posted April 14, 2014 09:22 AM            

Obamacare patients who go to their doctors for a free annual checkup are finding out that they may have to pay for the preventative healthcare visit after all.

They are angry to learn that if they mention past or ongoing health concerns during the physical, that can result in co-pays and deductibles, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Under the Affordable Care Act, preventative care includes screenings for high blood pressure and high cholesterol counts, evaluations for several cancers and diabetes, and vaccinations. The patient is allowed, in most cases, one checkup per year.

But "wellness" care on potential new health issues is viewed as "evaluation and monitoring," and leads to patients having to fork out for the "free" annual physical.

"Patients are scheduling physicals because physicals are free," Randy Wexler, a family physician in Columbus, Ohio, told the Journal. "But they come in and say, 'I've been having headaches. My back has been bothering me and I'm depressed.' That's not part of a physical. That will trigger a copay."

Wexler says they are not happy about the charges. "They'll say, 'I have diabetes and hypertension and heart disease and seeing you is preventing them from getting worse, so that should be fully covered,'" he said. "But under that theory, everything would be free with no copay."

Doctors told the Journal that seniors have started canceling their annual wellness visits under their Medicare plans when they learn that if they mention a current health issue during the checkup they will likely be charged a co-pay.

Some doctors are even warning patients in advance of the problem and ask them to schedule two visits, one for the "annual" and another for their current health issue, according to the Journal.

Some insurers allow doctors to bill for their preventative and "non-preventative" services during the same visit using a special code called "modifier 25." But that can also lead to co-pays and confusion.

Charles Cutler, an internist in Norristown, Pa., and chairman of the American College of Physicians' board of regents, told the Journal he often gets calls from distressed patients months after their physicals saying they have been billed for co-pays.

posted May 31, 2014 03:04 PM            

By the way, my sister's Hep C was discovered in an annual (no complaint) check up. So you needn't ASK about your headaches at a check up visit, they may still be solved.

Also another example of blaming Obamacare for Insurer's decisions.

Some insurers allow doctors to bill for their preventative and "non-preventative" services during the same visit using a special code called "modifier 25." But that can also lead to co-pays and confusion
and doctors' confusion and/or decision to charge...no compulsion is apparent in "allowing" them to do so.

Teething pains and learning curves for sure. Lies? Nah.

posted June 01, 2014 08:51 AM            

Free annual checkups is just one more lie O'Bomber and his Socialist congressional comrades told America to get his monstrous POS Socialist healthcare plan passed.

demoscats are going to pay the price for having voted for the worst piece of crap legislation in the last 100 years. Most demoscats are running away from O'BomberCare as hard as they can run.

"We have to pass O'BomberCare so we can find out what's in it". The idiot congressional member from San Francisco...Nancy Pee-Lousy.

Well, demoscats passed O'BomberCare and Americans are finding out what's in it.

Higher premiums

Higher deductibles

You can't keep your doctor

You can't keep your hospital or medical clinic

Young healthy people overcharged for insurance

Men and women charged for gender specific insurance coverage which doesn't apply to their gender...and,

the list of O'BomberCare nonsense goes on and on!