Today was our 6-to-12-month follow-up on our Hepatitis A vaccine. With this booster, we are now protected for life. At least that's what we're told. We originally got the shot for our trip to Costa Rica last spring, but now we can go to any number of countries for the rest of our lives without worrying about Hep A. Phew! That's a relief. One less health-related thing for me to worry about. Check. Let's see, that's 823 more to go.

We had to find a new doctor to administer the shot because the doctor who did it last time is no longer on our insurance. Actually, this doctor, I'll call him 'Dr. R.,' was not on our insurance even at the time we got the shot. But, we thought, how expensive could two Hep A shots be? A word of advice: if you ever have to stop to ask yourself something like this when having a voluntary procedure at a doctor's office, you should go ahead and find out before you actually have said procedure. It might change your mind, or at least make you find a cheaper alternative. It turns out two Hep A shots can cost $500. But this, mind you, was at Dr. R's office, an office located in the swank Human Rights Campaign building on Rhode Island Ave., an office that prides itself on its laser hair removal machine, its elegantly designed interior, and its flat-screen TV in the waiting area. This was also a medical practice that took the time to send all their patients a letter itemizing the various and sundry ways they could (over)charge them for performing routine medical tasks. And, oh yeah, to remind everybody that they absolutely WILL be charged for canceling an appointment less than 48 hours ahead of time. I think they even charged me for a Kleenex I took from the front desk. Yes, Dr. R had you by the balls. And you didn't even need to schedule a physical for that.

Okay, now turn your head and cough.

Eh-hem.

Thank you. Now, bend over, Mr. O.

Oh, man. Once wasn't enough?

So we definitely wanted to schedule this shot with a different doctor, which led to procrastination. I hate finding a doctor. One of the things that almost kept us in Dallas was the frightening prospect of finding new doctors. I mean, we had just gotten the whole M.D. thing squared away. We liked our family doctor, Dr. M. We also had a cadre of specialists with whom we were very comfortable, along with a brilliant chiropractor (oh, she had magic hands) and a skilled dentist. Starting over with nothing, not even so much as a referral, was daunting. How many doctors would we go through before finding the right one? As it turns out, there have been two so far, and it looks like the third might, indeed, be the charm. The doctor we went to today, Dr. S, was a complete departure from Dr. R. He had a very practical office space, not one that looked like it belonged on the cover of Interior Design magazine. The receptionist spoke with a charming South American accent and called us 'dear' a lot. She always smiled, and never copped an attitude. That's a rare find in DC. Also, there was no room with a sliding window that separated us from her. She had a desk right in the middle of the open room, and she greeted us when we entered. When she called our insurance company and the automated answering service told her that I was no longer active on the insurance policy, she didn't stop there. She actually spoke to somebody and found out what we all suspected - that the insurance company's system was all screwed up. In other words, she didn't make me deal with the problem. She actually went above and beyond. I know, I know. Bizarroland.

Dr. S. himself was also very nice and down to earth. He took us back to his office and spoke to us in a way that made it seem more like we were about to share a Yerba Mate and talk about politics than have a couple of Hep A shots. This was our kind of doctor. He ad-libbed on the state of medicine in America and expounded on why things were so expensive (the insurance companies, of course.) Like the receptionist (who I think may have been his wife, but I'm not positive) he also spoke with a heavy South American accent. (He got his degree from the University of Buenos Aries, so I'm assuming he's probably from there, though I didn't ask.) To keep his costs low, he did not store vaccines. Instead he prescribed them to us, then we went and got them from the pharmacy downstairs, came back up to his office, and he administered them. A pretty practical way of doing things, when you think about it. This way, he doesn't wind up spending money on vaccines that he doesn't use and has to throw away. The only problem is that our insurance company did not cover the vaccine when filled at the pharmacy, though they probably would have covered it if it had been filled at the doctor's office. This was annoying, but it didn't really bother me. My guess is they don't really cover it when it's filled at the doctor's office either; rather, they make the doctors eat the cost. It's not really fair any way you slice it, and the basic rule of thumb is the insurance company wins. Kind of like casinos.

In the end, the two shots today cost us $160 total. A whopping $340 less than at Dr. R's. And we found a new doctor that we like. It was a win-win kind of day. I guess I'll find out for sure if this doctor is 'the right one' next week, as I went ahead and scheduled my annual checkup with him. I just hope he has small fingers.

link to this | comments (0) | File:  Health