Evelyn Wallace

Review of Central Texas Medical Center

This center put me $3,000 in debt and accomplished...

This center put me $3,000 in debt and accomplished absolutely nothing. I have average-ranged health insurance, but like most personal plans (I'm a student and have to buy my own), I still have to deal with a high deductible long before it starts to pay off.

I went in afraid that my extreme pains were something serious, and it was the weekend so I wouldn't get to see a specialist soon.

Get this: They don't charge you for individual tests, x rays, and doctor visits. They simply charge you for the "type" of pain youre having.

They are another example of millions of how peasant Americans are being destroyed by wild west healthcare. They can charge you literally WHATEVER they want, and unlike every other business in existence, they won't tell you WHAT they're charging you until AFTER "treatment."

So they ran their tests, took the x-rays, gave me a TWO-DOLLAR BOTTLE of medicine, and sent me on my way. Seriously. They gave me a bottle of medicine of which I can get the EXACT same at an over-the-counter pharmacy for literally $2.

Unsurprisingly, the medicine wasn't a cure, and worse still, when I saw a specialist a few weeks later to try and identify and treat whatever was wrong with me, that specialist told me that they lied to me. I made them send over the x-rays that they took to his office, and he said that there definitely was not "a blockage" like they said. It wasn't even a misdiagnosis. There was absolutely no reason for them to even think that. Perhaps if they put whatever diagnosis on there, people are less likely to question or contest their sky high bills.

Oh and lastly, I just got ANOTHER bill from them. The doctor that saw me for literally 10 minutes. I'm not being hyperbolic. I talked to this doctor for no more than 10 minutes. I now owe him $700. For 10 minutes. He didn't diagnose me. He didn't treat me in any way shape or form. He said, "Drink more water and eat more plants." Well gee whiz doc! I never thought of that. I definitely didn't try everything I could before I ended up in the hospital with excruciating pain.

$700. I even called and asked for an itemized receipt for this bill. No items to it, I was told. When I pointed out that this doctor spoke to me for 10 minutes, guess what the representative said: "The doctor doesn't charge by time. He charges you by the type of pain you're having."

Imagine if you took your car to an auto shop for repair. They're not going to tell you ahead of time what the repair will cost. They're not even going to charge you for time and replacement parts. They're going to charge you based on the type of sound it's making. And if their repairs are dead wrong or don't work, well too bad! Heres your bill for thousands of dollars. We take credit cards.