Allergy Clinic Ohio Reviews (%countItem)
Allergy Clinic Ohio Rating
Address: 7640 Sylvania Ave Ste J Toledo Allergy, Sylvania, Ohio, United States, 43560-9263
Phone: |
Show more...
|
Fax: |
+1 (419) 427-2926 +1 (419) 517-0216 |
Web: |
www.findlayallergy.com
|
E-mails: |
Sign in to see
|
Add contact information for Allergy Clinic Ohio
Add new contacts
Dr. ***'s Toledo Allergy office used an unethical sales practice to sell me a very expensive service that I did not request.
I contacted the Toledo Allergy office in April 2018 to request an asthma test. I had tested borderline for asthma in the past and had recently experienced symptoms that I was concerned about including shortness of breath and tightness in my chest and throat.
The sales associate who scheduled the appointment with me stated that they generally recommend allergy testing for new patients. I informed Toledo Allergy that I had already had an allergy test in the past, but they recommended it anyway, so I agreed to allergy testing although I had not originally requested this service. This was a very effective and unethical sales technique on the part of Toledo Allergy, disguised as a simple chat with a scheduling agent who was also acting as a sales associate.
The appointment took place on May 4, 2018.
When the bill came back, I found that the office had billed me $101.75 for asthma testing, $200 for a consultation with a physician's assistant, and $778 for allergy testing. They wrote off a portion of these expenses through their agreement with my insurance company, but I was still left with a bill for $626.71, of which $448.06 pertained to allergy testing services which I had agreed to but had not originally requested.
Given that the bill for the allergy tests was so much higher than the bill for the other services which I requested, I believe it was Toledo Allergy's responsibility to inform me of the relative costs so that I could make an informed decision as a consumer. If I had been aware of the difference in price between the two services, I would have requested to get the asthma testing only, and if they were unwilling to do this, I would have taken my business elsewhere.
Furthermore, the price charged for the allergy tests was unreasonably high. A web search suggests that the typical cost for skin allergy tests for a patient without insurance is $60-$300, whereas I was billed $448 even with the reduced prices negotiated by my insurance. If I had been uninsured, I presumably would have been billed for $778 for the testing.
Web sites with price research on allergy tests:
http://www.choosingwisely.org/patient-resources/allergy-tests/
http://health.costhelper.com/allergy-testing.html
I tried to resolve this issue by contacting the billing department on June 23 by email, requesting a $300 reduction in my bill. I got a voicemail back from the billing department from *** informing basically saying, "Too bad, the bill is your responsibility." I followed up by calling the office on July 24 and speaking with Office Manager *** and Billing Manager ***. I explained to them that I felt their sales and billing practices were unfair, and that if they could not reduce my bill I would complain to the Revdex.com and leave them a bad review on Yelp. Both of them told me that there was nothing they could do to reduce the bill, and they did not agree with me that their business practices were unfair. So unfortunately it comes to the point of me needing to file this complaint.
Although I am still disputing the bill, I instructed my bank to send a check for the full amount due on the bill on July 24 after speaking with *** and ***. The check should be received by Toledo Allergy by July 30, according to my bank. I am requesting that Toledo Allergy adjust their bill and refund $300 of my $626.71 payment.
We are an Allergy Specialty Practice in Ohio. Allergies are one of the most common causes of asthma-like symptoms, especially during allergy season. Allergy testing is clearly indicated in Mr. case based on his symptoms. Our Top and foremost objective is to provide the highest quality care to our patients. We have staff and do NOT have sales people nor do we engage in any sales tactics. It is unfortunate that Mr. feels this way and we hope he can find the medical relief for his symptoms.
Further, his allergy testing is a covered service by his insurance. Not uncommon to many patients, he does have a deductible. Per his insurance, Shots, serums, testing covered goes toward deductible $5000 ($316.77 met) once met pt will owe 25% of allowed amount until $6000 ($316.77 met) out of pocket is met then insurance will cover at 100%.
Please let us know if we can provide any additional information in this regard
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
First of all, the details of my insurance coverage have nothing to do with the complaint. My complaint is about the fact that I was offered a service that I did not ask for without being told the amount I would be billed, and that I was billed an unreasonable amount for this service.
Being a business, Dr. ***'s office is of course engaged in sales. They are not offering their services for free, they are selling them for money in order to make a profit, like any business. The methods which they use to offer these products are sales practices, whether explicitly recognized as such by the doctor's office or not. As a consumer of medical services, I want to make an informed decision of which medical services to consume based on the prices of the services, and not only based on the services that the doctor's office wishes to provide. I was offered services in a misleading way, without being properly appraised of the cost. While the allergy testing was perhaps indicated, it was not medically necessary, nor was it the service that I requested. I only requested asthma testing and was sold allergy testing as well.
This unscrupulous business practice does not serve to provide me with the highest quality care, indeed it worsens my health outcomes. By convincing me to allocate a large sum of money towards allergy testing that I would not have chosen to allocate were I aware of the cost, it takes away from my medical budget for other medical services and that might provide me with a greater health benefit than the allergy testing, leading to a potentially worse health outcome. It also makes me less trusting towards doctor's offices in general and less likely to go to visit doctor's offices in the future, again hurting my long-term health outcomes.
I repeat my request for a refund of $300 from my payment.