Post
by Bernie » Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:46 pm
I agree with the Lincare haters here. My first clue was as a newbie when I received a call from a friendly sounding rep purporting to ask me how my therapy was going, but when I tried to ask questions I realized all they wanted was to get me to authorize a shipment of more supplies. I learned from this site that you don’t need supplies nearly as often as Lincare wants you to have them, and got on “don’t call me, I’ll call you” schedule over their strong medical objection. I have high-deductible insurance, meaning in a good year I pay for supplies myself. In December we were over the deductible so I called to place my first order in a long time, which the Lincare rep took down, but when I asked what it cost it was like I was being incredibly unreasonable. Sorry to be unreasonable, Lincare, but when I buy something I ask what it costs. Do you not do that? The rep didn’t even have prices and I had to call a different department, wait in another phone queue, and was quoted prices that sounded great except that they quoted me my co-pay, not the full amount. Hello? You don’t know about my deductible, or whether I’m over it, so please don’t tell me I don’t pay it and don’t need to know the amount. Then I compared the full prices to online and found them to be 47% above market, for the exact same equipment. So I called my insurance company and asked why they won’t cover me if I buy online, and why they insist that I pay 47% above market. No answer to that one. So I did what my insurance company wants. I ordered from Lincare and paid 47% above market.
Citizen is right. Lincare is a poster child for what is wrong with our healthcare system. Their mission is that the user never gets pricing information, and they’re good at it. And the insurance companies aren’t good enough at monitoring it. The user isn’t allowed to save them money. Easier for them to cut the fees for some poor G.P. who is just trying to practice medicine in a way that makes economic sense.
I can't wait for the time when I will replace my machine. Why is it that if LIncare wants to give me a cheap machine and my insurance will pay them a flat amount for it, I'm not even allowed to pay the difference for a real machine? Their answer, "you aren't allowed to have that machine, sir." That's what they told me last time, and it wasn't good for my blood pressure, but let's just say that I got the machine I wanted, and was willing to pay the difference except that the system doesn't even give them a way for them to charge you.
I'll say one thing about high deductible health insurance. It gets you to manage costs the way everybody should.