream. You have a pretty good insurance plan from your employer, so you don’t think twice about scheduling an appointment with a podiatrist in your network. He clips the toenail and sends it to the lab for analysis.
Toe fungus is confirmed, and the physician recommends XXXXX. But he warns there could be harmful effects on your kidneys. You decline the medication, and he recommends the same cream you’ve already been using. You live with the discolored toenail.
Then you get bills for:
- $519.00 BIOPSY NAIL UNIT SEPARATE PROCEDURE (clipping the toenail with a nail clipper)
- $333.00 Op New Visit Level 3 (this is charged for you as a new patient to this specific doctor)
- $702.00 DETECT AGNT MULT DNA AMPLI (testing the toenail)
Your insurance company covers part of the lab tests, but you still have to pay $254.60 out-of-pocket. The payer does not complete the claim until over a year later, and now, the provider is asking you to pay another $332.11.