I am strongly considering Dr Bob Sears for a pediatrician...how big of a pain in the xxxx is being a cash client? Is it worth it to see a great pediatrician? What is your experience with doing the billing yourself?
we have been going to their office for about 4 years now. I LOVE them! We don't usually see dr. Bob for regular check ups, but if he is on call when our kids are sick, then we have seen him a lot. We have never had to pay up front. Just our co pay. Even for sick visits when we do see him. He is great though!
I was a pqtient of Dr Bob's and he is amazing. Due to financial reasons I had to change to a Dr that takes my ins, but as soon as we can we plan to go back to him. Good luck.
Doing the billing yourself is also a pain in the bottom if you have an HMO. PPO is not too hard.
Do I think paying cash is worth it to see a GREAT pediatrician....."ABSOLUTELY". In my opinion you can't put a price tag to that.
I am also thinking about seeing doctor Sears as well. A friend of mine has been seeing him since her almost 2 year old was born & she LOVES him. She said he never rushes you and spends a lot of time at each appointment addressing issues & concerns as well as just "catching up" on life. I have read some of his books & excerpts & also really agree with his approach to various issues such as his homeopathic approach, dietary recommendations, positive discipline, etc. I think that having a male doctor such as Dr.Sears will be such a benefit down the road when my son is older and has "guy" issues. The best part is that he doesn't have insurance or pharmaceutical companies standing over him telling him how to run his practice! Now you tell me....can you really put a dollar amount to that quality of care? Best wishes on your decision :)
I have been a cash patient before and it isn't that different from an insure patient.
Dr. Sears is an excellent pediatrician and EVERY family should have a copy of his The Vaccine Book. In regards to paying cash, it does not mean you can't use your insurance. His office can give you what is called a Super Bill. It will have the code(s) needed to submit it to your insurance company. You get a form online from the Ins Co, fill it out and get reimbursed. Pretty easy but always nicer when they can do it for you.
You either get a doctor who can spend time with you and get to know your child without the pressure of having to see so many patients in an hour or you get a doctor who is pressured to see 15 to 20 patients in an hour to pay for all of the additional costs associated with dealing with the insurance companies.
We've never even considered using our insurance with any of of our doctors....since none of them take it. We have Blue Cross, but our pediatrician, Dr. Bob, we see him once a year and the rest of the year, we take the kids to a chiropractor who specializes in pediatrics and we pay her cash as well. Both of them give you receipts so you can be reimbursed, but it's nice to be a person, rather than a number. My chiro gives up a form and we just submit it, usually within 2 weeks, we have our money back. If she submitted it, it usually takes 1-3 months, so with us billing it, she dosesn't have to hire more help in the office to handle it and it keeps our costs down.
