Pain management can be costly. Recently we had a client who was charged close to $1 million by a pain management clinic on a single employee who sought treatment at the clinic during a 12 month period. We intervened and questioned the costs of procedures. We received an analysis from another physician who reviewed the medical case notes, and found the treatment plan “irresponsible and unncecessary.”
Today, we were notified that the same pain management clinic is treating another client of ours, with ten office visits thus far costing the employer’s self-funded plan in excess of $13,000.
Of course, the patients have no clue as to the charges submitted by this physician.
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2004/11/22/focus1.html