Paying for your BP test

The other day, I had to go to urgent care to have a laceration sewed up. (Freak accident: When opening my car door, I managed to lacerate my lower leg on the door’s sharp edge. Eight stitches.) Anyhow, I was thrilled that Doctors on Duty didn’t take my blood pressure. It’s always sky high in such situations. I usually refuse to have it taken, and hate having to deal with that issue each time I visit a medical practitioner. (Though my BP is a little high, I don’t take meds for it.) Besides, I’m suspicious of this BP-taking routine and think it’s a scam of sorts.

Even though having your BP taken seems inconsequential, the medical practice gets paid for it, and insurance, including Medicare, pays for it. For every procedure you have at a hospital or at the doctor’s office—no matter how insignificant—a code is assigned. It’s how they get their money from insurers. Listen to the heart: code; insert a line: code; take blood pressure: code; and so forth. The more they code, the more money they receive from insurers. The more procedures, the more codes. If you look closely at your medical bills, you can see all those seemingly trivial procedures on the bill. It makes me mad and probably raises my blood pressure.

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