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Posts Tagged ‘foot’

What’s Up, Doc?

Sunday, June 2nd, 2013 2 comments

About a week and a half ago, I went to see a podiatrist to have a piece of glass removed from my foot. I stepped on a piece of glass from a broken mirror about 5 weeks earlier. Since my foot never completely healed and my regular doctor didn’t find anything, I figured I needed to get it checked out by a specialist. Also, my medical insurance that I had from working at Tactel was about a week away from expiring.

One thing I’ve noticed since I moved here is that I never have to pay anything before I leave a doctor’s or dentist’s office, even if there’s a sign stating that payment must be made at the time services are rendered. When I was in Starkville, I always had to pay something before leaving the office. There were times when I was close to broke (still in school or barely out of school) and asked if they could file it with my insurance and send me a bill later. Nope. They always wanted me to pay something before I left the office. Now that I’m in Portland and more well off, I never have to pay anything before I leave. I always stop by the checkout desk before I leave, and they look at me like they’re confused and say, “Do you need to schedule a follow-up appointment?” When I say that I don’t they tell me that they’ll bill me what my insurance doesn’t pay.

I wonder why there’s a difference. Is it because I lived in a small town then and I live in a major metropolitan area now? Is it because of the insurance plan I’m on? Maybe I’ve just been lucky with my choices of medical providers since I moved here. Who knows? It just makes me happy when doctors are more concerned about helping patients than getting money from them.

They did find some glass in my foot. I hope they got it all out. It still hurts a little, but hopefully I won’t have to go back.