I went to the doctor for a prescription to treat my yeast infection. Monistat didn't work. The doctor insisted I take a lab test to confirm my infection, even though I'd already had 2 tests performed by 2 other doctors which confirmed my infection in the past.
I knew if I was tested for a yeast infection at the time of the office visit in question, the result would be negative because the infection always goes away the day after my period (and it was the day after my period). I explained this to the doctor, but she insisted anyway. I trusted her judgment and agreed to the test. As I predicted, it was negative. Now I'm stuck with an aggressive yeast infection and a $170 lab bill (after insurance).
In the beginning, I asked the doctor how much the test was going to cost. She said she didn't know because she didn't know how much the lab charged. So I asked her how to find out, and she said we wouldn't know until we did the test and they sent the bill. Even if she did know, she doesn't know how much of it my insurance will cover.
After the bill for $170 came (which was $130 more than I've ever had to pay for the same test), I thought they forgot to charge my insurance. So I called the lab and asked them if they charged my insurance. They had, and $170 was left over for me.to pay. I asked them "if a doctor wanted to find out how much (they) charge for this test, how would she find out?" They said she'd just have to call. So basically, my doctor was just too lazy to find out for me how much the lab test was going to cost.
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