If you’re wondering about self-pay rates for a urologist visit, then you’re probably not happy with insurance companies. I don’t blame you at all.
Each year they raise your premiums and deductibles, so you're essentially paying a lot of cash for healthcare anyway. All for the privilege of someone else deciding who you can see for your healthcare.
Doctors are frustrated as well. Each year insurance companies decrease our reimbursement, keeping a little more for themselves and their stockholders. This is in addition to refusing to pay for services we’ve already provided.
Imagine you’re a plumber. You’re called to fix a leaky pipe. You do a great job. The client is happy. But then some 3rd party, who’s responsible for paying you, refuses because you didn’t ask them “permission” (we call these prior authorizations) to render such services! What a mess.
Don’t get me started on the countless hours that our staff members wait on the phone to speak with a human being at these insurance companies. If you’ve ever wondered why you can't reach anyone at the doctor’s office, it is because all of the staff are on the phone with insurance companies.
Shouldn’t healthcare be primarily about the doctor and the patient? What if patients could see a urologist without insurance? Well you can.
At Pazona MD Urology we’re breaking down all the obstacles to expert medical care. Insurance companies, travel, and long wait times to name a few.
Let’s focus our discussion for the moment on cost. You work hard for your money (or maybe you just shake your tushy on Instagram and are loaded), so allow us to guide you through the costs of seeing a urologist without insurance.
How much is an initial visit to a urologist without insurance?
Almost all urologists are happy to see patients outside of insurance companies. Although I recently came across an academic practice that “doesn’t accept cash patients” (Ummm . . . OK). The main issue is cost transparency. How much are you going to pay?
Probably the best data is from healthcare brokerage sites like MD Save. They have a transparent marketplace that posts the cost of seeing a urologist without insurance.
A search on MD Save shows the average cost for an initial urologist consultation is $140 - $353 across 8 states.
I can’t ask an attorney a question without being charged a couple hundred bucks. My actual plumber makes more money per hour than I do as a “plumber” treating prostate blockages. Plus he doesn’t have to do prostate exams.
Certainly the cost to run a medical practice is higher in Nashville, TN than it is in rural Alabama. You also have to consider the reimbursement rates from insurance contracts (>90% of healthcare is still beholden to this terrible system). If insurance companies aren’t paying the doctor squat, unfortunately they have to make it up somewhere.
Regardless, medical care is expensive. That’s why a urologist telemedicine visit without insurance through Pazona MD is $150. A great value to see a provider with Nashville’s top urology practice (over 600 five-star reviews on Google) from the comfort of your home.
How much is a urologist surgery without insurance?
Here’s where things start launching into the next stratosphere. As surgeons, urologists perform invasive procedures. This ranges from a no-needle, no-scalpel vasectomy to a complete removal of your bladder with reconstruction.
Some of these procedures require very expensive toys. Lasers, scopes and robots cost hospitals tens of thousands to millions of dollars. This doesn’t include the cost of disposable components. Keep this in mind as you see the prices below.
Now let’s look at some numbers. Here are some published rates for various procedures and locations (some costs are approximated):
- Office cystoscopy (MD Save) $277 - $522
- Office vasectomy (MD Save) $532 - $748
- Surgery center cystoscopy (various sources) $2500 - $4000
- Surgery center kidney stone removal (various sources) $3500 - $8000
- Hospital robotic prostate cancer surgery (various sources) $18,000 - $20,000
That’s a lot of zeros. However, now you can plan.
One trendsetter in transparent pricing is the Surgery Center of Oklahoma. They have been “posting prices since 2009” and are the model of a direct pay system. You can go to their website and easily cost compare to your local options
Conclusions: Urologist Visit without Insurance
There is no doubt that healthcare costs are staggering. But at least we are starting to have some transparency in our healthcare costs. Don’t worry, insurance companies have transparency as well . . . like UnitedHealth having made $4.9 BILLION in the first quarter of 2021 as well.
Take a moment to let that sink in. Almost $5 billion dollars in profit, over just 3 months. You can guess where the money is coming from.
Pazona MD Urology is different. We put the patient and physician first. You deserve transparent affordable pricing. Physicians deserve to be paid directly and 100% of the time for their expertise.
We can’t treat everything with telemedicine, but what we can treat, we treat exceptionally well. If you require an in-person evaluation, then we’ll do our best to find you a trusted colleague, ideally with transparent cash fees.
That sounds like progress . . . doesn’t it?
