Health Monitoring Services - Long Post, Sorry

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

Recently, I received a text message from my Doctor that his practice was partnering with the health monitoring service NSight and he had referred me to it. I could call to sign up or they would be calling me. soon. Since I'm quite healthy, I'm sure all patients are being referred.

Well, they started calling last week. The first call, I had no idea who it was, so I didn't answer the phone. The man who left a message spoke so quickly I couldn't understand a thing he said except the phone number. That sorta screamed scam to me. Get the person to call back to find out what the call was and then reel them in. So, I didn't call back. Also, the number to call back was different than the number that called me.

The next time they called, it was a lady who was calling "on behalf of Dr. XXX". My husband thought it was my Doctor's office calling, but I immediately knew that was not his secretary calling, but I did realize the phone number was my Dr.'s office number. I don't call it often enough to remember it. So, I looked at my text message and discovered the other number was for this service.

I ignored the next call, but today I finally answered it. They send you a blood pressure cuff that you would use daily and the results sent directly to your Dr.'s office. And, they wanted to call me once a month to discuss things like any concerns, nutrition, etc and doing prescription refills. Yeah, that's a hard no for me. I don't need someone nagging me about my lifestyle choices. It won't work anyways, just probably cause that BP to rise and then the Dr. would want to put me on BP meds. BTW, they were rather pushy when I declined. I'm sure they have an argument for every reason.

I don't agree with current beliefs on some things, and I'm not changing just because they nag me, so it's really not a good fit for me. I won't get into specifics although you might run into them occasionally in other posts.

She claimed it was covered by Medicare, but later she mentioned something about due to my secondary insurance it should be no cost to me. I don't have secondary insurance unless they consider Medicare secondary. And then there's that pesky deductible that I usually don't fulfill. And if I did, I would consider it a waste of Medicare's money which, really IS my money, and yours.

It may be a great service for some, just not for me.

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@Icegoddess Is this 'service' so that you do not have to bother the doctor with the things that service will do?

hopi · ‎03-09-2010

Just ignore... it is a business, They want to make money. They do it to everyone on Medicare. Can't imagine someone coming and going helping especially if you are okay.. In an emergency you can call the Doctor for help. Any Doctor I have see the company ownership does the exact same thing. Specialists that have only seen me one but know my history have given me terrible and health damaging advice. They really push at the end of the year because Medicare always changes is approval status and eventually with the way things are going Medicare will approve and cover less.

Trinity11 · ‎11-16-2014

@Icegoddess wrote:
Recently, I received a text message from my Doctor that his practice was partnering with the health monitoring service NSight and he had referred me to it. I could call to sign up or they would be calling me. soon. Since I'm quite healthy, I'm sure all patients are being referred.

Well, they started calling last week. The first call, I had no idea who it was, so I didn't answer the phone. The man who left a message spoke so quickly I couldn't understand a thing he said except the phone number. That sorta screamed scam to me. Get the person to call back to find out what the call was and then reel them in. So, I didn't call back. Also, the number to call back was different than the number that called me.

The next time they called, it was a lady who was calling "on behalf of Dr. XXX". My husband thought it was my Doctor's office calling, but I immediately knew that was not his secretary calling, but I did realize the phone number was my Dr.'s office number. I don't call it often enough to remember it. So, I looked at my text message and discovered the other number was for this service.

I ignored the next call, but today I finally answered it. They send you a blood pressure cuff that you would use daily and the results sent directly to your Dr.'s office. And, they wanted to call me once a month to discuss things like any concerns, nutrition, etc and doing prescription refills. Yeah, that's a hard no for me. I don't need someone nagging me about my lifestyle choices. It won't work anyways, just probably cause that BP to rise and then the Dr. would want to put me on BP meds. BTW, they were rather pushy when I declined. I'm sure they have an argument for every reason.

I don't agree with current beliefs on some things, and I'm not changing just because they nag me, so it's really not a good fit for me. I won't get into specifics although you might run into them occasionally in other posts.

She claimed it was covered by Medicare, but later she mentioned something about due to my secondary insurance it should be no cost to me. I don't have secondary insurance unless they consider Medicare secondary. And then there's that pesky deductible that I usually don't fulfill. And if I did, I would consider it a waste of Medicare's money which, really IS my money, and yours.

It may be a great service for some, just not for me.

Surely, I am not comprehending. Are you saying you have no supplemental insurance? Are you aware one even minor illness can bankrupt you? If you get cancer, the costs can run over a million dollars with no cap @Icegoddess

FLtricia · ‎02-18-2012

@Icegoddess Just as information, there are supplemental insurance policies that have a zero monthly premium that fully cover many items. I was paying over $200 a month for supplemental and then found out last year that I could have basically the same coverage for $0.

I don't know about your state, but you may want to investigate this option. If anything happens it will save you money. I recently spent the night in the hospital and had to pay nothing. The bill would have been several thousand dollars.

PinkyPetunia · ‎03-09-2010

My guess is this company is selling medical equipment, getting Medicare to pay for it if your doc approves it. Your supplemental insurance is the secondary insurance. Don't have supplemental policy? That is risky.

I have no proof but I imagine the doctor's practice gets a kickback or some other incentive for each patient who signs up. I wouldn't do it.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

I have a great Medicare Advantage policy and I get calls every few months from someone wanting to schedule a "wellness visit" in my home.

No thank you. I never answer or return their calls.

My best guess on these calls .....

I think that since Medicare pays out so much money, health insurance companies are trying to make sure they cover all the bases for seniors. If there's a profit to be made, that's even more incentive.

pdlinda · ‎10-23-2011

@Icegoddess I'm in your club. I belong to One Medical and have for years. My PCP KNOWS ME VERY WELL and he and I manage any health concerns I have without GIMMICKS!

I have a UHC PPO Advantage plan. They tried contacting me about "this and that" type evaluation and I called them and insisted they put me on a "no call list."

I have lower back issues and go in for epidural injections. They take my BP. There is no need for any other 3rd party to take my BP because my PCP told me it varies throughout the day AND I, like you, am in excellent health and take very good care of it.

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

Since I have problems with high BP, my doctor wanted to send me a BP monitor that could connect to wifi and send my readings directly to the doctor's office. Said it was Medicare covered but I declined the offer.