Other times they won't tell you an option until it's been pre-approved. The issue can be as simple as prescribing or not prescribing antibiotics. It can be deadly if a doctor steers you away from a certain treatment because of some peculiar bias he or she has. Once again, ask a lot of questions to get a better sense of why your doctor believes what he or she believes. Drew Meyer says there is a recent case law that spells out what information you should get from your doctor.
Patients ought to make sure that's happening.
Managed health care's dirty little secret is something called capitation. Memorize this word and keep it in mind at all times when you're dealing with a doctor in a managed plan. If your doctor sends you for certain tests or procedures that bring the cost of your care beyond that set fee, those extra costs may be proportionately deducted from the doctor's paycheck. In many cases, doctors must get approval for certain procedures. In other words, the bean counters could be calling the shots when it comes to deciding what sort of measures will be taken to either diagnose or treat you.