Denver Doctor - FAQ
Who are our patients?
Nearly all of our patients come from the Denver metro area and other Colorado communities, but we also have many patients from throughout the US who come specifically for our comprehensive health evaluations.
Some of our patients do not have health insurance. Many are members of large HMOs but choose to come to us when they want a second opinion or a specific health concern addressed. Some simply come because of the high quality of care Dr. Singer strives to provide.
Where is your office? Where will I park?
Our office is on East Prentice Avenue in Greenwood Village, a few blocks east of the intersection of Bellview and I-25. You can get exact directions and maps here.
Free parking is plentiful in our own parking lot. Our office is also wheelchair accessible.
How long will I wait?
We schedule our appointments realistically, and the average waiting room time is 5-10 minutes. Unless an in-office emergency has arisen, you will not grow old in our waiting room.
If you are a parent, please note: Dr. Singer is a parent, too. If your child is sick and needs us, Dr. Singer will make every effort to see him or her promptly.
What will my visit be like?
Our history forms are kept as simple as possible. Dr. Singer will also discuss your history in the privacy of our comfortable consultation rooms so you won't have to discuss these details while sitting undressed on a cold exam table.
Our examination rooms are equipped to allow us to handle all sorts of common procedures: lacerations, mole removals, a variety of sprains and fractures, and asthma attacks. We do EKG's, lung testing, body fat evaluations and hearing tests in our office as well.
How will I pay for my care?
All of our patients pay us at the time of service; many then submit their claims to their insurance company for reimbursement. We take cash, checks, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express.
We strive to have all aspects of our practice, including our professional fees, reflect our ethical and rational approach to your care. Our charges are based on the time we spend with you and any materials or equipment we use.
Our Fees
Please keep in mind that Dr. Singer does not participate with or accept any private health insurance plans. Our payment policy is very simple; payment for our services is paid at the time of your visit with Dr. Singer. We accept cash, credit and debit cards and HSA or MSA account cards and approved checks.
Dr. Singer's fees are in line with what other physicians charge for similar work. Our charges are based on the amount of time Dr. Singer spends with you, research time and complexity of the medical problems you have. This is no different than the way other professionals, like your lawyer or accountant charge you for services. It's actually the way everyone paid for medical care until the insurance companies became entangled with medicine and drove costs through the roof.
Finance your healthcare at 0% interest with CareCredit.
We offer financing through Care Credit if you are unable to pay for your medical care at the time of service. CareCredit provides you with a healthcare credit card that can be used in thousands of medical, dental and vet offices.
Dr. Singer will pay your interest for you on most services so that you will get a 0% interest credit card for 12 months. That way you get free financing to get the medical care you need without worrying about the up-front costs. To apply for CareCredit you can fill out a 5 minute application online at CareCredit or in our office.
How can I get reimbursed?
We provide a superbill (HCFA 1500 standard health insurance form) for you to send in to your health insurance company for reimbursement.It includes all the information they need to process the claim including procedure and diagnosis codes.You will mail a copy of your superbill to your health insurance company.
How much will be reimbursed?
Dr. Singer's services will be reimbursed by your health insurance company at the "out-of-network physician" rate. Here is an example of what you might expect from your insurance reimbursement.
For using out-of-network physician services, usually your insurer will reimburse you 60-70% of the allowable charges** compared to using in-network physician services where you would be reimbursed 70-80% of the allowable charges. For example, if Dr. Singer charged you $120, the insurance company might allow $100 and then reimburse you $60-70 for Dr. Singer's services because he is an "out-of-network" physician. They would reimburse you $70-80 for the same services for an "in-network" physician.
Your reimbursement also depends on having satisfied your insurer's deductible for the year. In-network and out-of-network deductibles are not always the same, check your policy. The deductible is the amount you have to pay out of pocket before the insurance company starts to kick in their portion. Most deductibles start on January 1st, so that when medical services you have paid out of pocket equal your deductible, then the health insurance starts to reimburse expenses after that. For example, if you saw a doctor or several different doctors since January 1st and you paid $1000 out of your pocket, and your deductible was $1000, you would have satisfied the deductible, then subsequent healthcare will begin to be reimbursed by your health insurance at a rate as detailed in the previous paragraph.
How health insurance companies work
Please remember the health insurance policy you pay for each month is a contract between you and the health insurance company. It can only be enforced by you to ensure that the insurance company pays you what is due.
Standard operating procedure for insurance companies minimizes what they reimburse to you by delaying or denying claims on a regular basis. Here's an example of how it works.
An insurance clerk, who is not medically trained, not a nurse or a doctor, in the insurance company's claims office, sits in a cubicle with a stack of claims for that day.The claims are from doctor's offices all over the country.
The clerk has to get through the large stack of claims to meet their quota for the day. The more quickly and efficiently they handle the claims, the sooner they get done for the day. It is in their best interest to deny or delay as many claims as possible to help them get through that stack of claims.They don't care if it is right or wrong, it's just about speed and getting through their stack.
To help the clerk in their endeavor, the insurance companies give them a standard list of delay or denial codes which are often randomly chosen and printed on your EOB (explanation of benefits), the form that you get back from the insurance company delaying or denying your claim.
That delay or denial puts the burden back on you to correspond with them (good luck getting to the right person), which meets with more arbitrary delays and denials by a different clerk. That is standard operating procedure for insurance companies.
How you can fight back and win against insurers
It is up to you to stand up to them and fight for your proper reimbursement if they deny it initially.
We suggest these resources to help you fight back against insurance companies such as Appeal letters online or Appeal Solutions and letters to the State Insurance Commissioner, Lawyers.com, HealthSymphony Appeal Letters, and finally you can hire an attorney to sue the health insurance company for the most egregious denials.
After 25 years of battling on behalf of patients, we chose not to fight insurers anymore, most importantly because we don't have an enforceable contract with the insurance company, you do. Secondly, it is a waste of time, energy, money, resources and personnel to have someone solely devoted to doing battle with dishonest insurance companies. They know if they make it difficult, most doctor's offices and patients will just give up without a fight. We are there to support you all the way but our business is to give you the best medical care available.
The insurance company is there to make money for their shareholders, they do not have your best interest in mind, only their bottom-line. The services Dr. Singer recommends and provides will many times will be contradicted by insurance companies. That is not a medical decision but simply a business decision by the insurance company. They want to save money by denying you services that they should and must legally and legitimately pay for. They hope you roll over and give up because most patients do. Isn't that disgusting. It's not bad enough you don't feel well, they compound it by denying what is rightfully due you based on the premiums you paid and the policy you hold with them.
**Allowable charges are based on what insurance companies claim is the usual, customary and reasonable charge - which is arbitrarily set by insurers, based on adjusted data from 1960s, to make you think doctors are charging you too much. This old trick has been used by insurance companies to drive a wedge between doctors and patients. Allowable charges are arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable and only serves one purpose - to increase profits for the health insurance company.
How Are You Different Than My Other Doctors?
For most of the office-based medical care that you are likely to need in your life, working oustide HMO constraints allows Dr. Singer to care for you with a higher level of attentiveness and skills that you may find invaluable in getting at the root cause of your medical problems. Some patients continue to see their primary care physician for basic yearly labs and physicals because that is included in their care, but most realize that our care is a step above the norm, we practice to the highest standards of care.
Even if you've been to many different doctors and still have not been able to regain your vitality and health, Dr. Singer can help. If we can't help you, we know who can and will promptly arrange for you to be seen by the most appropriate specialist or hospitalist.
