Registering with a GP

[lurdino 9]

I have health insurance from my employer. Today I tried to register as a new patient at a local family practice and was told I would need to call my insurance provider, tell them this particular doctor would be my primary healthcare provider from now on, and ask whether this would go into affect in May or whether I would need to wait until June to see whether I need to pay a copay.

 

When I registered with a dental office I basically just rocked up to the office a half hour before my appointment to fill out the correct paperwork, so I was taken aback.

 

Is this information correct? Do I need to go through all this just to go to see the doctor? I have asthma and all I really want is to top up my inhalers.

[lacolinab13 86]

I would call your insurance company and ask them to clarify. I've never had to do this, but it really depends on the type of insurance plan and coverage you have. 

[yuna628 9,676]

Depends on the insurance company. Is your insurance open access and does the doctor participate with the insurer? You can't really go to any doctor you want unless the insurance policy allows you to in many cases. My insurance actually requires you to choose the primary care doctor via their list of providers that work with the insurance and then you'll be issued a new card with their name on it (the card should also have the copays listed on the back like GP/UC/ER etc). In the old days you used to have a phonebook like thing to go through to even find one! Now it's online. Your first line of questioning will be to explore your provider's website and provider list, and the second would be calling the doctor first and asking if they participate. Every time you are seen as a new patient there will be a lot of protocol to go through - they'll want you to fill out a lot of paperwork. Dentists are a little more straightforward, they either accept the insurance or not, and either way you'll mostly pay for a good chunk of it.