When Preston Nafz was 12, he asked his dad for permission to play lacrosse. "First practice, he came back, he said, 'Dad, I love it,'" recalled his father, Lothar Nafz, of Hoover, Alabama. "He lives for lacrosse.
" But years of youth sports took a toll on Preston's body. By the time the teenager limped off the field during a lacrosse tournament last year, the pain in his left hip had become so intense that he had trouble with simple activities, such as getting out of a car or turning over in bed. Months of physical therapy and anti-inflammatory drugs didn't help.
Not only did he have to give up sports, but "I could barely do anything," said Preston, now 17. The Medical Procedure A doctor recommended Preston undergo a procedure called a sports hernia repair to mend damaged tissue in his pelvis, believed to be causing his pain. The sports medicine clinic treating Preston told Lothar that the procedure had no medical billing code — an identifier that providers use to charge insurers and other payers.
It likely would be a struggle to persuade their insurer to cover it, Lothar was told, which is why he needed to pay upfront. With his son suffering, Lothar said, the surgery "needed to be done." He paid more than $7,000 to the clinic and the surgery center with a personal credit card and a medical credit card with a zero-interest rate.
Preston underwent surgery in November, and his father filed a claim with their insurer, hoping for a full reimbursement. It didn't come. The Final B.
