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EZE
Joined: 05 May 2012
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 Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 5:41 am Post subject: Asan Medical Center scam |
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The doctors at this hospital are very good, but beware about a scam this hospital runs on foreigners that I didn't notice until today.
They charge foreigners an amount classified as "other," which is fee they charge the foreign patient just for paying. This fee to pay the clerk was more than my chest x-ray and my visit with the pulmonologist combined. I paid in cash and making the payment probably took less than a minute. |
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optik404
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:06 am Post subject: |
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| How did you find that out? Did you get the fee taken off? More details man. |
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EZE
Joined: 05 May 2012
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:21 am Post subject: |
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After I got home, I looked at the bill. It had costs for Consultation, Diagnostic Imaging, and 기 타. I was curious what 기 타 was since it was more than the actual medical services combined, so I e-mailed them to find out. They said it was for my guide, my interpreter, and for making my payment. I didn't have a guide or an interpreter, but I did make a payment so they won't take it off. I paid more than double just for paying. I paid just to pay.
Hopefully they won't send a bill in the mail charging me for paying the payment fee.  |
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Stain
Joined: 08 Jan 2014
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:48 am Post subject: |
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| EZE wrote: |
After I got home, I looked at the bill. It had costs for Consultation, Diagnostic Imaging, and 기 타. I was curious what 기 타 was since it was more than the actual medical services combined, so I e-mailed them to find out. They said it was for my guide, my interpreter, and for making my payment. I didn't have a guide or an interpreter, but I did make a payment so they won't take it off. I paid more than double just for paying. I paid just to pay.
Hopefully they won't send a bill in the mail charging me for paying the payment fee. |
Actually, 기 타 is guitar. You probably brought a guitar to the hospital. I went to the hospital for a cyst. Naturally, I brought a guitar and they told me they had to charge me for it because I wouldn't stop playing it during the surgery. |
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3DR
Joined: 24 May 2009
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:59 am Post subject: |
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| 기타 would mean "other" in this context. So other expenses not related to your main checkup. |
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EZE
Joined: 05 May 2012
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:03 am Post subject: |
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| Yeah, they charged me just to pay. But being billed for my air guitar would've been just as logical. |
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Stain
Joined: 08 Jan 2014
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:03 am Post subject: |
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| 3DR wrote: |
| 기타 would mean "other" in this context. So other expenses not related to your main checkup. |
So, in my case my 기타 was 기타. |
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Stan Rogers
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:57 am Post subject: |
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| Stain wrote: |
| EZE wrote: |
After I got home, I looked at the bill. It had costs for Consultation, Diagnostic Imaging, and 기 타. I was curious what 기 타 was since it was more than the actual medical services combined, so I e-mailed them to find out. They said it was for my guide, my interpreter, and for making my payment. I didn't have a guide or an interpreter, but I did make a payment so they won't take it off. I paid more than double just for paying. I paid just to pay.
Hopefully they won't send a bill in the mail charging me for paying the payment fee. |
Actually, 기 타 is guitar. You probably brought a guitar to the hospital. I went to the hospital for a cyst. Naturally, I brought a guitar and they told me they had to charge me for it because I wouldn't stop playing it during the surgery. |
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optik404
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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| EZE wrote: |
After I got home, I looked at the bill. It had costs for Consultation, Diagnostic Imaging, and 기 타. I was curious what 기 타 was since it was more than the actual medical services combined, so I e-mailed them to find out. They said it was for my guide, my interpreter, and for making my payment. I didn't have a guide or an interpreter, but I did make a payment so they won't take it off. I paid more than double just for paying. I paid just to pay.
Hopefully they won't send a bill in the mail charging me for paying the payment fee. |
Go in person, yell, make a scene and the charge will be taken off. |
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hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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that charge has been there for years, it costs them money to have someone to go with you and interpret etc. Every hospital with an international clinic will charge you for that, some more, some less. If your Korean is good enough then don't go to the international clinics.
its not a scam |
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johnny_russian
Joined: 24 Dec 2012
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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| the entire medical industry is a scam, no matter where you are in the world. |
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EZE
Joined: 05 May 2012
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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| hogwonguy1979 wrote: |
that charge has been there for years, it costs them money to have someone to go with you and interpret etc. Every hospital with an international clinic will charge you for that, some more, some less. If your Korean is good enough then don't go to the international clinics.
its not a scam |
I scheduled the visit at the pulmonology department, there was no interpeter, there was no one going around with me. I was directed to the International Clinic to pay, but I received no service they provide. If I would've seen the doctor at the International Clinic, or if they had scheduled my visit with the specialist, or if they had provided an interpreter, or if they had provided a guide, I would have no problem with being charged a foreigner fee. In retrospect, I should've insisted on paying at the regular payment desk, which could've possibly reduced my bill by more than half. The cashier who I paid didn't speak English anyway. He just pointed at the amount, I paid it, and he gave the change, sort of like paying at the 7/11 or anywhere else.
I don't think the guides and interpreters cost them much. They don't even pay their guides and interpreters. They wear shirts that say "Volunteer" on them. They appear to be mostly elderly Koreans. The hospital charges patients for them, including patients who don't receive a guide or interpreter, but those workers don't receive even 1% of the cut or minimum wage. |
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hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
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| Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 7:10 am Post subject: |
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| EZE wrote: |
| hogwonguy1979 wrote: |
that charge has been there for years, it costs them money to have someone to go with you and interpret etc. Every hospital with an international clinic will charge you for that, some more, some less. If your Korean is good enough then don't go to the international clinics.
its not a scam |
I scheduled the visit at the pulmonology department, there was no interpeter, there was no one going around with me. I was directed to the International Clinic to pay, but I received no service they provide. If I would've seen the doctor at the International Clinic, or if they had scheduled my visit with the specialist, or if they had provided an interpreter, or if they had provided a guide, I would have no problem with being charged a foreigner fee. In retrospect, I should've insisted on paying at the regular payment desk, which could've possibly reduced my bill by more than half. The cashier who I paid didn't speak English anyway. He just pointed at the amount, I paid it, and he gave the change, sort of like paying at the 7/11 or anywhere else.
I don't think the guides and interpreters cost them much. They don't even pay their guides and interpreters. They wear shirts that say "Volunteer" on them. They appear to be mostly elderly Koreans. The hospital charges patients for them, including patients who don't receive a guide or interpreter, but those workers don't receive even 1% of the cut or minimum wage. |
given that scenario i totally agree with you, come to think of it after a while I knew my orthopedist (some knee and back injuries )and i scheduled it on my own, knew where he was and they still charged me extra for their services i never used. Yeah I too would scream bloody murder at that, think they are counting on the idea we are too "dumb" to know the difference. |
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joelove
Joined: 12 May 2011
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| Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:26 am Post subject: |
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| It was a long time ago, meaning ten or more years, so this might not be relevant now, but once there at Asan when I went to get a prescription filled at the pharmacy in that hospital, they wanted to charge I believe 3 times as much as I paid before at a pharmacy on the street. So I said no thanks to that charge and went and got the stuff down the road for like 80,000 won less. Weird they would do that, but I guess it's like the stories ya hear, people getting wickedly high bills and often people pay without a fight. Other times they argue with the doctor or whoever and suddenly the bill gets reduced bigtime, and they save themselves a great deal of money. Can only imagine how many millions if not billions of dollars are overpaid each year. |
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hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
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| Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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| joelove wrote: |
| It was a long time ago, meaning ten or more years, so this might not be relevant now, but once there at Asan when I went to get a prescription filled at the pharmacy in that hospital, they wanted to charge I believe 3 times as much as I paid before at a pharmacy on the street. So I said no thanks to that charge and went and got the stuff down the road for like 80,000 won less. Weird they would do that, but I guess it's like the stories ya hear, people getting wickedly high bills and often people pay without a fight. Other times they argue with the doctor or whoever and suddenly the bill gets reduced bigtime, and they save themselves a great deal of money. Can only imagine how many millions if not billions of dollars are overpaid each year. |
that in house pharmacy stuff was outlawed a number of years ago, now you have to go find a pharmacy on your own like here in the states. Nice thing there though is when you go out the door there are a number of pharmacies with vans who will take you to their place |
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