Colonoscopy: Clinic vs Hospital (procedure, surgery, insurance)

[hunterseat]

only had one - at the doctor's practice. i hope i can travel back for my next one!

[Lee W.]

I think if the clinic is fairly near a hospital, it wouldn't make any difference. I've had a few already. As long as they put me out briefly, it's no big deal.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by theatergypsy

I'm a colon cancer survivor. I've had numerous scopes and most of them were in out-patient facilities but I did have my last one in hospital.

The GI doctors owned the out-pt facility and for the hospital procedure, the doc was one of the GI guys.

My insurance coverage demands a $200.00 co-pay in the GI facility and $300.00 in the hospital (as a short-stay)

I saw no significant difference in the venue.

I don't understand why such large co-pays. I don't recall every paying that much in a co-pay for a colonoscopy. Maybe I don't get charged as much because I don't use any anesthesia? I'm due for one this year, so I'll pay attention to how much the co-pay is.

[steiconi]

I've had them in-hospital and in a clinic--with the same doctor! The clinic was more convenient, and (I think) had less chance of exposure to infectious diseases than a hospital.

[GeoffD]

For anyone with high deductible insurance, it makes sense to price shop. There are web-based companies like MyMedicalShopper.com that have huge databases for procedures like colonoscopies.

[theatergypsy]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I don't understand why such large co-pays. I don't recall every paying that much in a co-pay for a colonoscopy. Maybe I don't get charged as much because I don't use any anesthesia? I'm due for one this year, so I'll pay attention to how much the co-pay is.

Which is why I said "my insurance".

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I don't understand why such large co-pays. I don't recall every paying that much in a co-pay for a colonoscopy. Maybe I don't get charged as much because I don't use any anesthesia? I'm due for one this year, so I'll pay attention to how much the co-pay is.

I think if they are for routine screening there is no co-pay per ACA, but if they are not routine but are follow up there is a co-pay.

"If a colorectal test is performed to evaluate the condition of a patient who has signs or symptoms, it is not considered preventive. For example, colonoscopy can be used as a follow-up for a patient with
abnormalities identified during a previous colorectal cancer screening. In this situation, the primary
purpose of the follow-up colonoscopy is not screening for colorectal cancer. Therefore, it is not covered
as a preventive service without patient cost-share"

https://www.bcbsil.com/pdf/standards...scopy_faqs.pdf

[Trebaruna]

Health care pro here. Whether done in hospitals clinics, colonoscopies are ambulatory procedures and handled the same way in each settings. Obviously, the benefit of having it done in a hospital is that in the occurrence of a complication, a hospital will always be better equipped to respond than a clinic. Nonetheless, complications with colonoscopies are rare and clinics are perfectly capable of safely handling those procedures.

[mike1003]

Originally Posted by daliowa

I've had my colonoscopy and endoscopies at a surgical center run by a group of gastro docs. Each time was fine, no problems.


Make sure the doc and surgical center are all in-network to your insurance.

AND, anesthesiologist! A lot of anesthesiology groups are out of most networks

[mike1003]

Every one of my, and MrsMs, colonoscopies and endoscopies were in outpatient clinics owned by the GI group we use. I would rather have any procedure done as outpatient if possible