1st Class Sleep Diagnostic Center, Inc

May 19, Dear *** *** ***,We have received your notice of complaint about ogr business on complaint ID ***Our staff immediately reached out to the patient to let him know that his complaint was received and is being addressed in efforts to avoid this level of
complaint in the future.We assured him that his account was already adjusted off and updated as it was incorrectly processed The patient verified the email address we had on file for him and a full account statement was immediately sent for him to review and keep for his records. Please be assured that each staff member was made aware of this complaint and we let the patient know he can always follow up with us if there is anything that we can do to meet his needsOn behalf, of 1st Class Sleep Diagnostic Center I would like to thank you kindly for bringing this to our attentionIf there is anything else we can do for you please feel free to contact me at the number listed aboveBest Regards,
Shawn YDepartment Head

November 07, 2014Dear [redacted],
1st Class Medical has received your notice of complaint about our business on ID [redacted].
On October 31, 2014 [redacted] called our office and spoke to a representative in our office about his billing. He expressed his concern about...

the invoice he received from our collection company and his misunderstanding of his financial obligation for his medical equipment he received from us. The representative made a note on his account of the conversation they had and stated that he was "a VERY NICE man". He did inform our representative that he had returned his equipment, for this the balance and it was adjusted off, to which he expressed his gratitude. Before the call was over with [redacted] he paid off his balances and was sent a copy of his statement showing a zero balance.On November 7, 2014 our account specialist immediately reached out to [redacted] to make sure that his needs were met by our staff and that we extend our most sincerest apologies, Please be assured that each staff member was made aware of this complaint and have been made aware of changes we have made to assure this does not occur again,
On behalf of 1st Class Medical I would like to thank you kindly for bringing this to our attention. If there is anything else we can do for you please feel free to contact me at the number listed above,
Best Regards,
La Taunya J.
Department/Company Head

9/18/2014
Dear [redacted]:
I'm the Chief Operating Officer of 1st Class Sleep Diagnostics, Inc., and I'm writing you personally to apologize for your disappointment and to make this right.
When a patient makes an appointment and identifies an insurance company to bill for the...

cost, our practiced is to contact the insurance company to confirm coverage. Sometimes the procedure is not covered and sometimes the procedure is covered but the patient has not yet met the deductible So that the cost will have to be paid out of pocket by the patient. As a gesture of goodwill to our fellow human beings and because we believe in our mission, our company used to waive some payments when we learned that insurance would not cover, but we've been instructed by the government that we cannot do this because it may violate laws governing the delivery of medical services which require that someone pay and charges not be waived. So now when we learn in advance of an appointment that insurance will not cover, our standard practice is to contact the patient before the study and advise that they must pay the charges directly. Because the charges are considerable, we offer the alternative of an at-home study, which is not quite as useful but certainly is less costly. If the patient declines the at-home study, the entire transaction should be canceled without a cancellation charge.Apparently, there was some mis-communication here; you thought you had to pay $100 whether of not a study was performed and that you would have to pay no more than $100 even if a study was performed. You are incorrect on both counts but stranger things have happened; even trained people do make mistakes on how our system is supposed to work and sometimes messages are misunderstood, Your complaint has prompted a review of our systems and in the future I hope to reduce miscommunications and misunderstandings by including e-mail confirmations of the details of any interactions with patients, copied to an auditor who can correct misstatements of policy before the damage is done.
As to your situation, I have instructed staff to contact [redacted], our collection agency, and pull this claim. Your account is zeroed out and you owe us nothing.
As a personal aside here, I assume that you sought us out because you believed you had a problem that might benefit from our evaluation and possible treatment plan. Please take care of yourself and please don't let a pad experience sour you on the need to rely on professionals to monitor and maintain your health when you think you may have a problem. And where you find you do have a problem, please don't let cost stand in the way of treatment.Sincerely,
LaTaunya J
Chief Operating/Officer

March 12. 2015
Dear [redacted],
Our office staff here at 1st Class Sleep Diagnostic Center has received your notice of complaint about our business on lD 10458405. We have spoken to the patient on March 3, 2015 and assured him that the third party company that sent him...

the payment notice was not sending a fraudulent charge, but that of his patient portion due based on the policy he had with his insurance company. Our billing team followed up by calling his insurance company and requesting a copy of his explanation of benefits, as he expressed to us that he simply wanted to see if he did indeed owe the amount stated on the invoice. On. March 4, 2015 we received the faxed copy EQB and mailed it to him right away, after leaving him a voicemail letting him know the requested information is on its way. Please be assured that each staff member was made aware of this complaint and we will follow ve with the patient to see that all of his needs are met.
On behalf of 1st Class Diagnostic Center I would like to thank you kindly for bringing this to our attention. If there is anything else we can do for you please feel free to contact me at the number listed above,
Best Regards,
Shawn Y,
Department Head

March 12, 2015Dear [redacted],
Our office staff here at 1st Class Sleep Diagnostic Center has received your notice of complaint about our business on ID [redacted]. As requested on the complaint from our patient we have ceased to reach out to him by means of calling and sending...

bills. We have since adjusted his account off as he states he did not receive the items that he was billed for.On behalf of 1st Class Sleep Diagnostic Center I would like to thank you kindly for bringing this to our attention. If there is anything else we can do for you please feel free to contact me at the number listed above,.
Best Regards,
Shawn Y,Department Head

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
On October 20, 2014, I filed a Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania complaint #[redacted]. As of February 9, 2015, the last person I spoke with was Jasmine on October 31, 2014 at about 10:50 AM EST, and she said she would look into the matter. I was sent an account history, dated 10/31/2014, showing a zero customer balance. On 9 February 2015, I received, through the United States Post Office, a bill from First Class Medical saying I own $27.26 and the dated of service is June 23, 2014.
Regards,
[redacted]

First Class provided supplies related to sleep therapy during 2013 and did not bill me. Because I did not receive bills I did not pay.
They called early in 2015 to collect the 2013 money. I asked for invoices to show the products had been ordered and delivered. It took several months to get the paperwork. I had to verify with my bank and credit card company that I had not paid.
When I asked why this had happened, the representative told me it was because the company was under new ownership and was trying to clean up its books.
Subsequently, I had my sleep physician contact First Class to switch my equipment provider. I also called and wrote to end my relationship with First Class. Yet they sent me product 2 months later and both billed me and sent a late payment notice.
I have paid all of the bills, with the exception of the late notice. I technically do not owe the bill for the equipment sent after cancelling but paid it just to be done with this company and its self-serving ineptitude.

Review: I scheduled an appt for a sleep study, provided all necessary information, and on the day of my appt, 1st Class contacted me to cancel my appt because my insurance denied the request. I was told via voicemail that I could participate in an at-home study as an alternative. As it was described to me as an option, I decided not to do the at-home study. A week later, I received a bill for $100 for a canceled appt fee. Immediately I called 1st Class to dispute this charge since they were the ones that canceled, not me. I was told that if I did not participate in the at-home study, I was going to continue to be charged the $100. Rather than engage in a lengthy argument, I reluctantly agreed to the at-home study. Then, nine months later, I receive another bill in the mail, this time for $300 for the at-home study. These charges were never disclosed to me prior to the study. I wrote them a letter disputing this charge and received no response. Last week, I received another bill for $300 saying that my account was to be turned over to collections. Still no feedback from my original correspondence.Desired Settlement: Would like for this charge be removed from my account, and nothing reported to collections.

Business

Response:

9/18/2014Dear [redacted]:I'm the Chief Operating Officer of 1st Class Sleep Diagnostics, Inc., and I'm writing you personally to apologize for your disappointment and to make this right.When a patient makes an appointment and identifies an insurance company to bill for the cost, our practiced is to contact the insurance company to confirm coverage. Sometimes the procedure is not covered and sometimes the procedure is covered but the patient has not yet met the deductible So that the cost will have to be paid out of pocket by the patient. As a gesture of goodwill to our fellow human beings and because we believe in our mission, our company used to waive some payments when we learned that insurance would not cover, but we've been instructed by the government that we cannot do this because it may violate laws governing the delivery of medical services which require that someone pay and charges not be waived. So now when we learn in advance of an appointment that insurance will not cover, our standard practice is to contact the patient before the study and advise that they must pay the charges directly. Because the charges are considerable, we offer the alternative of an at-home study, which is not quite as useful but certainly is less costly. If the patient declines the at-home study, the entire transaction should be canceled without a cancellation charge.Apparently, there was some mis-communication here; you thought you had to pay $100 whether of not a study was performed and that you would have to pay no more than $100 even if a study was performed. You are incorrect on both counts but stranger things have happened; even trained people do make mistakes on how our system is supposed to work and sometimes messages are misunderstood, Your complaint has prompted a review of our systems and in the future I hope to reduce miscommunications and misunderstandings by including e-mail confirmations of the details of any interactions with patients, copied to an auditor who can correct misstatements of policy before the damage is done.As to your situation, I have instructed staff to contact [redacted], our collection agency, and pull this claim. Your account is zeroed out and you owe us nothing.As a personal aside here, I assume that you sought us out because you believed you had a problem that might benefit from our evaluation and possible treatment plan. Please take care of yourself and please don't let a pad experience sour you on the need to rely on professionals to monitor and maintain your health when you think you may have a problem. And where you find you do have a problem, please don't let cost stand in the way of treatment.Sincerely,LaTaunya JChief Operating/Officer