The annual visit is free but services during the visit may be subject to cost sharing? How can both of these things be true? This cries out for an example.
That is a great point. So in overly simple terms when you have your annual free visit you are limited to that visit type and services associated with it. If you get care beyond that, and your doctor puts the billing code in for additional services, that can result in charges.
For example, in simple terms, at your annual wellness visit you talk to your doctor about a pain in your arm and they run a test, this isn’t on our list of free preventative services (see this page for a list and resources https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-preventive-care/), so this part of the visit results in a charge if your doctor bills it as such.
So all this said, if you express to your doctor that you are going in for your free wellness visit and are only seeking eligible preventive services, they should let you know if the services being requested are not eligible.
As the article notes, this can feel like a sort of arbitrary division, and as people we may feel that since we are at the doctor we should be able to address all our issues. While perhaps this is the case, it is more so the case that the “free” visit is limited to specific services.
Sucks. Just had my first ACA physical. Cost: $250+. Never paid this before in other medical insurance plans. .. Guess I’ve been fooled. Not the first time.
Well your routine physical should be covered for free. That is your annual check-up with no extras with a doc in your network. You should call the insurer if this was not the case so you can better understand what happened.
ObamaCareFacts is a free informational site. It's privately owned, and is not owned, operated, or endorsed by the US federal government or state governments. Our contributors have over a decade of experience writing about health insurance. However, we do not offer professional official legal, tax, or medical advice. See: Legal Information and Cookie Policy. For more on our company, learn About ObamaCareFacts.com or Contact us.
Tim Kelly
The annual visit is free but services during the visit may be subject to cost sharing? How can both of these things be true? This cries out for an example.
ObamaCareFacts.com
That is a great point. So in overly simple terms when you have your annual free visit you are limited to that visit type and services associated with it. If you get care beyond that, and your doctor puts the billing code in for additional services, that can result in charges.
For example, in simple terms, at your annual wellness visit you talk to your doctor about a pain in your arm and they run a test, this isn’t on our list of free preventative services (see this page for a list and resources https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-preventive-care/), so this part of the visit results in a charge if your doctor bills it as such.
Here is an article telling a story that might give more insight into what I mean. https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-obamacare-physicals-20160802-snap-story.html
So all this said, if you express to your doctor that you are going in for your free wellness visit and are only seeking eligible preventive services, they should let you know if the services being requested are not eligible.
As the article notes, this can feel like a sort of arbitrary division, and as people we may feel that since we are at the doctor we should be able to address all our issues. While perhaps this is the case, it is more so the case that the “free” visit is limited to specific services.
Tim
Sucks. Just had my first ACA physical. Cost: $250+. Never paid this before in other medical insurance plans. .. Guess I’ve been fooled. Not the first time.
ObamaCareFacts.com
Well your routine physical should be covered for free. That is your annual check-up with no extras with a doc in your network. You should call the insurer if this was not the case so you can better understand what happened.