Bert, we us the RelayHealth system. So we have some communication for free, but any questions concerning a medical problem must be an online consult (or come in). But we'll email their lab results, or they can request an updated referral say to follow up annually on their previously detached retina.
We had hoped to do just one or two a month (yeah, just that) which would actually pay for the Relay contract. But we haven't seen that many. More like one every 2-3 months.
But what made me ask about the pricing: Well, it seems that whenever the insurance companies say "Oh you can do this service, and we'll pay you a whopping $X because we know your expertise and time is valuable" well I immediately say "Oh, the FMV for that service is actually $2X". And that ends up on the fee schedule. Don't know how I started doing that. Maybe its something about GHI paying only $75 for a 99385 (Preventive on initial visit). Or only $90 for Twinrix vaccine, where the pharmacy charges $140. Anyways, the insurance companies jumped up and said they'd pay $30 for the online consult. According to my knee-jerk reaction, the FMV is $60, or maybe only $50. You get the idea. I just wanted some other opinions on the subject.
Gee Bert, you only charge $22? Oh, but you live in Maine and everyone is on Mainecare. In Manhattan, we and other private docs dont accept HealthyNY or Medicaid.
