Cheap health care in the Minneapolis area?

August 17, 2010 3:18 PM

I have catastrophic health insurance for the catastrophes. But until I reach that $3000 deductible, I'd really like to pay less than I currently am for checkups and other simple doctors visits. For example, I recently went in for an ear infection. My doctor took a look and prescribed an antibiotic. It took 10m and I got a bill for $200. I'm not here to complain about how expensive health care is -- that's pretty well established and has been done plenty already -- but what are my more affordable alternatives?

This link has a list of clinics at the bottom. Any thoughts on these?
http://www.ahirc.org/minneapolis_stpaul

thanks!

posted by grammalvsu to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

Health care is negotiable, though people often don't know this. The insurance companies aren't paying full price, and if you talk to the doctor's office you can often bargain them down. Start there.
posted by brainmouse at 3:27 PM on August 17, 2010

Have you asked your Dr.'s office for a cash price? I do, and I get discounts.

Ask for samples for Rxs, and always get the generic, when possible.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:32 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

I go to the Walgreens in-store Take Care clinics for small things like ear infections ... not so much because of the price but because it's such a PITA getting in to see my doctor on short, non-emergency notice. But it's much faster -- never taken more than 30 minutes -- and cost me about $70 for my most recent ear infection, including Rx that they fill immediately right there at the pharmacy.

My insurance DOES cover the Take Care clinics and counts my out-of-pocket towards my deductible and/or covers the visit. Not all insurance does, but a surprising number do, probably because it is so much cheaper.

Other chains have similar clinics that handle common minor ailments, vaccinations, even school physicals.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:44 PM on August 17, 2010 [2 favorites]

The Cedar Riverside People's Clinic isn't on the list, but they take payment for services based on your income. An ear infection and a prescription was generally about $50 out the door.

Also as others have pointed out, prices are negotiable at just about any clinic, and back when I had a high-deductible catastrophic policy, I would frequently ask for the cash price after explaining that I wasn't going to hit my deductible for the year. That price was always cheaper, and frequently a lot cheaper than the billed price, since they don't have to worry about billing you and you maybe not paying.

Samples for prescriptions are another good saving tip.
posted by DaveP at 3:54 PM on August 17, 2010

Does your employer offer an HSA? That's a great way to get your health care dollar to go further.
posted by kindall at 4:07 PM on August 17, 2010

I don't know if this works for catastrophic insurance but if the doctor is in-network for your insurance, I always have the doctor's office bill the insurance company and then any agreed upon pricing between the clinic and the insurance company gets applied and the rest shows up as "patient's responsibiity" until I hit my deductible.
posted by metahawk at 5:29 PM on August 17, 2010

I'm currently on catastrophic insurance myself and was recently shopping for better options. Maybe you already know all about insurance stuff and this is redundant, but I had no idea myself until a couple weeks ago.

What you want is a plan with a lower co-pay. My understanding of it (and someone, please correct me if I'm wrong since insurance is confusing) is that whenever you see the doctor, you pay the co-pay assigned by your insurance, and insurance pays the rest. So, if you get catastrophic insurance that includes, say, a $40 co-pay, then you can go see the doctor, slip him $40 on your way out, and walk away with no remaining bill. That is, unless you get billed for special tests, which would count towards the standard deductible. An ear infection probably wouldn't require special tests like that unless you REALLY hosed up your ear.

It only exists in certain states, but Tonik is an example of the type of plan I was considering. It's a Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan meant primarily for catastrophic coverage, but it has a relatively low co-pay for a few doc visits a year. Perhaps this or a similar plan would work for you?

Good luck. Insurance shopping is confusing.
posted by wondercow at 5:43 PM on August 17, 2010

I do the CVS MinuteClinic. My doctor is not close, and sometimes it takes a week to get an appointment, so the MinuteClinic is great for things like UTI/strep/ear infections. Cost in my area is $60ish + the antibiotics, which are cheap. It's run by nurse practitioners, but that's likely who I'd see at my doc's office anyway. They also send your test results to your physician's office.
posted by smalls at 7:02 PM on August 17, 2010

Ask your doctor to give you the same pricing insurance companies get.
posted by theora55 at 7:23 PM on August 17, 2010

That seems high for just an office visit. Was there anything different in there besides just that? Lab test or something?
posted by gjc at 8:01 PM on August 17, 2010

Ask your doctor if you really need what they're giving you, or if they're just giving it to you to make you happy.

Believe it or not, you don't usually need antibiotics for an ear infection (ok, the study was in kids up to age 12, but you'd assume adults might have similar outcomes). People do not usually accept that information very well, especially for their children who are crying about how much the ear hurts, but symptomatic treatment with anti-inflammatories like Motrin and topical ear drops have been shown to be just as effective in most cases.

But, you say, I paid the $200 for the doctor's visit! The antibiotic itself was only $4 at Wal-Mart! (or even free at Kmart!) Well, one of the dirty secrets of medicine is that you can get information for free by calling your doctor or whoever is on call for them on nights or weekends, and asking "hey, do I need to be seen for this minor issue, or can I just take pain medicines and see if it goes away within a couple of days?" You might be surprised how often the answer is the latter... Unfortunately for us doctors, we cannot charge for phone consultations, either via insurance or otherwise. It's stupid but true. Anyway, asking if you really need a medicine is often a good idea no matter what the issue is, if there's any question about it... Doctors get so used to giving people something because they expect to get complaints if they 'don't do anything' that they don't think much about it anymore.
(p.s. I do not recommend watchful waiting for UTIs. those should be treated promptly with antibiotics, but many doctors will call this Rx in for you without having seen you if you have a history of UTIs and know what it feels like.)
posted by treehorn+bunny at 8:56 PM on August 17, 2010

Response by poster: >Does your employer offer an HSA? That's a great way to get your health care dollar to go further.

My catastrophic policy actually also has an HSA option which I've started to fund. So, yes, this should help.


>That seems high for just an office visit. Was there anything different in there besides just that? Lab test or something?

I know, right? No lab tests or anything. He asked me about my wrist, and I told him it was still bothering me (I got a ganglion cyst in there, but I haven't decided yet whether I want to do anything about it), but that's it. I dunno, maybe just asking me about that added on another $100. Bleck.


Good tips everyone. Thanks so much! I'll definitely be using a lot of this stuff.
posted by grammalvsu at 1:37 PM on August 18, 2010

You could try "Online Care Anywhere". I don't know if it's open to you or not, but it costs $20 for an online doctor appointment. The three times I've used it, I've been able to get fixed right up, but online means you probably should have a fair idea what's wrong.

Online Care Anywhere, Sponsored by Blue Cross MN ... was only for Blue Cross employees when it rolled out, but it may have been expanded.
posted by dwbrant at 5:28 AM on September 1, 2010

Response by poster: Just to update -- I called my doctors office to see if I could negotiate them down on the bill. The rep I spoke to said they don't negotiate their prices, but they'd be willing to take a look to make sure everything was classified and priced properly. A week later I received a note saying that indeed, everything was done properly, and so the bill stands. *But* in my latest invoice from the clinic, that charge had been redacted. So I guess the negotiation did indeed somehow work, even if not officially.

Thanks again everyone!
posted by grammalvsu at 10:27 AM on October 8, 2010