MEDICAL: Bill inflames the pain

In a recent doctor's visit to Kootenai Urgent Care my daughter had a growth removed from her right toe. We had originally gone to have her bad cough treated and thought, "What the heck, we're here anyway, go ahead and remove the thing."

The doctor (nice lady) applied a freezing agent to the lesion, which took about 45 seconds. Upon receiving the bill I discovered that under code 17110 "Destruction of Lesion," the removal cost was $173.

I complained to their Billing Department, "This must have been coded wrong." Her explanation: "No Sir, we follow the insurance companies' guidelines for coding and this is accurate."

Let me spell it out, forty five seconds for one hundred and seventy three dollars! It almost had me believing in Obamacare.

JOSHUA HARRISON

Coeur d'Alene