Beech Family Chiropractic

Review: Dr. [redacted] did not provide me a cost of care prior to my treatment and subsequently overcharged for services.

On August 30, 2013 I had an appointment with Dr. [redacted] for Chiropractic Care. When my appointment was made over the phone and during the check-in process at no time was I told what my charges for service would be and that I was going to have to pay for services at the end of my visit. I assumed my insurance would cover the expenses and I would only have to pay my $20 co-pay. This was not the case, in fact Dr. [redacted] is not even contracted with my insurance. I was not told about the charges until the end of my visit and was shocked by the high amount charged. However, I was also told I would be reimburse for my visit depending on what was covered by insurance. Because of the type of service and Dr. [redacted] not being contracted, I would not be reimburse for my services at all. In addition to being charge a huge amount for an exam and x-rays, I was never provided any type of adjustment and cannot afford the additional $1,000+ they want from me to continue any care. After explaining my frustration with not being told about all these charges and insurance problems up front, I was not offer any type of resolution from Dr. [redacted]'s office. Desired Settlement: I am requesting a full refund of $239.00 due to the fact Dr. [redacted] did not provide me any estimate of services prior to performing the actual services. Subsequently charging me $239.00 for telling me information I already know and not fixing any of my back issues initially requested prior to my visit.

It is my opinion they do this process on purpose in order to make a quick dollar and leave patients stuck with no options.

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

It is with regret that I must write this response letter. Mr. [redacted] complaint should actually be against his insurance company/policy and not our office. When Mr. [redacted] made his appointment with our office, he never informed us that he had insurance nor did he inquire about our fees. Consequently, we were unable to extend the courtesy of obtaining his coverage, benefits, and deductible in advance to his visit. Additionally, if Mr. [redacted] would have provided his insurance information in advance, we would also have been able to inform him that we were not "in-network" providers. We bill health insurance strictly as a courtesy to our patients because ALL health insurance policies are contracts between the Insurance Carrier and the Insured/Patient. Unfortunately, it is Mr. [redacted] responsibility to know and understand his insurance coverage and benefits and it is not reasonable to expect to receive services, health care or otherwise, free of charge.

At the time of service, Mr. [redacted] again never inquired about our fees. We always provide a cost range and inform the doctor if all fees need to be discussed beforehand per the patients request. Because his appointment was at the end of the day we were unable to verify his eligibility and benefit coverage. As standard practice in our office, fees for services rendered are due at the time of service and is such stated on the health intake form that all patients must sign before any type of care or services are rendered. Mr. [redacted] read and signed that very form and indicated that he would pay by credit card and insurance. Dr. [redacted] informed Mr. [redacted] of the fees for service that was given and this policy and Mr. [redacted] responded "ok, I have insurance". During his check out, Mr. [redacted] was charged for a complete examination and xrays taken and was informed that once we were able to contact and verify his insurance that we would be happy to refund any overpayment or apply it to his account per his preference. Like most people, Mr. [redacted] has an insurance deductible and NONE of it had been met at the time of service in our office. Deductibles are always the patient's responsibility and must be paid before the insurance company will pay their portion. Mr. [redacted] deductible is the same for in-network and out of network providers so regardless if Dr. [redacted] was an in-network provider or not, Mr. [redacted] would have had to pay for the services rendered until his deductible is met. His deductible was far greater than the cost of services rendered.

We have been in business in Turlock for over 18 years and the majority of our patients come through referrals as did Mr. [redacted] in fact, he was a former patient but had not been seen in a number of years. Our fees are usual and customary, honest and fair. Our goal is to provide the best quality care and excellent customer service at affordable prices. Had Mr. [redacted] made his financial woes known to our office prior to services given or had he done so in a respectable and responsible manner, we would have bent over backwards to accommodate and assist him. Dr. [redacted] spent over an hour of face to face time with Mr. [redacted] and an additional forty minutes developing and analyzing his xrays and determining the proper course of care. During his Report of Findings, Mr. [redacted] was informed of what was wrong, if it could be patched or corrected, how much it would cost and how long it would take. He was also informed of his insurance benefits and what his co-portion would be. He was unhappy. He was offered financial options and we also offered to assist him in finding another chiropractor that was "in-network" and told him we would be happy to transfer his xrays. He treated our staff in a rude and bullying manner and has slandered our business. We request that you advise him to remove his slanderous remarks from your website, Yelp, and anywhere else he has posted, because his complaints are unfounded and are as a result of his negligence in knowing his own insurance coverage.

Final Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

Obviously Dr. [redacted]'s office/staff have no regard for their patients given the fact they cannot even look-up my name to ensure correct spelling of [redacted] and not [redacted]

Regardless, while some of the response his Receptionist noted in this rebuttal is correct, some of it is not.

The first one being at the time I made my appointment with his office, the Receptionist was able to confirm my Name, Address, Phone, Date of Birth and even go as far as to take my Employers name address and phone number. At no time during that extensive phone interview was I asked for my insurance information, as one would assume is customary. If fact this was the case with the Chiropractor I am currently treating with. Additionally, the very first item of information I gave to the receptionist during my first visit was my Insurance Card. Which again any other medical facility would have verified coverage or at minimum explained to the patient they were unable to verify coverage and that the patient would be responsible for services at the time of their visit.

If at any point during my intake of patient information I was explained this, I would have not proceeded any further until that issue was cleared up. Instead, Mr. [redacted]'s office, in my opinion purposely kept that information from me so they could hit me with a large charge after it was too late to back out, likely figuring since I was already out the initial visit I would go ahead and pay even more money for their very expensive "treatment plan."

While I can agree their charges are likely customary compared with other Chiropractors (even though I only paid $39 for THREE adjustments and X-Rays with my current Chiropractor ), my argument is the deceptive practice of hiding all fee from the patient and then blaming it on the patient for not asking ahead of time. My occupation is not in the insurance field or even the Medical field for that fact. I was under the assumption my Insurance would have covered my treatments. However, Mr. [redacted]'s office deals with insurance and billing on a daily basis and should know better.

The response that was given my Mr. [redacted]'s receptionist is not accepted and I will NOT submit to Revdex.com a closed case until a refund is given. Additionally, their accusations regarding slander online are false. The definition of slander is "make FALSE and damaging statements about (someone)." My online statements are based on true fact in addition to my opinion of the services provided.

If Mr. [redacted]'s office would like me to remove those comments, I would be more than happy to once this case is settled and they issue me a refund. Otherwise, it only furthers my opinion their office is solely about maximizing profits and not patient care.

The bottom line in this complaint is because of Mr. [redacted]'s deceptive practices, I was never provided any treatment what-so-ever and basically charged $239.00 for absolutely nothing. I would hope they see this realization and take the appropriate action of refunding my money so that this matter can be resolved.

Final Business Response

Our response to Mr. [redacted]'s complaint stands that we will not be issuing a refund. While we aim to please every person that walks through our door and help all, this cannot always be the case. We have received his second request for a refund, however upon investigation into this case we were notified by his insurance, Western Grower's Assurance Trust, that a claim was submitted by Mr. [redacted] for services provided in our office on August 30, 2013. These charges have been applied to the patient's deductible, therefore providing the patient with a refund would ultimately be committing insurance fraud by our office.