{{ Helene Schilders of Seattle went to her dermatologist for her annual skin check this year, she mentioned a skin tag that her clothing was irritating. The doctor froze the tag with liquid nitrogen. “It was squirt, squirt. That’s it,” Schilders told me. She was “floored” by an explanation of benefits that said the simple treatment had been billed as $469 for surgery.
Assuming the bill was a mistake, she called the doctor’s office and was told that surgery had indeed occurred — because the skin was broken in the process. Hence surgical CPT code 17100, “destruction of 1-14 benign lesions.”
Schilders complained to her insurer, who provided a document informing her that “surgery is classified as something entering the body, such as a Q-tip entering the ear canal or a scalpel during surgery.”
Huh? “I have had surgery, and this is not it,” Schilders said. }}
…and don’t forget, if they insert that Q-tip in your ear in a hospital setting, you’re going to pay for anesthesia services, whether you get anesthesia or not.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/09/medical-billing-surgery/
I love these health insurance stories. No wonder people hate insurance executives and the politicians they’ve bought & paid for. {{ LOL }}
Apparently I got a bargain 30 years ago when the liquid nitrogen was only $60 per spritz.
Note: This kind of price gouging is the result of the work of the RUC committee. Write your congresscritter to put an end to it.
intercst