8/12/14: The $600 physician house call? I followed up today on my previous blog entry on appliance serviceman charges. I met with the 3rd generation owner of the Traverse City appliance store concerning the $149 labor charge for 15 minutes of work. My purpose was to provide the owner with my reaction to such a bill. I had paid the bill and was not seeking a reduction.
I explained the charges for his clothes dryer mechanic was more than a surgeon would be paid for professional work. The owner was insistent that the bill was proper and in no way excessive. He ignored the comparison to a surgical fee as though it was not relevant.
I asked him in the future to not complain about medical bills and thanked him for hearing me out.
Moral of the Story: Physician’s should be charging no less than $600 for first 15 minutes of a patient encounter to keep economic pace with appliance service people.