FAQs
Aspen Dermatology is your Utah connection to looking and feeling your best.
Do you need a check up for skin cancers? Are you concerned about lesions? What about mole changes or removal? The dermatologists at Aspen Dermatology are specialists in these areas.
Maybe you desire a younger, fresher look; it is at Aspen Dermatology where you’ll find optimal treatment for your overall skin care needs. Our physicians and staff have the proficiency, knowledge, and dedication to provide innovative care to you and your experience with us.
Contact us today to set up an appointment.
Do you have questions?
Here are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions?
- Why do I have a copay charge on my bill?
- Why is my copay higher when I see your doctors?
- Why do I have a copay for follow up visits?
- Why can’t you just take off a mole and not send it to pathology?
- The doctor only spent a few minutes with me, why should I be charged for an office visit?
- How do I make an online payment to Aspen Dermatology?
1. Why do I have a copay charge on my bill?
Copays are due at the time of service. The copay charge is assessed when we have to send a statement to collect your copay that was not paid when you came in. Each statement may generate an additional charge for unpaid copays. If you always pay your copay at the time of service, you will never see this charge.
2. Why is my copay higher when I see your doctors?
Many insurance companies have a separate specialist copay written in to their policies. In other words, they require a higher copay when you see a specialist. Although we disagree with these higher copays, we are obligated to collect the copay amount your insurance policy assigns.
3. Why do I have a copay for follow up visits?
Every return visit is a follow up visit, whether it occurs in a few weeks or several months from the initial visit. All office visits, with the following exception, require a copay. The only time you don’t have a copay for a return visit is when you are in a surgical global period. This occurs when you have had a surgical visit and are returning for care related to that surgery such as suture removal or concerns about the incision. If you return to the office during a global period for an unrelated concern or procedure, you will be charged a copay.
4. Why can’t you just take off a mole and not send it to pathology?
Although our doctors are very proficient at looking at skin lesions and determining if they are suspicious, they cannot know for sure if a lesion is malignant without a pathological examination. The tissue must be examined to determine whether it is benign or malignant. If malignant, the examination also tells us what type of malignancy and how much it has spread.
The removal of any lesion without pathological examination is not consistent with the standard of care for board certified physicians. The pathology exam is a protection for both the patient and the physician.
5. The doctor only spent a few minutes with me, why should I be charged for an office visit?
Office visits are charged not only for the time involved, but for many other components. The doctor must pay someone to answer his phones, make the appointment, greet you when you arrive, prepare a chart and escort you to an examination room and so on. The office building and equipment is another expense that must be taken into consideration. The doctor’s visit itself may not be lengthy, but requires the doctor to exam you and make a diagnosis based on many years of education and experience. A diagnosis that is quick for one of our doctors to make, might be puzzling to another who is not skilled in dermatology. Essentially, patients request the doctor to formulate an opinion and treat their condition, whether it takes just a moment or involves a longer time.
