CLEVELAND — A doctor's time is valuable, but how much is it really worth?
Katie Valenti told me she's been going to the Cleveland Clinic her entire life.
"For the most part, it's not bad. I don't normally have a lot of issues," she said.
In the last year and a half, she's had three annual exams. Her most recent exam was on May 7.
Prior to that exam, Valenti filled out a pre-appointment questionnaire regarding her health, where she made note of a concern potentially caused by medication she's taking.
"I said, 'Hey, I do have this problem, but I think it's because of the medication I'm taking.' I just figured they'll see this on the survey and they'll probably bring it up. We went, we talked about it. I was pretty quick. It was pretty much just like, 'Hey, again, I think it's because it's of my medication. They said, 'Yep, that's why. Do you wanna change your medication?' I said no, they offered me some other solutions to solving my problem and we went along. I was in and out before my appointment technically even started," Valenti said.
She estimates her appointment lasted 15 minutes.
Valenti's insurance company, Medical Mutual, always foots the bill for her preventative exams, she told me, which the May 7 visit would fall under.
But to her surprise, that didn't happen this time.
Valenti explained that she got an email notifying her that she owed money to the Cleveland Clinic.
Valenti, confused, opened it and saw she was charged $253 for a 10-minute office visit.
"I went to go call them [Cleveland Clinic], then they said that it was because I stepped foot in the doctor's office. I kind of got mad about it because you [the doctor] can't come to my house and give me an annual exam. I have to come to the office and they're like, 'Yeah, that's how we always do it,'" Valenti said.
Valenti's other two annual exams do not note an additional office visit charge, though.
Medical Mutual even told Valenti in an email, "I have no idea why they [Cleveland Clinic] stated it was because you stepped into the office for 10 minutes and not the reason."
I reached out to the Cleveland Clinic for more information.
Patients may see different charges on their bill following an annual preventive exam. There may be one charge for conducting the annual exam, and a separate charge if other medical issues are addressed in the same visit. For example, a patient may have a new medical concern or problem that needs to be treated in addition to having the annual exam. These are two separate medical needs that would be addressed during the visit. These services are billed separately in order for insurance to cover both the annual exam and the additional medical concern that was addressed.
Cleveland Clinic Corporate Communications Executive Director Angela Smith explained that the pre-appointment survey is free, but what follows it is subject to a charge. And seemingly, a conversation is included in that.
"It is designed to enhance the patient's experience by collecting information in advance and providing patients with an opportunity to note any concerns they would like to discuss during their visit. Patients are billed based on the services provided. Any out-of-pocket costs for the patient are dependent on their insurance coverage," Smith said.
If a patient has concerns about a bill, the Cleveland Clinic has financial advocates available to review their account and ensure their billing reflects the services received.
If you're still concerned beyond that, please email me at Kaylee.Olivas@WEWS.com, and we'll follow through.
As for Valenti, she has already paid the $55 owed for the 10-minute office visit to avoid late fees.
She's now fearful of disclosing any medical concerns to her physician moving forward, on the off chance she is charged once again.
"With everything being so expensive, like I was not planning to spend $50 that I didn't need to spend on a question that I could have Googled, so that's super annoying," Valenti said.
But, she wanted to share her story in hopes that it will help others.
"There are other people this happens to who can't afford that amount and they're getting hit with it and then they're scrambling. I don't like going to the doctor. I'm sure there are other people who don't either and so they're gonna go and they're doing the thing that they don't wanna do only for that to happen. If they fix it for other people, that's all I really care about like it's fine. My $55, that's a donation to the clinic," Valenti said.
Valenti said she doesn't plan on going back to the Cleveland Clinic for further treatment.
