The Observation Deck

TIM:

Two points:

Last year I went to a Clinic eye doctor and was told I would have to pay a $35 facility fee. I refused. I was told that I could not see the doctor unless I paid the fee. I told his receptionist at there were a lot of other eye doctors in the phone book that didn't charge a facility fee.She told me that I should not be too upset because Medicare would pay the fee. Well, that really did it for me. The Clinic is ripping off Medicare too to grab as much money as they can. I started to walk out, but the doctor said he would see me and there would be no facility fee. I told him if there was a fee I would report that the Medicare Fraud Unit. I later got a bill for $585 for the exam. I called and they told me the reason it was so high was that I was a new patient and that I needed a Plan of Care. Well, I pointed out that I had been wearing glasses for 70 years and the charge was absurd, but I still owed them the money. I then asked what amount Medicare and my co-insurance had paid them. To their horror, they had not submitted the bill to Medicare for payment!

Second: If Lakewood Hospital Emergency Department closes and is replaced by the proposed so-called free standing 8 bed ER, Cleveland EMS no longer will to Lakewood's world-class ER because they cannot transport patients to a facility that does not have surgical facilities included. That means that about 2,500 EMS patients will be diverted the Fairview Hospital ER.

Good luck with your future health care needs.

I told them to submit it and send me the new bill. When it came, I owed the $10 and change.
So watch you bills and stand up for your rights. I have and I now go to another world class eye surgeon not affiliated with the Clinic. If you believe that you are being bulldozed by the Clinic, demand your rights by asking the doctor or whomever: "Are you violating my patient rights?

TIM:

Two points:

Last year I went to a Clinic eye doctor and was told I would have to pay a $35 facility fee. I refused. I was told that I could not see the doctor unless I paid the fee. I told his receptionist at there were a lot of other eye doctors in the phone book that didn't charge a facility fee.She told me that I should not be too upset because Medicare would pay the fee. Well, that really did it for me. The Clinic is ripping off Medicare too to grab as much money as they can. I started to walk out, but the doctor said he would see me and there would be no facility fee. I told him if there was a fee I would report that the Medicare Fraud Unit. I later got a bill for $585 for the exam. I called and they told me the reason it was so high was that I was a new patient and that I needed a Plan of Care. Well, I pointed out that I had been wearing glasses for 70 years and the charge was absurd, but I still owed them the money. I then asked what amount Medicare and my co-insurance had paid them. To their horror, they had not submitted the bill to Medicare for payment!

Second: If Lakewood Hospital Emergency Department closes and is replaced by the proposed so-called free standing 8 bed ER, Cleveland EMS no longer will to Lakewood's world-class ER because they cannot transport patients to a facility that does not have surgical facilities included. That means that about 2,500 EMS patients will be diverted the Fairview Hospital ER.

Good luck with your future health care needs.

I told them to submit it and send me the new bill. When it came, I owed the $10 and change.
So watch you bills and stand up for your rights. I have and I now go to another world class eye surgeon not affiliated with the Clinic. If you believe that you are being bulldozed by the Clinic, demand your rights by asking the doctor or whomever: "Are you violating my patient rights?

Tom....

The really curious thing was that insurance (Medical Mutual) paid 100% of the facility fee, but not all of the fee for the actual service. That's where I think CCF / Medical Mutual collusion comes into play. They pay CCF 100% of the facility fee ("Hospital Services") and leave me with a co-pay for services.

Believe me I am a pretty ruthless health care shopper. I'm not old enough for Medicare yet (though getting closer), and my company (which I co-own) has had a high deductible plan coupled with an HSA (into which the company contributes) for almost a decade.

But anyone who closely tracks what is going on, instead of just blindly paying co-pays, knows how effed up the current system is. If someone was tasked with constructing the most inefficient health care delivery system possible, it would be darn close to what we have today. Truly Rube Goldberg. Which is why our health care costs, as a percentage of GDP, are far and away the highest in the world. "Team Summers" is fighting an uphill battle. 98% of the problems with our system emanate at the Federal and state level, with our bought off politicians.

Which is why CCF "Family Health Centers" are allowed to bully patients into paying for Hospital Services that are not provided from a hospital....

Tim,

I agree with most of what you are saying, except the part about Team Summers "fighting."

I think that they have been bending over---once they got their perceived "pay off"---i.e. the land and a foundation. But they don't seem to get that the money and land are already ours and are paying more dividends in current form than any of their "BIG DREAMS" can realistically pay.

Keeping the foundation away from sunshine and oversight, i.e. diverting public assets to be controlled by the "Lakewood Not So Elite" is textbook as to how large hospital systems "bribe" certain groups and divide communities. Holding on to the dream/carrot of the "bribe" is why Team Summers is so emotionally attached to the LOI. It's all about them, not us and the underserved.

Example, on Monday night, John Bodine of Huron essentially told Madigan that the foundation was a joke--not enough to help everyone---it rocked her world, but she still holds on to the "DREAM" like a favorite stuffed animal from childhood.

In my opinion, the game is up---the only things left to be decided are how many people get sued, if anybody goes to jail and how much money each bad actor has to pay.