Bad billing practice? You bet

I feel I must reply to Mr. Benedict and his comments about his doctor’s billing practices (Letters, March 7). I find it ironic that his doctor was giving him a break because he did not have insurance and basically treated him for free, yet Mr. Benedict feels this is immoral.

A doctor charging $55 for an office visit is not even meeting his expenses. A physician has rent for the office space, supplies, equipment, salary for nurses, receptionists, medical records people, bookkeepers, office manager, etc. None of these comes cheap.

So he is right. It is bad billing practice on the doctor’s part. He should have charged him full price and not paid any attention to his situation.

I find it sad that rather than being grateful that the doctor was considerate of his situation, Mr. Benedict is angry with his doctor.

His suggestion that the doctor have the patient pay cash at time of service and then the patient deal with getting money out of the insurance company is certainly a great idea. It indeed would make life easier at nearly all medical offices and cut down on their overhead.

Bruce Abbotts, M.D.

Otis Orchards