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Angry Patients Find Obamacare's Annual Checkups May Not Be Free
News Max ^ | 14 April 2014 | Drew MacKenzie

Posted on 04/14/2014 5:08:17 PM PDT by Lorianne

Obamacare patients who go to their doctors for a free annual checkup are finding out that they may have to pay for the preventive healthcare visit after all.

They are angry to learn that if they mention past or ongoing health concerns during the physical, that can result in co-pays and deductibles, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Under the Affordable Care Act, preventive care includes screenings for high blood pressure and high cholesterol counts, evaluations for several cancers and diabetes, and vaccinations. The patient is allowed, in most cases, one checkup per year.

But "wellness" care on potential new health issues is viewed as "evaluation and monitoring," and leads to patients having to fork out for the "free" annual physical.

"Patients are scheduling physicals because physicals are free," Randy Wexler, a family physician in Columbus, Ohio, told the Journal. "But they come in and say, 'I've been having headaches. My back has been bothering me, and I'm depressed.' That's not part of a physical. That will trigger a copay."

Wexler says they are not happy about the charges. "They'll say, 'I have diabetes and hypertension and heart disease and seeing you is preventing them from getting worse, so that should be fully covered,'" he said. "But under that theory, everything would be free with no copay."

Doctors told the Journal that seniors have started canceling their annual wellness visits under their Medicare plans when they learn that if they mention a current health issue during the checkup they will likely be charged a co-pay.

Some doctors are even warning patients in advance of the problem and ask them to schedule two visits, one for the "annual" and another for their current health issue, according to the Journal.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: copay; obamacare; outofpocket
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So, what to do?

Go to your doctor and say you're here for your "free" annual checkup. If he asks you ANY question whatsoever, just say you can't discuss that with him. Name and serial number only, that's it.

Just say you want your free stuff and that's it.

Now, how is he going to know which diagnostic test to order if he you can't tell him any of your medical information? He won't. Just say you want them all. Every single test that is free whether it applies to you or not, just get it. But don't give ANY medical information at all about yourself

Sounds like really good healthcare to me.

1 posted on 04/14/2014 5:08:18 PM PDT by Lorianne
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To: Lorianne

You voted for it America.

You called me a racist when I tried to warn you.

Now you can all kiss my ass.


2 posted on 04/14/2014 5:10:15 PM PDT by Tzimisce
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To: Lorianne

Thy’re only angry because they have to pay.They were perfectly fine with someone else having to pay for their check-up.


3 posted on 04/14/2014 5:12:15 PM PDT by Farmer Dean (stop worrying about what they want to do to you,start thinking about what you want to do to them)
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To: Lorianne
My new "compliant" plan doesn't cover check ups at all, as my old "non-compliant" plan did. They are 100% applied to the $5k deductible.

I'm ready to quit it altogether as soon as I can get a line on a local co-op. I'll make out like a bandit paying the annual penalty.

4 posted on 04/14/2014 5:12:19 PM PDT by skeeter
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To: Lorianne
Yet ANOTHER lie? Glorioski!
5 posted on 04/14/2014 5:12:45 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Stalin Blamed The Kulaks,Obama Blames The Tea Party)
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To: Lorianne

A whole bunch of really stupid people are about to find out there’s no such thing as free lunch.


6 posted on 04/14/2014 5:13:37 PM PDT by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!!)
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To: Tzimisce

The lure of possible freebies has foisted the obamanation of Obamacare on all off us. We have become the United States of free stuff. A pox on them all.


7 posted on 04/14/2014 5:14:52 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Haven't you lost enough freedoms? Support an end to the WOD now.)
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To: Farmer Dean

They can blame it on Obama, if they can get their heads out of their asses long enough to see the truth.


8 posted on 04/14/2014 5:15:50 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Haven't you lost enough freedoms? Support an end to the WOD now.)
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To: Lorianne

Wait until they get the bills for the blood tests. There will be charges from doctors whom they never met.


9 posted on 04/14/2014 5:16:23 PM PDT by forgotten man
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To: Lorianne

The ACA collects all your personal info when you sign up for it. That’s how the doc gets paid, the lab, the hospital...

You have to probably give a card to show you have ACA. I’m sure they have a medical record on you from any previous visits to anywhere.


10 posted on 04/14/2014 5:16:42 PM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Where’s my free cell phone?!!!


11 posted on 04/14/2014 5:16:55 PM PDT by Dalberg-Acton
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To: Blood of Tyrants

I truly believe our Republic died when the Supreme Court ruled Obamacare legal.

Even if the law is repealed, our Congress STILL has the power to make us buy ANYTHING - even against our will.


12 posted on 04/14/2014 5:17:50 PM PDT by Tzimisce
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To: Lorianne

If the Obamadork:

Speaks - he lies.
Sleeps - he lies.
Winks - he lies.
Writes a biography - he lies many many times...to include the verb “writes”.
Shows his birth certificate - he lies.
Tries to demonstrate intelligence - he lies (very badly).
Claims he is anything other than a Muslim - face it, libs, he LIES.


13 posted on 04/14/2014 5:19:26 PM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: Jet Jaguar; NorwegianViking; ExTexasRedhead; HollyB; FromLori; EricTheRed_VocalMinority; ...

The list, Ping

Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list

http://www.nachumlist.com/


14 posted on 04/14/2014 5:20:07 PM PDT by Nachum (Obamacare: It's. The. Flaw.)
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To: Lorianne

The “annual checkup” can be run from a home computer with a couple of USB sensors.


15 posted on 04/14/2014 5:20:52 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: Lorianne

Doctors told the Journal that seniors have started canceling their annual wellness visits under their Medicare plans when they learn that if they mention a current health issue during the checkup they will likely be charged a co-pay.


Just wait till these seniors find out they won’t be able to get knee/hip replacements or heart surgery or cancer treatment.


16 posted on 04/14/2014 5:21:03 PM PDT by RginTN
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To: forgotten man

Go in for a colonoscopy under Obamacare it is free unless they find a polyp and they remove it now it becomes a surgical procedure and subject to not your co pay as it used to be but goes against your deductible....enjoy America.


17 posted on 04/14/2014 5:21:58 PM PDT by BubbaBobTX ("The problem with socialism is you eventually run out of other peoples money." Margaret Thatcher)
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To: Lorianne

“if they mention past or ongoing health concerns during the physical, that can result in co-pays and deductibles,”

Why would you want to mention ongoing health concerns in an annual physical. I mean cmon these are for a checkup not for treatment.

/s for the s impaired.


18 posted on 04/14/2014 5:22:18 PM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: Lorianne

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah


19 posted on 04/14/2014 5:23:02 PM PDT by yldstrk ( My heroes have always been cowboys)
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To: Lorianne

Free S-— isn’t Free after all.


20 posted on 04/14/2014 5:23:22 PM PDT by dfwgator
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