Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Target Clinic

When I come across something that I really like, I love to tell people about it and I recently discovered something I REALLY like.

Have you ever been to a Target Clinic?

I had not.  But I am totally fed up with how much we have to pay to go to the Urgent Care are our family clinic so last week when Heidi was sick I needed to find something new.

First, let me tell you that an office visit at my clinic costs about $140.  Labs are about $40.  My insurance only covers Urgent Care once you have hit your deductible but for a healthy family, this probably will never happen.  My insurance does give me a discount but it amounts to less than $15 off the total bill.  Meaning that I will end up paying almost $200 to see urgent care for a cold.

It was Sunday night and Heidi was pretty sick.  Not so sick that she needed to go to the ER but sick enough that we knew she was going to have to see a doctor in the morning.

Shawn was online preparing to take Monday off work so I had him see where our closet Target Clinic was located.

I had heard of Target Clinic and knew it was like the old Minute Clinics that don't seem to be around any more.  I love Target and it had to be cheaper so what the heck, let's give it a try!

Turns out there is one in our local Super Target just 5 miles away.  It opened at 9 am and a strep test would cost an estimated $60.  SOLD!

Shawn and Heidi headed for Super Target at 8:30 the next morning.  They had no trouble at all.  They gave our insurance card to the receptionist and saw the doctor very quickly.

They were pleased with how nice the doctor was.  She even let Shawn look in Heidi's mouth so he could see what strep looked like.

She was diagnosed with Strep, a Scarlet Fever Rash, and an ear infection.  They did not pay anything and headed over to the pharmacy to pick up her antibiotics.

I received the explanation of benefits within 4 days.  My clinic typically takes 3 to 5 weeks to submit to the insurance company.

The cost of the office visit was $59.  The lab was $10.  I did not get a discount or any coverage from my insurance but my total bill will be $69.  Not $214 like I paid last time she had a cold.

So, what I am saying here is, insurance or not, you can't beat $69 for great customer service, good health care, and convenience. 

We will be back.  No more urgent care for us.

2 comments:

Margie said...

lol@ a healthy family. Whats that like to have? Im very happy you shared this Kara. We like the Minute Clinic in CVS just down the road on bass lake rd. Did you find that was gone now? Never new target offerd something like it.

Kara said...

No, I didn't know there was a Minute Clinic in CVS. I had read they were closing a bunch of them but I guess there are still some open :)