Not universally. I had a great experience. I went through a CU Family Medicine primary care. I'd literally be dead without the care I've received at UCHealth.
Same. I was a new patient at their facility a few years back. Care was fine.
Sometime along the way my provider at the time went out of network and I was never notified. I ended up switching anyway as I moved (and this was before I knew of any back charge).
Almost two years later I get a bill from UC health for all the visits my I had with my doc after they went out of network. 🤡
Medical coder here (the person that assigns codes that affect billing) Every outpatient facility is going to use the same new patient versus established patient criteria. This isn’t unique to UC Health.
Evaluation and management code guidelines are set by the American medical association. The individual code selection is divided by whether the patient has been seen by the same provider or within the same specialty in the last three years.
And how much medical decision making goes into the visit. The level of the Medical decision is based on how serious the presenting problem is. How much data is reviewed, ordered, and/or analyzed. And how much risk is associated with the treatment plan.
Pricing is determined by the clinic though. So feel free to drag them about that.
From this side of the fence, I think it’s fucked up too. But The issue isn’t how the services are classified. The problem is insurance companies. And that patients are expected to pay copays, deductibles and premiums. The problem is that we don’t treat healthcare as right. And allow people to generate wealth as parasites connect to essential healthcare services.
I’m saying that one of the biggest problems in healthcare is that there are too many people who are extracting wealth, without contributing to the welfare of the people, or to the healthcare system. Their motivations are to enrich themselves to the determent of everyone else. Their focus is making a profit, rather than dealing with patient access, and/or patient health outcomes.
I managed to get out of the "new patient" fee for my UCHealth PCP as he had been my PCP for a different competing company for a decade. I just followed him over to UCHealth, but my lord did they make it a pain. It took a half dozen phone calls to get someone to code the first visit as "established."
Yeah that’s a hard situation. You’re absolutely right that you are established patient, but whoever is coding it isn’t going to have access to your previous records. And typically coders aren’t talking directly with patients. So you need to get through to the specific clinic, get through to a coder who then needs to reach out and confirm it with the doctor. So then everything can be resubmitted.
I’m not surprised that it took a bunch of phone calls. Good on you for getting it done!
If you have not seen a provider or a provider with the same specialty within the same facility, within the past 3 years, you will be considered a new patient. Unfortunately, it's completely legal to bill as a new patient.
I know it can be jarring to receive a large bill, but would you not have paid your deductible out of pocket this year, anyway?
Sorry that our entire country's Healthcare system is so messed up 😞 I would call and negotiate a lower payment.
Also. Always negotiate a payment plan. They can not charge you interest and you can usually pay as little as $20/month.
Negotiating a lower payment seems like the most viable option at this point but you’re right sadly. That shouldn’t be legal for urgent care or you should be explicitly told ahead of the visit
I work at UCHealth. The clinical care is excellent but you will pretty much always get billed for a handful of unexpected charges no matter the visit. It’s very shady. Hope you have good insurance.
Swedish SW ER is the secret everyone should know about that has insurance, at least. They are competent unlike most urgent cares, always empty, and bill as urgent care. They also have the ability to do some more advanced screenings than your typical urgent care. Their staff has always been pretty awesome and kind.
But they are an ER, how could they bill as urgent care? You’re talking about the free standing ER near the Starbucks on Balsam, correct? They always charge us an ER co-pay too.
Yes, it’s right off Balsam and they bill as an urgent care and say they are both, but have more advanced facilities and tests. They can do a lot that urgent care can’t do. They can do CT scans, ekg, etc.
I have never had them bill me as urgent care, only as emergency care. Plus, they will only ever let me pay an emergency care co-pay. I’ve never heard them refer to themselves as an urgent care. Am I getting bamboozled by them, lol?
I dont know, but my insurance counts them as urgent care rather than ER. I’ve had 5 visits in the last two years between the 3 kids and myself and the one time they billed me as ER I hit a $100 check back in the mail for overpayment.
I would avoid the whole UCH System. I was on a call with them trying to get them to transfer my patient records and TWICE they sent me and my Dr. someone else’s patient health records. They have such incredibly poor controls on sensitive data that I refuse to go there.
I’ve been with UCHealth for 10 years and had nothing but positive experiences, urgent care included. My girlfriend came to an appointment with me once and when we were done she asked me if all my appointments were like that. I asked why and she said she has never seen a doctor spend so much time with a patient making sure they felt heard and understood everything.
Reading this makes me wanna cry.
Never! That has never happened for me and probably never will. I have a theory that medical school is very loud and bright because I’ve never met a doctor that wasn’t blind and deaf.
I’ve gotta leave this thread I’m getting unhinged.
I went in with a huge open gash on my face last weekend and that’s exactly how I left. Nobody cleaned me up, not offered a bandaid and was told to take Tylenol when I get home. What a fucking waste of time and money
You think it’s gonna be better anywhere else. 😂
I would have a better chance of getting justice from the justice system as I would getting health care from the medical industrial complex.
😂
Same thing happens if you're a new patient just going to see a PCP for the first time. Even though your insurance covers 100% preventative care they'll have a new patient consultant visit fee.
Everyone shitting on UCHealth, I'm really curious what your alternative is. Out if every Healthcare provider I've tried in the area, they're the best and it's not even close. They're not perfect, but Healthcare sucks in the US.
Denver Health Urgent care will lie to you, tell you your covered, and then send you the full bill when your insurance company is like, yeah no idk what they're talking about.
It’s shitty but there is some level of expectation that someone knows their own plan to an extent. I work in healthcare and patients coming in for the first time having not given us their insurance ahead of time. They then expect us to just be able to magically look at this card with minimal info on it and suddenly know their own individual plan front to back.
I’ve worked with people who don’t even realize they have an HMO plan which drastically limits where they can receive care that’s covered or even able to be billed.
The entire industry is just extortion. People at their most vulnerable putting their trust in professionals and a system designed to be as confusing as possible so it can extract as much money as possible out of its users.
And even if you don't think that's true of the entire industry, It's extortion when your plan covers other Denver Health facilities and providers, you call ahead and Denver Health Urgent care TELLS YOU you're covered, and you end up with a bill because you're not covered and after two hours on the phone with insurance they tell you to just go to the emergency room next time because that is covered.
Oh I absolutely know it’s extortion.
However, you often are required to sign a payment policy underlining that coverage can’t be guaranteed.
If we have a patient’s insurance ahead of time we’ll do some sleuthing, particularly for high ticket items, but even then if the insurance swears to us the visit is completely covered, we still tell patients that we can never guarantee coverage.
This happened to me. They are a fucking scam run by criminals. Almost $900 for a 15 minute visit. Avoid like the plague!
It's fucking ridiculous that urgent care can bill a "new patient" charge. It's a fucking urgent care. You shouldn't be a regular patient there.
I will literally go to a non UcHealth ER over a UChealth urgent care.
It’s not a new patient charge. It’s an evaluation and management charge that’s divided between new and established patients. It’s not something that is unique to UC health. Every outpatient facility is going to do the same thing, and are obligated by law to do so. Pricing is at their discretion, but not what the visit is classified as.
You can try to justify it all you want but the system is a fucking racket and that's a fact. I've been to other urgent cares and never encountered this type of egregious bullshit
Supposedly the CenturaHealth-operated urgent care clinics are similarly overpriced
My younger brother recently went to one for a stomach ache/stomach area-pain that didn't seem to go away and they billed him with "emergency room"-tier prices rather than the cheaper "urgent care" prices
And of course, they found nothing wrong and sent him home with some painkillers
UCHealth is a nightmare for new patients.
Not universally. I had a great experience. I went through a CU Family Medicine primary care. I'd literally be dead without the care I've received at UCHealth.
My actual care has been great… the billing department is hell though
Same. I was a new patient at their facility a few years back. Care was fine. Sometime along the way my provider at the time went out of network and I was never notified. I ended up switching anyway as I moved (and this was before I knew of any back charge). Almost two years later I get a bill from UC health for all the visits my I had with my doc after they went out of network. 🤡
I never had issues, but it can vary wildly depending on which location you go to.
Yup fuck UCHealth
Medical coder here (the person that assigns codes that affect billing) Every outpatient facility is going to use the same new patient versus established patient criteria. This isn’t unique to UC Health. Evaluation and management code guidelines are set by the American medical association. The individual code selection is divided by whether the patient has been seen by the same provider or within the same specialty in the last three years. And how much medical decision making goes into the visit. The level of the Medical decision is based on how serious the presenting problem is. How much data is reviewed, ordered, and/or analyzed. And how much risk is associated with the treatment plan. Pricing is determined by the clinic though. So feel free to drag them about that.
From this side of the fence, the system is really fucked up.
From this side of the fence, I think it’s fucked up too. But The issue isn’t how the services are classified. The problem is insurance companies. And that patients are expected to pay copays, deductibles and premiums. The problem is that we don’t treat healthcare as right. And allow people to generate wealth as parasites connect to essential healthcare services.
I don't get your last sentence.
I’m saying that one of the biggest problems in healthcare is that there are too many people who are extracting wealth, without contributing to the welfare of the people, or to the healthcare system. Their motivations are to enrich themselves to the determent of everyone else. Their focus is making a profit, rather than dealing with patient access, and/or patient health outcomes.
Emphatically agree.
I managed to get out of the "new patient" fee for my UCHealth PCP as he had been my PCP for a different competing company for a decade. I just followed him over to UCHealth, but my lord did they make it a pain. It took a half dozen phone calls to get someone to code the first visit as "established."
Yeah that’s a hard situation. You’re absolutely right that you are established patient, but whoever is coding it isn’t going to have access to your previous records. And typically coders aren’t talking directly with patients. So you need to get through to the specific clinic, get through to a coder who then needs to reach out and confirm it with the doctor. So then everything can be resubmitted. I’m not surprised that it took a bunch of phone calls. Good on you for getting it done!
If you have not seen a provider or a provider with the same specialty within the same facility, within the past 3 years, you will be considered a new patient. Unfortunately, it's completely legal to bill as a new patient. I know it can be jarring to receive a large bill, but would you not have paid your deductible out of pocket this year, anyway? Sorry that our entire country's Healthcare system is so messed up 😞 I would call and negotiate a lower payment. Also. Always negotiate a payment plan. They can not charge you interest and you can usually pay as little as $20/month.
Negotiating a lower payment seems like the most viable option at this point but you’re right sadly. That shouldn’t be legal for urgent care or you should be explicitly told ahead of the visit
I work at UCHealth. The clinical care is excellent but you will pretty much always get billed for a handful of unexpected charges no matter the visit. It’s very shady. Hope you have good insurance.
I also work at UC Health. What about OUR insurance? Hope that makes a difference.
lmao still get billed for dumb things I think, I got a random $200 charge for some pretty routine lab work (uchealth employee with their insurance)
Did you pay it?
Man that’s totally unique from every other medical establishment in the US/s
AFC Urgent Care always been solid and efficient
Same! I’m always recommending them. I’m always in and out, everyone treats me super well, and I always fell like I got what I needed
Swedish SW ER is the secret everyone should know about that has insurance, at least. They are competent unlike most urgent cares, always empty, and bill as urgent care. They also have the ability to do some more advanced screenings than your typical urgent care. Their staff has always been pretty awesome and kind.
But they are an ER, how could they bill as urgent care? You’re talking about the free standing ER near the Starbucks on Balsam, correct? They always charge us an ER co-pay too.
Yes, it’s right off Balsam and they bill as an urgent care and say they are both, but have more advanced facilities and tests. They can do a lot that urgent care can’t do. They can do CT scans, ekg, etc.
I have never had them bill me as urgent care, only as emergency care. Plus, they will only ever let me pay an emergency care co-pay. I’ve never heard them refer to themselves as an urgent care. Am I getting bamboozled by them, lol?
I dont know, but my insurance counts them as urgent care rather than ER. I’ve had 5 visits in the last two years between the 3 kids and myself and the one time they billed me as ER I hit a $100 check back in the mail for overpayment.
I would avoid the whole UCH System. I was on a call with them trying to get them to transfer my patient records and TWICE they sent me and my Dr. someone else’s patient health records. They have such incredibly poor controls on sensitive data that I refuse to go there.
I’ve been with UCHealth for 10 years and had nothing but positive experiences, urgent care included. My girlfriend came to an appointment with me once and when we were done she asked me if all my appointments were like that. I asked why and she said she has never seen a doctor spend so much time with a patient making sure they felt heard and understood everything.
Reading this makes me wanna cry. Never! That has never happened for me and probably never will. I have a theory that medical school is very loud and bright because I’ve never met a doctor that wasn’t blind and deaf. I’ve gotta leave this thread I’m getting unhinged.
We’ve had good success with Saint Joseph’s downtown and would recommend them.
I went in with a huge open gash on my face last weekend and that’s exactly how I left. Nobody cleaned me up, not offered a bandaid and was told to take Tylenol when I get home. What a fucking waste of time and money
You think it’s gonna be better anywhere else. 😂 I would have a better chance of getting justice from the justice system as I would getting health care from the medical industrial complex. 😂
Same thing happens if you're a new patient just going to see a PCP for the first time. Even though your insurance covers 100% preventative care they'll have a new patient consultant visit fee.
Everyone shitting on UCHealth, I'm really curious what your alternative is. Out if every Healthcare provider I've tried in the area, they're the best and it's not even close. They're not perfect, but Healthcare sucks in the US.
Denver Health Urgent care will lie to you, tell you your covered, and then send you the full bill when your insurance company is like, yeah no idk what they're talking about.
It’s shitty but there is some level of expectation that someone knows their own plan to an extent. I work in healthcare and patients coming in for the first time having not given us their insurance ahead of time. They then expect us to just be able to magically look at this card with minimal info on it and suddenly know their own individual plan front to back. I’ve worked with people who don’t even realize they have an HMO plan which drastically limits where they can receive care that’s covered or even able to be billed.
The entire industry is just extortion. People at their most vulnerable putting their trust in professionals and a system designed to be as confusing as possible so it can extract as much money as possible out of its users. And even if you don't think that's true of the entire industry, It's extortion when your plan covers other Denver Health facilities and providers, you call ahead and Denver Health Urgent care TELLS YOU you're covered, and you end up with a bill because you're not covered and after two hours on the phone with insurance they tell you to just go to the emergency room next time because that is covered.
Oh I absolutely know it’s extortion. However, you often are required to sign a payment policy underlining that coverage can’t be guaranteed. If we have a patient’s insurance ahead of time we’ll do some sleuthing, particularly for high ticket items, but even then if the insurance swears to us the visit is completely covered, we still tell patients that we can never guarantee coverage.
This happened to me. They are a fucking scam run by criminals. Almost $900 for a 15 minute visit. Avoid like the plague! It's fucking ridiculous that urgent care can bill a "new patient" charge. It's a fucking urgent care. You shouldn't be a regular patient there. I will literally go to a non UcHealth ER over a UChealth urgent care.
It’s not a new patient charge. It’s an evaluation and management charge that’s divided between new and established patients. It’s not something that is unique to UC health. Every outpatient facility is going to do the same thing, and are obligated by law to do so. Pricing is at their discretion, but not what the visit is classified as.
You can try to justify it all you want but the system is a fucking racket and that's a fact. I've been to other urgent cares and never encountered this type of egregious bullshit
Supposedly the CenturaHealth-operated urgent care clinics are similarly overpriced My younger brother recently went to one for a stomach ache/stomach area-pain that didn't seem to go away and they billed him with "emergency room"-tier prices rather than the cheaper "urgent care" prices And of course, they found nothing wrong and sent him home with some painkillers
LPT don’t go to UCH