Dr Kaufman or Dr Cheda? Why

[Gday]

Thinking of travelling to The Center for Complex Diseases to see Dr Kaufman or Dr Cheda. If you had to choose one, which would you chose and why?

If you have been to see either of them how many days where you there and did you have to travel to other places for labs etc?

What would you expect a rough cost to be for full testing? Where is a nice area to stay if travelling from overseas?

Thanks

 

[valentinelynx]

I've only seen Dr. Kaufman. I've heard good things about Dr. Chheda, however, and I know they consult each other. Yes, there are two H's in her name! I highly recommend them.

For my appointments I've only needed to see him one day. But it likely depends on what you want to do. If you want to do some tests (SIBO), it may take longer. I'd contact them ahead of time and see what they recommend.

Also, ask them about test costs. They do a lot of blood work, but that was covered by my insurance. It wouldn't be, coming from another country, so ask in advance.

As for where to stay... it's more a matter of the whole area being outrageously expensive. There really isn't a bad place to stay anymore, since it's all been gentrified by the dot com businesses (I lived in Palo Alto from 1980 to 2004, and the change in the area is unbelievable). Anyway, if you're not up for $300+/night hotel prices, I suggest using AirBnB. You can get a really nice room for much less, with access to a kitchen, etc if you like.

Here is there office visit fee schedule (sorry, the formatting was lost):

PATIENT FEE SCHEDULE

New Patient Deposit

**Will be applied to initial appointment fee.

$300

Initial appointment

90 minutes

$650

First follow-up appointment

60 minutes

$585

Follow-up appointment

30 minutes

$485

Follow-up appointment

Over 30 minutes

$585

Time over scheduled appointment time

Each additional 30 minutes

$100

Telemedicine follow-up appointment

5-10 minutes

$150

Telemedicine follow-up appointment

11-20 minutes

$325

Telemedicine follow-up appointment

21-30 minutes

$450

Telemedicine follow-up appointment

Over 30 minutes

$550

SIBO Testing

$200

Prior Authorizations
**SInce insurance companies refuse to cover compounded medications, we will NOT attempt to do prior authorizations for these mediations.

$50 to $100

Rituxan/IVIG approval processing

$150 to $500

New Patient cancellation fee

Less than 10 business day notice

$300

Established Patient cancellation fee

Less than 72 hours notice

$250

We are a fee-for-service clinic and do not accept insurance. Most insurance companies consider us an out-of network provider. Therefore, payment is expected at the time clinic services are rendered.

Following an office visit or phone consult, you will receive a superbill that you can submit to your insurance for reimbursement.

 

[StarChild56]

Dr. Kaufman
He has probably saved my life
He is kind, knowledgeable, interested, dogged and determined
I am about 3 hours away (driving, traffic) and my husband drove me then we drove home afterwards for the probably 4 in person visits we have had. We have had follow up phone consultations.
The initial office visit/2nd visit prices have gone up since I first saw him.
All of my blood work he orders is paid for by my health insurance (after my deductible, and I have both primary and secondary coverage so that helps). If I did not have health insurance, the blood work alone is sometimes $18K (these are when I have 27 vials of blood taken, or 20, this happens about every 4 months).
I just paid for a SIBO test (which maybe my insurance will reimburse me for, in part, Dr. Kaufmaun's office provides what is called a "Superbill" with info needed to submit a claim to your insurance for reimbursement) and I believe it was $270 or $240.
I haven't read the other responses yet as I had this up all night without sending it so I will post my reply and catch up.

P.S. - I can't say enough good things about Dr. Kaufman.

 

[RL_sparky]

New initial appointments are now billed at $800.00 for 90 minutes.
Same for the follow up appointment.

All other charges appear to be the same as listed above.

You will get your monies worth with either doctor.

 

[Learner1]

I think you would be lucky to see either of them. It was required that my first 2 visits be in person. My doctor has been incredibly efficient and has earned the money I've spent. Initial testing was about $10,000 without insurance, with updates about $5,000 each, though my insurance has paid for all but about $1800. The results were worth it. The care I've gotten has dramatically improved my function.

 

[KatieK]

I'm seriously considering seeing Dr. Kauffman, does anyone have more stories of how much the lab tests cost? The prices are now: $1,000 for an initial in-person visit, $1,000 for a follow-up consultation six weeks later to discuss test results, plus all the lab work. I see numbers like $10,000 in this thread, which scares me. Have others spent that much? Less? Thanks, y'all.