Doctor! Doctor! I am sick

I hate being in hospitals. In fact, the only times I have been hospitalized was when I gave birth to my kids. Well, that was until two weeks ago when I had to be admitted in one of the hospitals in the city to undergo a D&C.

Being a stranger to hospitals, I also have only a little knowledge when it comes to the ways and practices of hospitals and doctors. Imagine my surprise when I was informed that our HMO will shoulder my hospital bill! This was the first time that I used my HMO benefits! I was really relieved when I heard the news because frankly, hospital bills don’t come cheap. My surprise turned into curiosity, however, when one of the doctors who attended to me, told me that the HMO does not pay for her professional fee in full, and that I needed to pay an additional P4,000 to her, in her clinic.

Confused about who was telling me the truth, the HMO representative or the doctor, and saddened that I “owed” the doctor P4,000, I called the HMO representative to clarify things. It was then that I learned that the HMO will pay for professional fees of all the doctors who attended to me. The HMO Rep. told me that all my expenses – doctor’s fees and hospital fees – will be shouldered by the HMO. The representative specifically told me not to pay the doctor anything.

Why then did that doctor ask me to pay her an additional P4,000? And why did that doctor ask me to make the additional payment in her clinic when her professional fee was reflected in my hospital bill? Was this case isolated or is this the practice of most doctors? Honestly, I really have no idea. And I did not go back to the doctor in question for a follow-up check-up because she might ask for the additional P4,000 payment and I am uncomfortable with the idea of me telling her that the HMO told me that it is not right that I pay her an additional P4,000 when her professional fee will be shouldered by the HMO.

A lot of my friends volunteered possible reasons: One is that the doctor probably wanted a bigger PF than what the HMO approves. Another is that the doctor wanted to see if I can be “duped” into paying more. If I pay the additional amount she was asking, then good, if not, then it does not matter.

I do not hate the doctor in question. In fact, I am thankful to her for taking good care of me. However, I am writing this because I want to be enlightened, and I want to enlighten others, too. Many people get admitted to hospitals everyday. Rarely do hospitals get zero occupancy. And many of these people who get hospitalized do not have the courage to ask things, especially about matters concerning their bills.

Money does not come easy these days, especially with the financial crises and all. If there are ways to save a little, then we would want to save. These are times when we keep track of how we spend our hard earned money. These are times when we should help each other and not cheat on innocent people.

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