Is this typical for weekend dr's appts??

[LMPC]

So first let me say that I :heartbeat: our ped's office. And I'm not changing because of what happened. I'm just looking for some feedback as to whether or not my surprised reaction to the bill I got today is over the top...

So in October, DD had a cold and we took her to the dr's on the weekend (they do sick visits sat and sun). No biggie....she had an EI, dr rx antibiotics, and we were on our way. FF to today and I get the bill in the mail. I expect the typical $61 charge (which is what they allowable is for our insurance)...but there's also a $50 extra charge. Doesn't say what it is, but I googled the ICD-9 code and find out it's charge for after hours services. I just find this a little odd because 1) this practice prides itself on being open 362 days of the year and 2) this extra charge was never mentioned (like the oncall charge of $10 was when started there....it's $10 if you have to use the after hours nurses' service that they contract with).

So I guess what I am asking is....do other dr's offices charge for weekend visits like this...and should I not be shocked that it wasn't talked about...ever?

Obviously, I am going to pay the bill. But feedback would be helpful. Thanks!

[WolfpackMom]

Our office charges $30 and they bill to insurance first and if insurance doesn't cover it then you pay. They are very up front about it though, it's posted on the rooms and on the website and it's also emphasized that those are sick visits only.

[Dr C]

Ours does charge an after hours fee for weekends and evenings. I think it's pretty standard.
The docs and nurses etc don't have to work weekends. They do it to provide a service to their patients. There are many offices that say you just need to go to the ED or an urgent care (which in general are more expensive and often don't provide such great care) on weekends. Your doc has chosen to provide services on weekends--I'm sure he would rather be hanging out with his own family. It makes sense to me that he should be compensated a little extra for doing so. That's my take on it anyway.

[gobadgers]

Our ped office has surcharges for Sunday appts, but it is posted in BIG letters in their office and even on their appointment cards. I think ours is $25-30.

So for me, the problem would be the fact that it's not posted/mentioned. Maybe they usually do mention it whenever a Sunday appt is made, but obviously it doesn't happen every time if they didn't mention it to you. It sounds like you like this practice; I would just let them know that you were not told about the charge and were surprised by it.

[LMPC]

I would just let them know that you were not told about the charge and were surprised by it.

Yeah that's my plan.

And Dr C, I totally get your point about them not *having* to work on the weekends but this practice has 7 docs. So it's not like one person is constantly giving up her/his weekend to cover so that the sick kids don't end up in the ED. It just seemed like one of the positive aspects that they highlighted in coming to a larger practice.

Alright, so what I am hearing is that it's fairly typical fee and that our practice just didn't communicate the fee very well. No biggie...I'll totally get over it! ....see, over it already! LOL!

[Snow mom]

Yes, our practice has a $50 charge as a "convenience fee" for weekend appts (or their evening clinic). They are very upfront about the fee though and the fact that most insurance won't cover it.

[veronica]

It seems odd that they would not have let you know in advance. They may even have it posted in the office, but you had not noticed?

I agree with letting them know that you were suprised by it and see what they say.

[elephantmeg]

wow, I guess I should consider myself lucky. Ours doesn't...yet!

[jenfromnj]

Neither our old nor our new peds have such a charge-I don't think it's standard practice around here. And I'd be very unhappy if I was charged an "after hours charge" for coming in during their touted office hours, then charged a special fee without being told in advance.



The docs and nurses etc don't have to work weekends. They do it to provide a service to their patients. There are many offices that say you just need to go to the ED or an urgent care (which in general are more expensive and often don't provide such great care) on weekends. Your doc has chosen to provide services on weekends--I'm sure he would rather be hanging out with his own family. It makes sense to me that he should be compensated a little extra for doing so. That's my take on it anyway.

Dr. C, I see your point, but OTOH, the peds are running a business, and hours/availability is a business decision, and a decision-making factor (often a big one) for parents around here in choosing a ped. I know in my area there's lots of competition for "business" among doctors and hospitals, since there are so many well-regarded ones of each. So peds often tout their extensive office hours as one of the reasons to choose them, and most if not all have some (any many have extensive) evening and weekend hours. Therefore, here at least, charging such a fee would likely result in losing patients--it's really a business decision.
For better or worse, it's a business and a "service industry" for lack of a better description.

[daisymommy]

Ours charges an extra $50, So yeah, pretty standard IMO.

[lhafer]

Mine doesn't. If they did, I would expect them to notify me of the charge (sign at the desk, receptionist tells me, etc).

I took my daughter once on a saturday. I paid my copay, which was expected. What I didn't expect was the $131 bill that came a couple of weeks later. I called the office, and they had miscoded the visit as out of network. They corrected it, and all was good.

[DebbieJ]

Our doctor is open on Saturday and they do not charge extra. There are 4 docs in the practice and they rotate taking Saturday hours.

I agree--it's their business and they choose to be open on Saturday. There is no reason they should charge extra for opening their business that day.

There is no way I would pay that $50 if it was not clear to patients that they will be charged. I would call their billing person and contest it.

[MelissaTC]

Our ped charges as well. There are signs at check in and check out. It also states that they will bill the insurance first but to be aware that some insurances do not cover it.

[ha98ed14]

I just have to say that this sucks. We have an HMO, so every visit to the ped is the same price and they aren't open weekends, so we go to urgent care, but if I was facing a sick child on the weekend, I think I would be weighing in my mind the costs of a weekend appt with my ped with the extra cost v. urgent care v. emergency room. (I know you can't have 3 v., but you get the idea.) That just sucks. It's so transparent that it is a money grab. It costs no more for a doc to look at your child and call in an Rx on Tuesday as it does on Saturday.

[LexyLou]

Really? I don't think ours does. I mean if it's their standard office hours then it's not technically after hours.

I would call and maybe they'll waive it. Maybe they just try to collect it from the insurance but if insurance doesn't pay, they might waive it for you.

Doesn't hurt to call.

[daisyd]

Mine doesnt. I would expect to be told upfront though if they do charge more for the weekends.

[Tondi G]

Our Ped office is open on Saturday (for a few hours) and they do not charge extra. All the docs in the practice rotate taking Saturday hours. Since they choose to open their business on weekends I personally don't think they should be charging an "after hours" fee. If they do charge an additional fee they should inform their patients. My Ped's office does charge an annual fee though... we pay $250 a year to cover things like after hours phone service, and probably the saturday hours etc. I hate paying it but we (and our boys especially) love our pediatrician so we do it.

I would call the billing person in your peds office and explain that you were not informed about a $50 additional charge and were surprised to see it on your bill. They should have clear signs that tell you about the "fee" up front.

[lalasmama]

Out of the 4 clinics I have worked in that had weekend/evening hours, all have charged after-hours fees. The weekends are reserved for same day, sick-kid visits at each of those clinics. And each of them had a "after hours" fee of $40-50.

The way I personally look at it is that the clinic is providing a service, and it is charged as such. If a provider does xyz they bill 123.45. If the provider does abc, they charge 012.23.... Tons of "behind the scenes" things are billed. I just see the after-hours charge as the same type of thing.

[KrisM]

Ours does not charge if you come within posted Saturday hours. It's not after hours, since it's regular hours.


The docs and nurses etc don't have to work weekends. They do it to provide a service to their patients. There are many offices that say you just need to go to the ED or an urgent care (which in general are more expensive and often don't provide such great care) on weekends. Your doc has chosen to provide services on weekends--I'm sure he would rather be hanging out with his own family. It makes sense to me that he should be compensated a little extra for doing so. That's my take on it anyway.

True that they don't have to offer them. Then, why offer them? Or, what if the doc would rather be playing tennis on Wednesday morning - should that now be after hours? If the office has regular hours that they are open, I think goign in those hours should be billed as regular hours. If I call and they meet me at 8pm after they've been closed for 2 hours, then that is after hours.

And, to the OP, if it wasn't posted that Saturday hours are really after-hours and cost more, I'd contest it.

[vludmilla]

Neither our old nor our new peds have such a charge-I don't think it's standard practice around here. And I'd be very unhappy if I was charged an "after hours charge" for coming in during their touted office hours, then charged a special fee without being told in advance.



Dr. C, I see your point, but OTOH, the peds are running a business, and hours/availability is a business decision, and a decision-making factor (often a big one) for parents around here in choosing a ped. I know in my area there's lots of competition for "business" among doctors and hospitals, since there are so many well-regarded ones of each. So peds often tout their extensive office hours as one of the reasons to choose them, and most if not all have some (any many have extensive) evening and weekend hours. Therefore, here at least, charging such a fee would likely result in losing patients--it's really a business decision.
For better or worse, it's a business and a "service industry" for lack of a better description.

:yeahthat: I was going to post some of the same thoughts. There were no such charges at my previous or current ped.

[cono0507]

1. I think it should be posted clearly in the office so that there is no surprise regarding a extra weekend fee.
2. In most hospital settings, nurses and sometimes physicians get paid more to work weekend or night shifts. It is reasonable for the office to charge more for weekends so long as the clients are notified of this policy.

[ahrimie]

I've gotten really weird charges before too. If I have pretty generic questions, I call our nurses station and they've always been good. A lot of the time, they say just to come in and be seen anyway. The last time, the nurse happened to be by the doctor we had seen a few days ago, asked him a question, and then we got charged for the answer! I think it was $60 or something like that too. Of course, insurance doesn't cover phone calls so we had to pay. This also happened when I wanted to verify something with my OB while at the hospital during my recovery... I got charged for verifying my diagnosis. By then, I was just too tired to contest it. But it really rubs me the wrong way to be thrown a bill when nothing is ever mentioned.

[Pinky]

We go to a large practice where the doctors take turns working weekends... ours does not charge a fee.