---

---

Released: January 10, 2012

Some doctors charge your credit card number upfront

Source: Fran Kritz, Washington Post (Free Registration)

After a year abroad, my daughter came home last summer, unusually fatigued and with more severe asthma symptoms than when she left. After a thorough checkup, her new doctor, a family practice physician, referred us to five specialists, so I put aside a morning, and my insurance card, to make the appointments. Turns out, though, that to guarantee appointments with two of the practices, I also needed my credit card — to make a down payment on the visit.

Consumers expect reservation agents to ask for a credit card to hold a hotel room or a table at a restaurant. But when a doctor asks for a hold fee, it feels jarring, perhaps because it turns what we think of as a healing encounter into a commercial one.

Read Full Article: Some doctors charge your credit card number upfront