Bel-Red Pediatric Dentistry

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: We have not received any written communication from them otherwise we would have responded to them much earlierThe only time we came to know about this bill was when the collecting agency called us and informed about this billWhy I believe that they did not update my addressThe collecting agency shared with me a copy of the ledgerThe ledger had my old addressI have attached the document for your review.All such communication should happen through postal mailThey also never tried to claim this through my insurance as out of network, until recently on Aug 8, 2017, otherwise I would have come to know about this through my insurance much earlierI assume they did not go through that process because they realized that they have made the mistake and they decided to get the entire amount from the patientEven this would have not helped me as I would have end up paying entire amount.Again, this is not the important pointThe point I'm making here is that their staff member gave us a information that they accept my insurance and based on that information I took some actionLet's assume that this was done by mistake and there was no other intention, but still how I’m liable for the entire amount for the mistake they have done? They never gave us any information that they failed to reach out to my insurance that day and they wanted to defer my appointmentIf I would have taken a service for USD and my insurance would have allowed just USD, I would have paid that difference, but this is not the case hereYour office was not even in the network for my plan, but your office staff confirmed they are.Either you ask your patient to confirm about their insurance before giving them any service or let the doctor office confirm the eligibility for their patientsBut I have never seen any doctor office confirming that they accept their insurance, and later they say they did a mistake and put the entire responsibility on the patientThis is not a fair treatment.I have taken a screenshot of a message from the doctor's office front deskIt says that they need to seek authorization for new insuranceIf that is your policy, then what did they do in my case
Sincerely,
*** ***

Our office had tried multiple times via phone calls and US mails to reach out to the familyOur address was updated as soon as we received the information changeWe always require parents to inform us of any changes in their insurance plan and all pertinent information, prior to their visitsIt
is a standard protocol for most medical and dental practices to send outstanding balances to collection agency, as a way to first understand why the account is being lateThe complainant began by sending us emails accusing us of being unethical and made strong demands that we dismissed the case.There are always two sides of storyWhile I completely understand their situation and frustration, but in dentistry, patient has to understand that we have no legal responsibility for checking insuranceThis is done as a courtesy for patientsContending that Insurance is our responsibility is a very common misconception that patients have. Insurance is a relationship between the patient and their insurance company. Our staff have spent tremendous amount of extra time and effort contacting the insurance company and communicating with the complainantIt is unfair and unjust for our office to receive such complaintOur office is working diligently exploring all options with all parties involved and hope to reach a resolution that is justifiable to all parties involved