Hi - as we all know there are few dry eye specialists. I am wondering how you guys deal with the problem of wanting to see a specialist who is not covered by insurance, which if you have an HMO is a frequent occurance.
I just switched to Blue Cross HMO from a different health insurance because Dr. Latkany's office said he took Blue Cross HMO. (His visit is $350.) I was so excited to finally be able to see him. But I just discovered that Blue Cross HMO is specific to state - since I live in MA and he's in NY, he's not in my network. Arghh! I could switch to a Blue Cross PPO plan but between the increased cost of that plan, the deductible for non-network doctors and the huge co-pay, if I was on the plan for 6 months and saw Dr. Latkany twice I would pay almost $1000 more than if I stayed with my HMO and never saw him. (I'm self-employed so I pay for my own health insurance.) I might as well just stay with my "cheap" HMO plan and pay completely out of pocket for him!
This is so frustrating. Do the rest of you just bite the bullet and pay out of pocket when you want to see a doctor? Do you think it's worth it to shell out big dough to see Dr. Latkany? My other option is to see Dr. Debbie Jacobs (Rebecca you gave her a good recommendation) who is nearby and covered by my HMO. Rebecca do you think she's an expert in dry eye & will do a thorough scientific type of exam with tests?
Thanks for your feedback!
I just switched to Blue Cross HMO from a different health insurance because Dr. Latkany's office said he took Blue Cross HMO. (His visit is $350.) I was so excited to finally be able to see him. But I just discovered that Blue Cross HMO is specific to state - since I live in MA and he's in NY, he's not in my network. Arghh! I could switch to a Blue Cross PPO plan but between the increased cost of that plan, the deductible for non-network doctors and the huge co-pay, if I was on the plan for 6 months and saw Dr. Latkany twice I would pay almost $1000 more than if I stayed with my HMO and never saw him. (I'm self-employed so I pay for my own health insurance.) I might as well just stay with my "cheap" HMO plan and pay completely out of pocket for him!
This is so frustrating. Do the rest of you just bite the bullet and pay out of pocket when you want to see a doctor? Do you think it's worth it to shell out big dough to see Dr. Latkany? My other option is to see Dr. Debbie Jacobs (Rebecca you gave her a good recommendation) who is nearby and covered by my HMO. Rebecca do you think she's an expert in dry eye & will do a thorough scientific type of exam with tests?
Thanks for your feedback!
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