MRI Scan and Crappy Insurance

xJen

xJen

Member
(edited to replace ct scan with MRI - can't figure out to edit title)

Hey all,

If this has been asked before, or if I'm in the wrong place, just let me know.

My husband is seeing a reputable orthopod at ucsf (for a wreck he had). The doc is requesting an MRI (in addition to the x-ray) on his shoulder. Our health insurance is unpredictable and very high-deductible.

UCSF is very expensive for these. I am wondering if anyone here has done some price-comparisons and found an MRI for less. We are searching yelp but every place has one or two horror stories.

We are in SF but would definitely travel for this.

Thanks in advance,
Jen
 
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enwoo

enwoo

乗るか死ぬ
This may be a late response but my friend recently took his kid to SF, not exactly sure but I figure if they traveled from Yuba City it had to UCSF. I'll ask them when I get home from work.
 
FXCLM5

FXCLM5

bombaclaud
wow you have a choice,

ive had a few mri, and was never given a choice of who what when or where.

consider yourself lucky, since you get to arrange everything on your time and $
 
EjGlows

EjGlows

Well-known member
Please keep in mind that the quality of an MRI will change along with the location selected. It's not always true, but the newer equipment generally gives a much higher quality scan which can lead to better treatment.

With that said, I had my insurance company call me to ask if I'd like to compare prices within the area. I thought this was kind of odd, since my deductible would have been the same regardless, and this division of the insurance company was attempting to preemptively mitigate their costs in almost a predatory way. When I told the woman that it wouldn't have an effect on my out-of-pocket, she said she had to call another department because she didn't have access to my policy. Weird, eh?

I had an MRI/Arthrogram at UCSF and can't say enough about the quality of care. I had my scan on a Friday (the MD injecting me was a motorcyclist and really nice guy) with the results on Sunday. My doctor called me on a Sunday!

Anyway, I've had more than a dozen MRI's (Kaiser was the cheapest but had the oldest/outsourced equipment) and please read yelp reviews before selecting a service.
 
KWeezyXB12

KWeezyXB12

SKRRRRRRRRRRRT!!!!!!
i went to los gatos imaging center for mine. i have pretty good ins so im not really to sure what the cost was. i paid 10 bucks for my doctors referral though. all i can say was the results came back quick. they were very friendly and very nice. i would recommend them for sure. just remember too the MRIs will reveal other things that are not known too. they found some weird and interesting things i had no idea about but were not harmful to my health but just good to know. any who good luck with the search
 
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EastBayDave

EastBayDave

- Kawasaki Fanatic -
be very wary of the responses; especially from the orthopedic surgeons.

many are VERY anti-motorcycle, & I found this out the hard way. 3 years of cortisone injections, & bad MRI's. (turns out there was a "blurry image" on one MRI, the one that all 3 docs used.)

Once I got someone who actually cared enough to question things, & got a new MRI along w/a CAT scan, THEN I was diagnosed correctly. I ended up really bitter about it; these bozo's wasted 3 years of my life because they either were lazy, didn't like motorcyclists, or the parent Ins. company told them to be tight about getting a second MRI when it was really needed.

Now after needed surgery I have semi-limited use of my left shoulder back, thanks to the one doc who actually cared. Be careful, question a lot, & if you are given the run-around, change orthodocs immediately.

-ebd
 
xJen

xJen

Member
Hey all, thanks SO much for the replies. I didn't see any posts for a few days and so I stopped checking... I need to learn how to subscribe to a thread!

I really appreciate everyone's advice.
 
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