Lexus dealership monopoly in Texas
06-12-12, 05:28 AM
#16
Nice set up towards the customer! Many wealthy / unsuspecting customers just accept the first offer that is made to them. Neighbor's doctor brother bought a LS460 last year and paid what the dealer said it was.
06-12-12, 11:10 AM
#17
Lexus Fanatic
A lot of people just pay what the sticker price is. You can't really fault the dealer for selling the product to the consumer at the price they're willing to pay, thats business.
They want to get the trade as cheap as possible, and sell the car for as much as possible. We'd all want the same thing.
As a consumer you've got to be educated or you're going to overpay. That goes with anything you buy.
They want to get the trade as cheap as possible, and sell the car for as much as possible. We'd all want the same thing.
As a consumer you've got to be educated or you're going to overpay. That goes with anything you buy.
06-12-12, 05:40 PM
#18
Your right. The doctor should have shopped better but he probably just figured he was making $$$ anyway and believe me, working with doctors on behalf of my sister in law's health problems, they milk the insurance system as much as possible. I could write a book.
06-12-12, 07:31 PM
#19
Lexus Fanatic
My mother owns a small firm that specializes in filing and collecting claims for Doctors from insurance companies. She could add to your book LOL. If you ever have any questions about things your sister in law is being billed or things that don't look right, PM me and I can see if I can help. I know a little from the time that I worked for the company years ago, and what I don't know I can pass on to her.
Doctors offices ROUTINELY bill patients and insurance companies incorrectly, but the blame is shared. Some of the fee schedules the doctors have to accept are so terrible they almost have no choice but to try and game the system.
Doctors offices ROUTINELY bill patients and insurance companies incorrectly, but the blame is shared. Some of the fee schedules the doctors have to accept are so terrible they almost have no choice but to try and game the system.
06-13-12, 05:33 AM
#21
Lexus Fanatic
But sometimes their personal; expenses (2nd wife / girlfriend) make them need to game the system even more.
06-13-12, 04:13 PM
#22
well, seeing how they game the system / insurance, not really. But we are digressing from the subject, that is TX monopoly. So i need to drop it and keep observing why the cost of health care keeps rising.
06-13-12, 10:00 PM
#23
Lexus Fanatic
Off topic, but you brought it up so I'm going to respond to it.
I've had enough doctors save family member's lives to know that there are wonderful doctors out there, we had a prominent DC Neurologist spend Christmas day with my Dad in the hospital a couple years ago. Opened presents with his kids early and came in just for us. It takes a LOT of sacrifice to become a Doctor and to be a Doctor, and for a lot of doctor's the financial reward isn't what its cracked up to be.
There are WAY easier things to become in life where you can make a lot of money, if you become a doctor to make money...you never make it to becoming a doctor or you don't stay a doctor long. We certainly have issues with healthcare in this country, and the medical profession shares some blame, but a TON of the blame goes to patients and lawyers mounting frivolous lawsuits, for profit insurance companies hiking premiums while squeezing what they pay for service (seriously, for many medical specialties what they will pay a doctor for an hour of their time is less than the labor rate at a Lexus dealer), the Government getting in the way enacting laws for political gain that don't address the problems at hand. Over the last 15 years per benefit payout to providers has fallen, yet insurance costs are way up. Doctors are making LESS than they used to. So, who is gaming the system?
Obviously you've had some bad experiences with your Sister in Law's care, but to say Doctor's are all out gaming the system so they have have second wives/girlfriends is pretty off base IMHO. What it is that you do that adds so much to society?
Like I said, PM me and I will see if I can give you some guidance that can help you.
I've had enough doctors save family member's lives to know that there are wonderful doctors out there, we had a prominent DC Neurologist spend Christmas day with my Dad in the hospital a couple years ago. Opened presents with his kids early and came in just for us. It takes a LOT of sacrifice to become a Doctor and to be a Doctor, and for a lot of doctor's the financial reward isn't what its cracked up to be.
There are WAY easier things to become in life where you can make a lot of money, if you become a doctor to make money...you never make it to becoming a doctor or you don't stay a doctor long. We certainly have issues with healthcare in this country, and the medical profession shares some blame, but a TON of the blame goes to patients and lawyers mounting frivolous lawsuits, for profit insurance companies hiking premiums while squeezing what they pay for service (seriously, for many medical specialties what they will pay a doctor for an hour of their time is less than the labor rate at a Lexus dealer), the Government getting in the way enacting laws for political gain that don't address the problems at hand. Over the last 15 years per benefit payout to providers has fallen, yet insurance costs are way up. Doctors are making LESS than they used to. So, who is gaming the system?
Obviously you've had some bad experiences with your Sister in Law's care, but to say Doctor's are all out gaming the system so they have have second wives/girlfriends is pretty off base IMHO. What it is that you do that adds so much to society?
Like I said, PM me and I will see if I can give you some guidance that can help you.
Last edited by SW17LS; 06-13-12 at 10:06 PM.
06-14-12, 05:15 AM
#24
My sister in laws doctor see her for less than 5 minutes (actual face time) and the insurance is billed $85. $85 X 12 intervals of 5 minutes = $1,020 per hour. And the waiting room is full each time we go. The doctors try to make up the shortcomings of the benefit payout. But, again, the topic is TX monopoly of dealers. These doctor observations are just observations of one doctor and how he operates his business.
06-14-12, 07:07 AM
#25
Lexus Fanatic
You're assuming that he's seeing a patient every 5 minutes for an entire hour, you're also not taking any of the time into consideration where he is going over his patients charts behind the scenes, etc. He probably sees 3-4 patients an hour, some for only 5 minutes like your sister, some for way longer depending on where they are at in their treatment. The cost of the office visit, $85 defrays the total cost of your sister's care, record keeping, the time the doctor spends, the time the office staff spends updating everything and communicating with her other doctors, plus the considerable liability and requirements of malpractice insurance.
$85X4 is $340 an hour, and thats profit to the practice not even the doctor's compensation. Not an unreasonable amount in my opinion for someone who has underwent 13-15 years of training in the field I'm paying them for their expertise in. You should see what an attorney bills for, top attorneys can bill for upwards of $1,000 an hour. Hell, often times depending on the client I'm working with I make considerably more than $340 an hour. I have clients I've made up to $2,000-$3,000 an hour from, its not the norm but it happens. What you don't realize is I don't work billable time 40 hours a week, and neither do doctors.
Its like any business, sometimes thats a quick $85...sometimes its really not. Do you work for free, or do you want to be paid for your work? I mean, I can't get anybody to work on anything in my house for $85, I can't remember when I had a bill at a car dealership or mechanic for less than $85. Why would I think thats too much to pay to see a doctor? I mean...you can't even hire someone to drive you around in a car for an hour for $85!
And the waiting room is full each time we go.
The doctors try to make up the shortcomings of the benefit payout.
These doctor observations are just observations of one doctor and how he operates his business.
Last edited by SW17LS; 06-14-12 at 07:21 AM.
06-14-12, 07:30 AM
#27
Lexus Fanatic
Just might!
06-14-12, 09:34 PM
#29
Lexus Fanatic
I think we're just doomed all around lol
07-02-12, 12:30 PM
#30
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Costco Discount
Some dealers subscribe to the Costco Membership Auto Discount program. Sterling McCall Lexus in Houston does. So, if you have a membership, find the person who handles the Costco discount. My drive out price including tax, title and license was about $3,000 less than the sticker price. Hopefully, I got the best price possible. At the minimum it was a hassle free and very pleasant experience.