Advanced Home Care

AHC investigated the complaint and called and emailed the customer and below is a review of the services providedAs a courtesy we did refund the $however the customer did use the oxygen for the period of time in question and AHC billing practice was correct: Good day, we are in receipt of your complaint to the Revdex.com regarding the care and services you received from Advanced Home CareWe are very sorry we have not met your expectationOur desire is to be transparent and clear with all interactions with customersI would like to take the opportunity to explain from our perspective the manner we provided servicesWe received an oxygen referral on 6/30/The referral was entered into our verification queue to help understand the possible costs that one’s insurance do not directly pay and the amounts or financial responsibility the insurance contract directs towards the customerA [redacted] oxygen was delivered to the hospital by the Advanced Homecare LiaisonThe PFR (patient financial responsibility) was noted to be around $per monthThe customer was then enrolled into autopay in order to receive the payments that one’s insurances states are the responsibility of the customerThe PST (patient service technician) then went to the home to complete home set up after discharge on 6/30/The PST notated on ticket that patient wanted to keep [redacted] portable oxygen system in lieu of the standard Home-fill oxygen systemThe PST also delivered Moxygen back up tank in case of power outagesOur customer was also to receive BiPAP deviseRT (Respiratory Therapist) reached out on 7/leaving a voicemail to arrange set upA message was left that a co-pay of $would be due at setup and then months of $would be requiredPatient called back and spoke to RT department the following was notated: Customer has declined BiPAP setup at this timeThe co-insurance was $due at set up and $for monthly rental for up to months and had to set up auto payThe customer stated he couldn't afford at this timeThe customer states he was told everything was coveredWe explained that hospital and DME (Durable Medical Equipment) coverages are different and that he does not owe a deductible w/ policy currently and that amount due when he called back would be the sameThe customer only has a co=pay at this timeHe was made aware his BiPAP order is good for six months and we would hold on to the documentation if he chooses to change his mindCustomer called in on 7/6/to CCC (Customer Care Center) inquiring about private pay wheelchair rentalThe local retail department was notified.The Retail Department reached out to the customer on 7/for the following: The hospital liaison provided a note to the Retail employee to call the patient about a [redacted] oxygen to travel, the note stated they needed it tomorrow and unfortunately the Lenoir retail store did not have one in stock at the momentRetail employee called the number provided and the “VM was not set up yet”The Retail employee would need to explain the cost for the portable and tell them they need to reserve a [redacted] oxygen unit two weeks ahead of timeCustomer came into Retail on 7/7/Patient was in store about the [redacted] oxygen for travel, it was explained about the cost and about a company that Advanced used for travel oxygen patientsThat company is [redacted] if they are traveling out of our service areaThey were going to Boston which is outside of the service area of Advanced HomecareThe customer became upset and said he was told there was no charge on them, I apologized for this and explained the policyI also explained we needed a two week notice for all travel O2.Regarding the concern of equipment issues the following was notedFirst troubleshooting call was notated on 8/4/by CCC (Customer Care Center) patient's caregiver called in RE: concentrator concernCaregiver stated that the concentrator had the yellow telephone light onTransferred to Tisa for troubleshootingA switch out ticket was created after unsuccessful troubleshoot attempt, the PST (Patient Service Technician) was routed to the home.Customer called in on 8/23/and spoke to [redacted] regarding explanation of billingOn 9/15/Caregiver Joyce called to update autopay profile using checking accountOn 10/27/the customer returned concentrator to retailRetail employee created pick up ticket and had customer sign AMA (Against Medical Advise) form [redacted] spoke to patient again on 11/20/to explain billingOn 12/4/it is notated by the cash team: We received a notification that the Echeck payment this patient made on 11/20/in the amount of $has returned due to insufficient fundsI have removed the payment from the accountLast note in customer’s account is dated 12/7/with the following: patient called about the auto pay email - I explained the charges are co-pays for 10/5/and that he is responsible for them because he had the oxygen equipment for the full month of OctoberI emailed him an itemized account summaryIn the end we understand that insurance claims and billing can become complicated and confusingIt is our desire to help educate and document the navigation of paymentsIn this case it seems we did not do the job in education that you expectedBecause that last payment caused concerns and insufficient funds Advanced Homecare is refunding that to youWe appreciate you taking the time to notify us of the problem regarding your services from Advanced Home Care and apologize for any dissatisfaction it may have caused you It is Advanced Home Care’s intention to provide the very best care and services possible to all of our patients and other customers It is only if we are made aware of a concern that we can take action to solve it, and you have given us this opportunityWe have taken actions to investigate the concern you shared with us Our goal is to prevent a similar incident from reoccurring in the futureAgain we are truly sorry that we may have caused any consternation

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/12/17) */
Contact Name and Title: Drury F*, ReimbMgr
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX x-
Contact Email: ***@advhomecare.org
The patient called on 12/10/and Lyn discontinued the rental lines and started the process to credit the
account for the patient balances and remove it from collectionsI verified with the collection agency today that the balance has been removed
On 12/11/15, I, Drury F*, spoke with the patient and assured that all the debt would be removed and that *** ** would provide documentation that the debt was removed from her credit reportsShe was quite pleased with the resolutionI prompted that she may hear from someone else regarding the resolution of the Revdex.com complaint
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/12/22) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I will be satisfied with their response if they have indeed taken care of the information on my credit reportHowever, I would like verification that it has been removedI was also told that I would be refunded I cannot say that I am satisfied until these things have taken placeThank you
Final Business Response /* (4000, 15, 2016/01/22) */
The contents of the statement were extracted and sent to *** for mailing just before I made the adjustments (extract date was 12/and my adjustments were 12/29)
I contact the patient and explained and she understood what happenedI also verified with her that she received the refund and the notice of the corrected claim sent to the insurance companyShe has not yet received confirmation of the closed collections account, so I will call *** on Monday to verify that it has been mailed to her
Final Consumer Response /* (450, 17, 2016/01/26) */
This case has been resolvedI received a refund from Advanced Home CareI also received a phone call explaining that the bill I most recently received was already batched and sent to the billing company for DecemberI was assured that I would receive no more billsI am now satisfied based on my recent conversation with a company representative that the issue has been settled

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/19) */
I have spoken to the patient *** *** and the daughter *** (XXX) XXX-XXXXThe RX that was received by Advanced Homecare was for a drop arm commodeAdvanced homecare carries one size drop arm commodeIt was delivered and paid for in
fullThe family felt that this item that Advanced carries was to large for the patientWhen I asked the patient if a standard bed side commode (BSC) would work, which is not what the MD wrote for she told me her daughter already purchased another BSCI then asked if she had used the commode that Advanced had providedShe states she did use itI told the daughter who was adamant to have the item returned for a full refund...I told her I would review all the information and get back with them as the item has been used

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/05/05) */
5/5/
I called Ms*** and left a voice message and requested a return callI provided my contact number and title and assured her that we would investigate; I apologized for the inconvenience
*** ***, RN, BSN
Director of
Quality and Compliance
Advanced Home Care

On 02/02/17 AHC called and spoke with this patientHe was upset at first, however, AHC was able to assist him with a couple of issuesHe wanted to be removed from AutoPay and be refunded for the amount he paid upfront for his BiPAP and suppliesThe total refund is for $AHC issued
the refund to be put back on patient's card. AHC also removed patient from AutoPayPatient is also requesting for someone to call him to verify his benefits with *** and explain why *** is denying his BiPAP claimDME Insurance and Authorization Teams reviewed and called him backPatient was thankful for assistance Patient was provided direct number to call with any questions or concerns On 02/14/17, Patient Financial Service Manger received an e-mail to contact patient againPt was called; per phone call let patient know that *** is now paying the claims for his BIPAP and the claims should be processed correctly going forwardAHC rep was able to facilitate these claims be paid by ***Patient was appreciative for calling him back

Today, my cousin, her husband and I visited the Advanced Home Care Facility in Greensboro. They live out of town and were unfamiliar with the Facility's location. My cousin is in need of a Transport Wheelchair due to her Parkinson's Disease. We were immediately greeted by Amber Green. There were lots of questions asked of Amber and lots of additional information volunteered that were not asked. She demonstrated the total operations of the Transport Wheelchair, explained the insurance approval process, and gave them an approximate availability date (assuming approval). She was so kind and compassionate and informative. They left the facility with the feeling that they had been taken care of and knew exactly what was happening from that point forward. Amber is the best example of Customer Service that I have personally witnessed in years. She went the extra mile! KUDOS to her.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2016/09/05) */
Advanced Home Care exists to make a positive difference in the lives of our patients by providing compassionate, high quality home health care. We are a not for profit organization that remains willing to work with all of our patients to ensure...

they have the ability to resolve their billing concerns and accounts with us. We offer payment arrangements as well as an AutoPay program.
In this case, please see the facts as below:
On January 20, 2016, Advanced Home Care billing department was contacted by [redacted] and he declined setting up a payment plan. [redacted] agreed to mail $151.72 to AHC on 1/20 and would pay the remaining $151.72 no later than 30 days after.
[redacted] did make payments of $100 on 2/22/16 and 3/21/16. The unpaid portion of his balance was referred to collections in April as it had exceeded our time frame for payment without special circumstances (90 days). Due to the decline to set up recurring payment arrangements by [redacted], his account was not flagged for extended payment periods and was marked as delinquent.
The unpaid balance was sent to [redacted] Resources, our contracted collections agency in April 2016. They began calling the patient on 4/4/16 and sending correspondence to the address provided by Advanced Home Care.
The patient discovered this debt when looking on Credit Karma and has said he did not receive any correspondence or calls from [redacted].
During a conversation with the [redacted] representative, they indicated that the patient was not disputing his charges and that he owed this amount. He wanted this removed from his credit report the same day.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2016/09/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Based on the way this was handled, I am asking this be removed from my credit report. I was making payments and getting this resolved. Why would they send me to collections 15 days after a payment was made. I have excellent credit; look it up. Never a late payment. This is absurd.

AHC investigated the complaint and called and emailed the customer and below is a review of the services provided. As a courtesy we did refund the $23.08 however the customer did use the oxygen for the period of time in question and AHC billing practice was correct: Good day, we are in...

receipt of your complaint to the Revdex.com regarding the care and services you received from Advanced Home Care. We are very sorry we have not met your expectation. Our desire is to be transparent and clear with all interactions with customers. I would like to take the opportunity to explain from our perspective the manner we provided services. We received an oxygen referral on 6/30/2017. The referral was entered into our verification queue to help understand the possible costs that one’s insurance do not directly pay and the amounts or financial responsibility the insurance contract directs towards the customer. A [redacted] oxygen was delivered to the hospital by the Advanced Homecare Liaison. The PFR (patient financial responsibility) was noted to be around $24 per month. The customer was then enrolled into autopay in order to receive the payments that one’s insurances states are the responsibility of the customer. The PST (patient service technician) then went to the home to complete home set up after discharge on 6/30/2017. The PST notated on ticket that patient wanted to keep [redacted] portable oxygen system in lieu of the standard Home-fill oxygen system. The PST also delivered M60 oxygen back up tank in case of power outages. Our customer was also to receive BiPAP devise. RT (Respiratory Therapist) reached out on 7/3 leaving a voicemail to arrange set up. A message was left that a co-pay of $75.19 would be due at setup and then 13 months of $23.08 would be required. Patient called back and spoke to RT department the following was notated: Customer has declined BiPAP setup at this time. The co-insurance was $75.19 due at set up and $23.08 for monthly rental for up to 13 months and had to set up auto pay. The customer stated he couldn't afford at this time. The customer states he was told everything was covered. We explained that hospital and DME (Durable Medical Equipment) coverages are different and that he does not owe a deductible w/ policy currently and that amount due when he called back would be the same. The customer only has a co=pay at this time. He was made aware his BiPAP order is good for six months and we would hold on to the documentation if he chooses to change his mind. Customer called in on 7/6/17 to CCC (Customer Care Center) inquiring about private pay wheelchair rental. The local retail department was notified.The Retail Department reached out to the customer on 7/6 for the following: The hospital liaison provided a note to the Retail employee to call the patient about a [redacted] oxygen to travel, the note stated they needed it tomorrow and unfortunately the Lenoir retail store did not have one in stock at the moment. Retail employee called the number provided and the “VM was not set up yet”. The Retail employee would need to explain the cost for the portable and tell them they need to reserve a [redacted] oxygen unit two weeks ahead of time. Customer came into Retail on 7/7/17. Patient was in store about the [redacted] oxygen for travel, it was explained about the cost and about a company that Advanced used for travel oxygen patients. That company is [redacted] if they are traveling out of our service area. They were going to Boston which is outside of the service area of Advanced Homecare. The customer became upset and said he was told there was no charge on them, I apologized for this and explained the policy. I also explained we needed a two week notice for all travel O2.Regarding the concern of equipment issues the following was noted... First troubleshooting call was notated on 8/4/2017 by CCC (Customer Care Center) patient's caregiver called in RE: concentrator concern. Caregiver stated that the concentrator had the yellow telephone light on. Transferred to Tisa for troubleshooting. A switch out ticket was created after unsuccessful troubleshoot attempt, the PST (Patient Service Technician) was routed to the home.Customer called in on 8/23/2017 and spoke to [redacted] regarding explanation of billing. On 9/15/2017 Caregiver Joyce called to update autopay profile using checking account. On 10/27/2017 the customer returned concentrator to retail. Retail employee created pick up ticket and had customer sign AMA (Against Medical Advise) form. [redacted] spoke to patient again on 11/20/2017 to explain billing. On 12/4/2017 it is notated by the cash team: We received a notification that the Echeck payment this patient made on 11/20/17 in the amount of $23.81 has returned due to insufficient funds. I have removed the payment from the account. Last note in customer’s account is dated 12/7/2017 with the following: patient called about the auto pay email - I explained the charges are co-pays for 10/5/2017 and that he is responsible for them because he had the oxygen equipment for the full month of October. I emailed him an itemized account summary. In the end we understand that insurance claims and billing can become complicated and confusing. It is our desire to help educate and document the navigation of payments. In this case it seems we did not do the job in education that you expected. Because that last payment caused concerns and insufficient funds Advanced Homecare is refunding that to you. We appreciate you taking the time to notify us of the problem regarding your services from Advanced Home Care and apologize for any dissatisfaction it may have caused you.  It is Advanced Home Care’s intention to provide the very best care and services possible to all of our patients and other customers.  It is only if we are made aware of a concern that we can take action to solve it, and you have given us this opportunity. We have taken actions to investigate the concern you shared with us.  Our goal is to prevent a similar incident from reoccurring in the future. Again we are truly sorry that we may have caused any consternation.

We appreciate you bring this to our attention and providing us the opportunity to review the error. AHC investigated the account and sent a check to the customer in the amount of  $557 on March 8th. Our site leader left 3 voices messages for the customer to discuss her concern,...

however we have not received a return call.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2016/07/01) */
We appreciate the opportunity to investigate this complaint.
We will address and clearly establish expectations around appropriate customer service with the involved employee ([redacted]).
Per our internal policies and repeated instruction...

from various insurance companies we ask patients requesting a replacement/new CPAP machine to have the current machine reviewed for repair. We will apologize for any poor customer service and review our practice and policy via a written letter with the customer

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/03/07) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted], Reimb Mgr
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX x-3399
Contact Email: [redacted]@advhomecare.org
I spoke to the patient and his wife. The Revdex.com complaint was entered with the Revdex.com prior to my conversation with...

Mrs. [redacted] on 2/26/16. I told her we had received the Revdex.com notification and she explained that the complaint was submitted before our conversation and things had changed since we talked. She told me that she had received the statements I had mailed her and that they put everything into perspective. Mrs. [redacted] made clear that after our conversation on 2/26 she was satisfied with how the concerns on the account had been resolved. She told me that she appreciated that I took the time to explain things in detail in order to help her make sense of the billing process that included two deductible years over the course of the equipment rental period. She said that, while she doesn't like how the insurance makes that the policy, she understands that they were indebted to Advanced Home Care for the equipment they received and the payments were legitimate. As an effort to go above and beyond in the spirit of good-will to the patient, I talked her into letting me issue the refund. She objected at first, so I told her I wanted to do it to show her and her family that AHC was committed to taking care of our patients and making sure they were satisfied with our service. She said I could do it and she also committed to resolving the Revdex.com complaint associated with this event.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 8, 2016/03/08) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I am very appreciative of the efforts Drury put forth in resolving this matter, financial aside, the fact that he helped me understand what the money was for. He also listened intently to my frustration and took the feedback as an opportunity to help his front line customer service representatives better serve and thus keep these types of inquires from escalating in the future. Anyone can issue a refund, it takes a real client services expert to listen and make the customer feel like they are heard.