Preventive care for the win!

I highly recommend you first inquire what the costs will be before getting care at one of these quick clinics, esp. if you don't have insurance. I took my son to a NOW Care clinic inside a CUB store a few years ago. Thought he had strep throat. We have insurance, but upon getting the EOB, discovered they tried to charge our ins payor, Preferred One, $270 for this "office call" and strep test. Our "regular" clinic wouldn't even charge that much! Well, Preferred One said no way, and wanted to write off $160, meaning my 20% copay would be about $22. NOW Care fought tooth and nail with Preferred One to get paid more. In the meantime they were sending us bills for the full $270 and threatening sending us to a collection agency if we didn't pay the full amount right away. This is a no-no for any medical provider that has an agreement with your insurance provider - they have to agree to the write-off and are not allowed to bill the customer for the difference, yet alone the full amount. Since we fall under a self-insured company plan, our state ins. commissioners office could not offer any help. We had to contact the federal Dept. of Labor, which has jurisdiction of self-insured company health plans. What a mess. We finally "won" our case, but it never should have come down to what it did. I noticed that particular Cub Foods store closed down their NOW Care medical clinic several months later. They must have gotten enough customer complaints. I hope MinuteClinic and Target and others mentioned in this story run more ethically than this outfit did.

"Walk-in sites could benefit as millions gain coverage under new law." And who says Obamacare doesn't help business. The government always creates winners and losers through legislative action.

Please don't align these clinics with any hospital or national health care system. The people who go to these now, go for several reasons, one being cost, and then there is the deductible on their catastrophic insurance. They simply cannot go to a primary physician, pay that bill, then go to a specialist, pay that bill etc. etc. I can only speak for myself, but I want a clinic and at worst, a physician's assistant to address what should be a minor concern for a nominal charge. If you get a health group corporation involved in this, the cost can only go one way. The self insured of America have been run over by the bus enough. Leave us alone and leave our clinics alone.

PS I went to one of these three days ago now, and after finding out what the problem was (minor), it was suggested I get a "prescription." When I asked if that drug would help that much I was told no, but it might.... I asked for the prescription on paper instead of being called in (or emailed) to the pharmacy, and the clinician asked if I had insurance for this. Of course, I didn't, and he threw the prescription into the garbage can. For many Americans who are self insured, the health system of America has become a joke. We welcome Obamacare if, for nothing else, a chance. What we have right now is not worth a damn.

I'm all for appropriate care. But we all need to be a bit more practical with health services. We don't need a Dr. for everything. When I was a kid about 100 years ago, one of my friend's mom was a nurse. She actually did stitches for neighbohood kids at the kitchen table! We don't need a Dr. to supervise a nurse to give flu shots. Got mine at Target! Practicioners who typically have more practical and real life experience than Drs. (especially new Drs.) get my vote to provide practical medical services. Bladder infections, ear infections, pink eye, sinus infections... a trained nurse who has had kids knows more than a new Dr. who doesn't have kids and has never changed his /her own kid's diaper.

just getter done

Why should somebody else pay for healthcare? Self insured is just that.

Thank you president Obama, thats the change I voted for and I like my change!

First, the IRS is going to decide which clinics are available and who gets what treatment. Secondly, why would anyone getting free medical choose a nurse practitioner over an MD?