greenber@timeinc.UUCP (Ross M. Greenberg) (08/19/85)
Interesting problem (to me at least!):
Called up a new dentist a while ago for a full exam.
Asked how much it cost and was told $160 (NYC *is* expensive!)
Went for the exam. Was told to come back a week later for
further cleaning. Came back, got two cavities filled,
and got the rest of the cleaning done.
I was then presented for a bill for $340. Seems like the doc
wants to charge me for the second visit, and for the fillings.
I feel that he had the obligation to advise me that additional visits
and/or work cost more. Obviously, I should have asked, but didn't.
I refuse to pay that portion over $160. My way of looking at it:
he didn't advise me, and in my field (or at least with me) if I
neglect to advise a client that additional work equates to additional
cost on a fixed fee job, then I eat the cost.
What do you doctors and lawyers have to say.
Final note: I just got a call from the doc's lawyer:
looks like legal action time!
Thanks for any advice...
--
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Ross M. Greenberg @ Time Inc, New York
--------->{vax135 | ihnp4}!timeinc!greenber<---------
I highly doubt that Time Inc. would make me their spokesperson.
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"You must never run from something immortal. It attracts their attention."
-- The Last Unicornjmc@riccb.UUCP (Jeff McQuinn ) (08/20/85)
> Called up a new dentist a while ago for a full exam. > Asked how much it cost and was told $160 (NYC *is* expensive!) > > Went for the exam. Was told to come back a week later for > further cleaning. Came back, got two cavities filled, > and got the rest of the cleaning done. > > I was then presented for a bill for $340. Seems like the doc > wants to charge me for the second visit, and for the fillings. What the hell did this guy do for $160 if he DIDN'T clean your teeth or do any repair work? Sounds to me like this guy charged you $160 to get aquinted and shoot $15 worth of X-rays. Doctors in Chicagoland charge only $25 - $50 for an office visit. Dentists in this area charge about $25 for cleaning, and about $70 a tooth for repairs. Panaramic X-rays go for about $35. Sounds to me like this guy (maybe all NYC dentists) is ripping you off! Still I think you are obliged to pay the bill. Your first statement implies that you were told the $160 was for an EXAM. It should have been therefore logical to assume that further work would cost more. (My God though, $340 for an exam, two cavities and a cleaning?) Jeff McQuinn just VAXing around --> $340 <-- Man, I should have been a thief (uh, I mean dentist)
geb@cadre.ARPA (Gordon E. Banks) (08/22/85)
Well, you probably should ask your lawyer, but, although $160 for an exam sounds outrageous, unless the dentist spent more than 90 minutes on it (himself), unless there was some understanding that follow-up visits are free, you are probably liable. There are a few (very few) surgeons who give free follow-up care, but 99.9% of them it is a new charge every time you come. They aren't obligated to tell you in advance the fee for each visit unless you specifically ask. Most people don't ask. I would suggest a trip to New Jersey or Connecticutt for future dental work.
wa263@sdcc12.UUCP (bookmark) (08/25/85)
In article <498@cadre.ARPA>, geb@cadre.ARPA (Gordon E. Banks) writes: > > Well, you probably should ask your lawyer, but, although > $160 for an exam sounds outrageous, unless the dentist spent > more than 90 minutes on it (himself), unless there was some > understanding that follow-up visits are free, you are probably > liable. There are a few (very few) surgeons who give free > follow-up care, but 99.9% of them it is a new charge every time > you come. They aren't obligated to tell you in advance the fee for each > visit unless you specifically ask. Most people don't ask. > I would suggest a trip to New Jersey or Connecticutt for future > dental work. In sunny California, when a physician or dentist undertakes to perform a certain procedure, his fee usually (not unusually) includes whatever care that procedure entails, though materials may be charged separately. For instance, an oral surgeon who undertakes to remove some impacted wisdom teeth may require three office visits: one for X-rays and preliminary examination, one for the surgery, and one for suture removal and followup examination. All of these will be included in the single fee for the procedure, which will be discussed at the outset. Disposables (like drugs, sutures, sponges, etc.) might appear on the bill separately. Complications may cause the fee to go up, but if they're iatrogenic, or *should* have been forseen upon the preliminary exam, the doctor usually swallows the extra cost himself. I'd be quite upset to get an extra bill for something (a visit) that the doctor told me to do (``come back on Wednesday'') as part of care for which the fee had already been discussed. Now, if the doctor saw that I had a ragged tooth and said: ``I could grind that down for you if you'd like...'' and I said, ``that'd be nice, when could you do it?'' then I would consider that we were discussing a new procedure with, presumably, a new fee, and I'd ask ``how much will you charge for that?'' An ethical doctor would tell me, *even if I didn't ask,* something like ``that'll cost you thirty dollars.'' bookmark