It’s a financial jungle out there, so an essential part of wise money management is being vigilant about ferreting out shady deals. That’s the message of Bob Sullivan’s new book, Stop Getting Ripped Off. As summarized by MSN, one common ploy he warns against is the bait and switch, in which companies lure us in with one price only to hit us with added fees. While he singled out cell phone, television service, and car rental companies as frequent purveyors of the bait and switch, I felt victimized by this tactic during a recent doctor’s visit.
I hurt one of my feet almost two months ago. Finally realizing that it wasn’t going to heal on its own, I asked my primary doctor for a referral and made an appointment with one of his recommended podiatrists. I checked with my insurance company before going on the appointment to make sure such a visit would be covered. Once there, I received good news that there was no stress fracture, which I was concerned about, and was given a prescription for an anti-inflammatory medicine. Then, almost as an afterthought, I was told that a set of custom shoe inserts would help the problem from recurring.
Since it all happened so casually, I didn’t think anything of it when they started making a custom mold of my feet. It was only when I was checking out that I was informed of the outrageous price and that it may or may not be covered by insurance. I would have 24 hours to contact my insurance company and, if need be, cancel the inserts. Regardless, another sizable fee had already been generated by making the molds.
Later that day I found out that the work would be covered by insurance. If it wasn’t, it’s likely that I would have cancelled the order. However, I would have been stuck for the full price of the molds. Lesson learned: get all fee information up front, whether renting a car, ordering phone service, or having a medical procedure.
Defensive spending in regard to medical care is a new experience for me too. Recently my daughter needed her wisdom teeth removed. She went to an oral surgeon who called and “verified” that the insurance would cover a percentage of the cost of surgery. We went ahead with the surgery and later discovered that the common practice of this dental office was to get a telephoned quote and submit a claim, all the while knowing that the dental insurance industry typically wants to pre-approve these kinds of medical treatment! I didnt know this and the bottom line was I was stuck paying an unexpected $750 of the $1900 total cost of surgery because the insurance co would not approve after the fact. The medical office knew this could happen and did not inform me. Unfortunately it was ultimately my responsibility to be aware of my policy’s coverage and so the lesson learned is READ THE FINE PRINT and do not trust medical office personnel to do the work for you.