$5,000 Before the Neurosurgeon Would See Him
Thomas Zordani flew from Denver to Phoenix for a Mayo Clinic neurosurgery consult. Brain scans. Debilitating headaches. He thought he was in network.
Then the financial office asked for $5,000 before anyone would see him. Mayo had decided it did not take his plan. He was labeled self-pay. He refused. The appointment was canceled.
KFF Health News has the story. The clinic later said a portal note had estimated $565, not $5,000. An Arizona arbitrator eventually awarded him $47,500 after finding Mayo failed to warn him in time that he was out of network. The deposit demand still stands as the point.
This is not a rare glitch. Hospitals are collecting more money before care because deductibles climbed and unpaid balances climbed with them. The average deductible sits around $3,762 per person for people on employer family coverage. ACA deductibles jumped 37% this year to about $3,786. People are asked to self-insure the gap, then hand the hospital a chunk of that gap at the front desk.
I am not shocked. Insurance was supposed to open the door. Now the door has a cash drawer.
I am not anti-insurance. Keep a policy for the wreck. I am anti a system that makes you fly across the country, then auction the consult at the cashier window. Direct care already skips that theater. Flat monthly fee. No claim. No network. No $5,000 permission slip to talk to your doctor. The number on the door is the number you pay.
$5,000 is a price. It just showed up before the medicine did.