the Price of Doctors

I went to this doctor for a routine checkup and to get my medication refilled. It was just a general checkup. He asked a few questions, listened to my heart and lungs, took my blood pressure, checked the eyes and ears. The payment was just for the office call. I should have had only a $10 copay, but the doctor asked me if I still smoked. I said yes...so he (as always) added "tobacco abuse" to the diagnosis field. Someone in the billing office put that down as the primary diagnosis, and my insurance refused to pay.

The service was okay. The doctor irritates me a little bit because of his practice of writing "tobacco abuse" on everything, especially since that is not what I went to see him about, and although smoking affects a lot of conditions, it doesn't affect what I was seeing him for. $102 does seem like a lot of money for the 10 minutes I spend with him each year (at least it usually only costs me $10), but it seems that's a pretty average rate around here.

I would...and will this time...point out to the doctor that his writing those comments on receipts is not appropriate as it affects insurance payments. I can certainly understand him writing this on charts, but there's not really a need for it to be on the billing. Honestly I am considering changing doctors as his bedside manner is not really the best.