Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this patient’s complaint about her interpretation of what she considers excessive fees for services renderedAs noted in the patient’s statement, DrPe [redacted] did not find anything that would have required more extensive reviews and subsequent visits that are not uncommon to the patient’s procedure However, that is very valuable informationThink of the successful follow up as an investmentOur patient invested this additional $above the $to protect her $6,investment in her multifocal implants, an item that is not covered by her insurance and was known to the patient well before the procedure was performed In end effect, we billed exactly for the procedures performed for the services agreed upon at our standard rate for co-managing the post-operative careThis particular patient agreed to the fee schedule with her surgeon before the procedure and although she had commented to the staff during follow ups that she felt it was too high, had agreed in mid-May of to pay the balance We subsequently filed the information to the patient’s insurance, who we informed the patient elected for a premium non-standard lens implantsBy all accounts, that patient is extremely satisfied with the results of her surgery and is happy she elected for the premium implantsWe tried diligently to work with the patient to make her understand her refusal to pay would force us to turn the matter over to a collection agency, which we did on October 31, 2017, a matter we did with great reluctanceSometimes it’s easy to measure the value of a service in reduced taxes, increased profits, reduced costs, and so forthSometimes the value lies in peace of mind Our goal is year in and year out, to be worth many times what we chargeWe believe firmly that if you look back over the last few years and our patient comments, our patients agree that we are well worth what we charge Again, protection of one’s vision is an investment, not just an ordinary expense In summary, we will not adjust the patient’s bill nor contact the collection agency to amend any entries on the credit report Respectfully, T [redacted] AF [redacted] Practice Administrator
I just spoke to the responsible party of the patient in question concerning the $no show fee that was assessed in late September of this year The office has pro-actively waived the fee on October 05, 2017, before I received this complaint The complainant and I had an interesting conversation and I will use her experience as an object lesson to the staff Thank you for contacting us! - T [redacted] F*
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, Please let us know below why you are rejecting the offer made by the business.]
Regards,
B*** B*** You must be aware that you are charging me $for each of short visits to your office. According to your billing department, you would have charged a person with no insurance and who was brand new to your office $for a full eye exam. The visits I had were not full eye exams, I was not a new patient to your office (by one visit) and I do have insurance which you billed. From my point of view you are overcharging me by at least $per visit. Again, I ask you, what was the service to me for which you billed ***? You coded it "Remove Cataract/Insert Lens". DrP*** did not attend the surgery and is not at surgeon. She is an optometrist. You argue that I "agreed" to pay you this "estimated" price for co-management before the surgeries, and that I should be held to that "agreement". That isn't the point of all of this. The point is that you are over charging me for the services that I received, based solely on the fact that I chose the multifocal lenses. I imagine that you and the Carolina Vision Associates think that if patients are willing to pay extra for the "premium" multifocal lenses, you might as well charge a premium price for your services after their surgeries. You may as well make extra money, too? Actually a patient going through cataract surgery is probably, as I was, experiencing it all for the first time. I knew nothing of what the co-management involved, but I would have been glad to pay a fair price. I now feel like I was funneled into this situation. DrP*** referred me to this ophthalmologist and he referred me back to her for highly priced "co-management"I expected and trusted that I would be charged a fair price. I had only been to your office that time (Dec2016), and I didn't really know DrP***I don't think that the Carolina Vision Associates are very transparent in their actions. Again charging $for the short visits I had with DrP*** is a serious over charge for the service she has given me
Thank you for all of the information you've sent. I have decided that I want to go through the mediation process with Carolina Vision Associates. Let me know what happens next
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
J*** B***
Dear Ms. K[redacted] and Carolina Vision Associates, I would like to cancel my mediation meeting with the Revdex.com and Carolina Vision Associates on [redacted] at * pm. On December 21st I had my annual eye exam with Dr. H. G. S[redacted] (Optometrist) in [redacted]. He also refers patients to Dr. H[redacted], the ophthalmologist who did my cataract surgery. I didn't tell Dr. S[redacted] of my experiences with Carolina Vision Associates, but he ended up spending about 2 hours with me in this appointment explaining everything about my cataract surgery, how co-management works between the ophthalmologist and the optometrist who does the co-management, and how my eyes may be healing for a year after surgery, etc.. For example, he explained that the fluttering lights I see in the periphery of my vision, happen because the pocket that the lenses sit in inside the eye may take longer to completely grip the lenses during the healing process, so that the lenses are wiggling a little, thus causing the appearance of fluttering lights. I think that if Dr. P[redacted] had given me more information during her co-management of my surgery, I wouldn't have had so much doubt about the fairness of the $600 charge. For example, when she referred me to Dr. H[redacted], it would have helped for her to give information about the choices I would be making about the cataract surgery during my first visit to Dr. H[redacted]'s office: laser or scalpel surgery, multifocal or standard lenses, etc. These choices were presented to me with very little time and not enough information to feel comfortable making these decisions. In fact I changed my mind, made an alternate choice after I left his office, and had to return to Dr. H[redacted]'s office for further tests. Dr. S[redacted] described the behind the scenes work that Dr. P[redacted] may have been involved in for my correct lens prescription in her co-management responsibilities. Interestingly I've written to and called the Carolina Vision Associates billing office and the [redacted] billing office several times, and was only told that "we charge everyone this same amount because some people need more care after their surgery if they choose the multifocal lenses". The last time I called Carolina Vision Associates billing office, 'A[redacted]' told me she would talk to 'T**' and call me back the next day. She never did. I spoke with Dr. H[redacted] who said that he would have charged me if Dr. P[redacted] hadn't for tests that she had made. And when I spoke with Dr. P[redacted], she was surprised that the form I signed pre-op was worded the way it was, but didn't explain any more about why the charge was $600 for co-management. Dr. P[redacted] reassured me that everything looked good, but she didn't have/take the time to give details or educate me on this process. I can only imagine that if someone had been willing to educate me as to why I was charged $600, we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and anxiety. I actually still don't know why this charge is so high, but based on what Dr. S[redacted] told me about the process, and that he charges this amount also, I'm willing to accept that this is what is the standard. I'm just trusting that I've been charged a fair price. Dr. S[redacted], because of his passion for optometry and his desire to educate his patients, left me feeling satisfied so that I no longer feel the need to discuss this with anyone from Carolina Vision Associates. In fact, I'll be glad to just move on! I'll pay the remaining $300 on line. My only suggestion to Carolina Vision Associates, if they are interested, would be to take a little more time with their patients. I know that being efficient and quick appears to be professional and knowledgable, but spending time explaining this process and being transparent with how you charge for your services builds trust for your patients. Sincerely,B[redacted] B[redacted]
I just spoke to the responsible party of the patient in question concerning the $25.00 no show fee that was assessed in late September of this year. The office has pro-actively waived the fee on October 05, 2017, before I received this complaint. The complainant and I had an interesting...
conversation and I will use her experience as an object lesson to the staff. Thank you for contacting us! - T** F[redacted]
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this patient’s complaint about her interpretation of what she considers excessive fees for services rendered. As noted in the patient’s statement, Dr. Pe[redacted] did not find anything that would have required more extensive reviews and subsequent visits that...
are not uncommon to the patient’s procedure. However, that is very valuable information. Think of the successful follow up as an investment. Our patient invested this additional $300 above the normal $300.00 to protect her $6,900.00 investment in her multifocal implants, an item that is not covered by her insurance and was known to the patient well before the procedure was performed. In end effect, we billed exactly for the procedures performed for the services agreed upon at our standard rate for co-managing the post-operative care. This particular patient agreed to the fee schedule with her surgeon before the procedure and although she had commented to the staff during follow ups that she felt it was too high, had agreed in mid-May of 2017 to pay the balance. We subsequently filed the information to the patient’s insurance, who we informed the patient elected for a premium non-standard lens implants. By all accounts, that patient is extremely satisfied with the results of her surgery and is happy she elected for the premium implants. We tried diligently to work with the patient to make her understand her refusal to pay would force us to turn the matter over to a collection agency, which we did on October 31, 2017, a matter we did with great reluctance. Sometimes it’s easy to measure the value of a service in reduced taxes, increased profits, reduced costs, and so forth. Sometimes the value lies in peace of mind. Our goal is year in and year out, to be worth many times what we charge. We believe firmly that if you look back over the last few years and our patient comments, our patients agree that we are well worth what we charge. Again, protection of one’s vision is an investment, not just an ordinary expense. In summary, we will not adjust the patient’s bill nor contact the collection agency to amend any entries on the credit report. Respectfully, T[redacted] A. F[redacted] Practice Administrator
To Carolina Vision Associates: December 5, 2017 I am interested to know what percentage of patients who choose the multifocal lenses actually need more than the three after surgery eye checks I had with Dr. P[redacted]. Even if it is “uncommon” for most patients to have done as well as I did after the surgeries, I question your charging a standard rate for everyone regardless of the care they receive from you. It appears that you are making a big profit on your patients' choice of the 'premium' lenses. After the 3 short eye checks, Dr. P[redacted] was quick to dismiss me saying everything was perfect and she'd see me in December for my yearly exam. I did return to the ophthalmologist who did the surgeries after Dr. P[redacted] dismissed me because I had further questions about floaters and vision irregularities in my eyes that I wanted him to examine so I could feel completely secure with the process. You say that I agreed to pay you $300 per eye for this “co-management”. I did sign a form at the ophthalmologist's office before the surgeries called “Notice of Exclusion from Health Plan Benefits”. The wording of the form was “The following are estimated Co-management fees that may be collected by your optometrist: “ $300 was the amount written in by the office person there. This was intended to be $300 per eye. The wording does not appear to be an 'agreement'. This appears to me to be a “Notice” of what the “estimated fees” “may be”, not an agreement on my part. Rather than saying 'estimated' fees that 'may be collected by your optometrist', it should have read: The following are fees that will be collected by your optometrist. At the time I signed this 'notice', I was assuming that I would be charged a fair price for the service I was to receive. Also I signed this at the surgeon's office, not at your office. From your response it appears that you are selling me an extra “investment” from which I receive “peace of mind” about the extra cost of having chosen multifocal lenses. I didn't want an 'investment” from you, I simply was sent back to your office for eye care after my surgeries. If I had understood all of this before the surgeries, I might have gone to another ophthalmologist who would do his own follow up after surgery and thus avoid this extra cost. I assure you that I value my eyesight, and I was willing to pay extra for the multifocal lenses, but I am unhappy about being charged extra beyond what services I received. There is also the problem that Dr. P[redacted] billed my insurance company on the day of each surgery under the code 'Remove Cataract/Insert Lens' and she received payment from them for each surgery, a total of $172.08 for both, even though Dr. P[redacted] did not attend the surgeries. [redacted], my insurance company, agrees with me that my co-pay to your office is “0”. I was also told by [redacted] that there is no such thing as 'co-management'. Would you please tell me what this insurance billing from Dr. P[redacted] covers? I've paid your office $300 (half of the $600 you've billed me) for 3 short visits with Dr. P[redacted] after my surgeries, and you have also received $172.08 from my insurance company after the surgeries which totals $472.08. I understand from your billing department that you would charge $140 (as of last summer) for a complete eye exam for a first time patient with no insurance. $140 x 3 = $420. You have received $472.08 so far and are demanding another $300 as an “investment” for “peace of mind”? The “peace of mind” that I might gain from visiting your office comes purely from your doctors' professionalism and knowledge about my eye health and the care and concern that they provide me, not the fact of paying a higher price for that care. Please reconsider my request to cancel this extra $300 charge now.
Thank you for the opportunity to follow up to the patient’s comments to our response dated December 01, 2017 to her original complaint. The letter provided from [redacted] to the patient saying that the claims filed to [redacted] shows they have paid the provider in full and the patient’s responsibility on that claim is $0.00. We have never contested that. If the patient had chosen conventional cataract surgery, the fees paid by [redacted] would have covered our co-management fees. However, the patient elected not to have conventional lenses. In both Notice of Exclusion from Health Plan Benefits signed by the patient dated February 28, 2017, the first paragraph states: “The purpose of this notice is to help you make an informed decision regarding the cost of the procedure you and your doctor have selected. The option below is NOT COVERED by your insurance company and does not apply toward health plan deductibles, coinsurance, or copays.” It is very clear the patient consented to the elected procedure knowing there would be additional fees not covered by her insurance above and beyond those for conventional cataract surgery. Again, we are extremely pleased that the patient has had such a positive result with her procedures and a continues to enjoy excellent vision. However, we remain steadfast that we will not adjust the patient’s bill nor contact the collection agency to amend any entries on the credit report. Respectfully, T[redacted] A. F[redacted] Practice Administrator
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this patient’s complaint about her interpretation of what she considers excessive fees for services renderedAs noted in the patient’s statement, DrPe [redacted] did not find anything that would have required more extensive reviews and subsequent visits that are not uncommon to the patient’s procedure However, that is very valuable informationThink of the successful follow up as an investmentOur patient invested this additional $above the $to protect her $6,investment in her multifocal implants, an item that is not covered by her insurance and was known to the patient well before the procedure was performed In end effect, we billed exactly for the procedures performed for the services agreed upon at our standard rate for co-managing the post-operative careThis particular patient agreed to the fee schedule with her surgeon before the procedure and although she had commented to the staff during follow ups that she felt it was too high, had agreed in mid-May of to pay the balance We subsequently filed the information to the patient’s insurance, who we informed the patient elected for a premium non-standard lens implantsBy all accounts, that patient is extremely satisfied with the results of her surgery and is happy she elected for the premium implantsWe tried diligently to work with the patient to make her understand her refusal to pay would force us to turn the matter over to a collection agency, which we did on October 31, 2017, a matter we did with great reluctanceSometimes it’s easy to measure the value of a service in reduced taxes, increased profits, reduced costs, and so forthSometimes the value lies in peace of mind Our goal is year in and year out, to be worth many times what we chargeWe believe firmly that if you look back over the last few years and our patient comments, our patients agree that we are well worth what we charge Again, protection of one’s vision is an investment, not just an ordinary expense In summary, we will not adjust the patient’s bill nor contact the collection agency to amend any entries on the credit report Respectfully, T [redacted] AF [redacted] Practice Administrator
MsK***-We accept the offer to go into mediation Thank you for the clarification.Regards,T [redacted] F
*
I just spoke to the responsible party of the patient in question concerning the $no show fee that was assessed in late September of this year The office has pro-actively waived the fee on October 05, 2017, before I received this complaint The complainant and I had an interesting conversation and I will use her experience as an object lesson to the staff Thank you for contacting us! - T [redacted] F
*
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, Please let us know below why you are rejecting the offer made by the business.]
Regards,
B*** B*** You must be aware that you are charging me $for each of short visits to your office. According to your billing department, you would have charged a person with no insurance and who was brand new to your office $for a full eye exam. The visits I had were not full eye exams, I was not a new patient to your office (by one visit) and I do have insurance which you billed. From my point of view you are overcharging me by at least $per visit. Again, I ask you, what was the service to me for which you billed ***? You coded it "Remove Cataract/Insert Lens". DrP*** did not attend the surgery and is not at surgeon. She is an optometrist. You argue that I "agreed" to pay you this "estimated" price for co-management before the surgeries, and that I should be held to that "agreement". That isn't the point of all of this. The point is that you are over charging me for the services that I received, based solely on the fact that I chose the multifocal lenses. I imagine that you and the Carolina Vision Associates think that if patients are willing to pay extra for the "premium" multifocal lenses, you might as well charge a premium price for your services after their surgeries. You may as well make extra money, too? Actually a patient going through cataract surgery is probably, as I was, experiencing it all for the first time. I knew nothing of what the co-management involved, but I would have been glad to pay a fair price. I now feel like I was funneled into this situation. DrP*** referred me to this ophthalmologist and he referred me back to her for highly priced "co-management"I expected and trusted that I would be charged a fair price. I had only been to your office that time (Dec2016), and I didn't really know DrP***I don't think that the Carolina Vision Associates are very transparent in their actions. Again charging $for the short visits I had with DrP*** is a serious over charge for the service she has given me
Thank you for all of the information you've sent. I have decided that I want to go through the mediation process with Carolina Vision Associates. Let me know what happens next
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
J*** B***
Dear Ms. K[redacted] and Carolina Vision Associates, I would like to cancel my mediation meeting with the Revdex.com and Carolina Vision Associates on [redacted] at * pm. On December 21st I had my annual eye exam with Dr. H. G. S[redacted] (Optometrist) in [redacted]. He also refers patients to Dr. H[redacted], the ophthalmologist who did my cataract surgery. I didn't tell Dr. S[redacted] of my experiences with Carolina Vision Associates, but he ended up spending about 2 hours with me in this appointment explaining everything about my cataract surgery, how co-management works between the ophthalmologist and the optometrist who does the co-management, and how my eyes may be healing for a year after surgery, etc.. For example, he explained that the fluttering lights I see in the periphery of my vision, happen because the pocket that the lenses sit in inside the eye may take longer to completely grip the lenses during the healing process, so that the lenses are wiggling a little, thus causing the appearance of fluttering lights. I think that if Dr. P[redacted] had given me more information during her co-management of my surgery, I wouldn't have had so much doubt about the fairness of the $600 charge. For example, when she referred me to Dr. H[redacted], it would have helped for her to give information about the choices I would be making about the cataract surgery during my first visit to Dr. H[redacted]'s office: laser or scalpel surgery, multifocal or standard lenses, etc. These choices were presented to me with very little time and not enough information to feel comfortable making these decisions. In fact I changed my mind, made an alternate choice after I left his office, and had to return to Dr. H[redacted]'s office for further tests. Dr. S[redacted] described the behind the scenes work that Dr. P[redacted] may have been involved in for my correct lens prescription in her co-management responsibilities. Interestingly I've written to and called the Carolina Vision Associates billing office and the [redacted] billing office several times, and was only told that "we charge everyone this same amount because some people need more care after their surgery if they choose the multifocal lenses". The last time I called Carolina Vision Associates billing office, 'A[redacted]' told me she would talk to 'T**' and call me back the next day. She never did. I spoke with Dr. H[redacted] who said that he would have charged me if Dr. P[redacted] hadn't for tests that she had made. And when I spoke with Dr. P[redacted], she was surprised that the form I signed pre-op was worded the way it was, but didn't explain any more about why the charge was $600 for co-management. Dr. P[redacted] reassured me that everything looked good, but she didn't have/take the time to give details or educate me on this process. I can only imagine that if someone had been willing to educate me as to why I was charged $600, we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and anxiety. I actually still don't know why this charge is so high, but based on what Dr. S[redacted] told me about the process, and that he charges this amount also, I'm willing to accept that this is what is the standard. I'm just trusting that I've been charged a fair price. Dr. S[redacted], because of his passion for optometry and his desire to educate his patients, left me feeling satisfied so that I no longer feel the need to discuss this with anyone from Carolina Vision Associates. In fact, I'll be glad to just move on! I'll pay the remaining $300 on line. My only suggestion to Carolina Vision Associates, if they are interested, would be to take a little more time with their patients. I know that being efficient and quick appears to be professional and knowledgable, but spending time explaining this process and being transparent with how you charge for your services builds trust for your patients. Sincerely,B[redacted] B[redacted]
Ms. K[redacted]-We accept the offer to go into mediation. Thank you for the clarification.Regards,T** F[redacted]
I just spoke to the responsible party of the patient in question concerning the $25.00 no show fee that was assessed in late September of this year. The office has pro-actively waived the fee on October 05, 2017, before I received this complaint. The complainant and I had an interesting...
conversation and I will use her experience as an object lesson to the staff. Thank you for contacting us! - T** F[redacted]
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this patient’s complaint about her interpretation of what she considers excessive fees for services rendered. As noted in the patient’s statement, Dr. Pe[redacted] did not find anything that would have required more extensive reviews and subsequent visits that...
are not uncommon to the patient’s procedure. However, that is very valuable information. Think of the successful follow up as an investment. Our patient invested this additional $300 above the normal $300.00 to protect her $6,900.00 investment in her multifocal implants, an item that is not covered by her insurance and was known to the patient well before the procedure was performed. In end effect, we billed exactly for the procedures performed for the services agreed upon at our standard rate for co-managing the post-operative care. This particular patient agreed to the fee schedule with her surgeon before the procedure and although she had commented to the staff during follow ups that she felt it was too high, had agreed in mid-May of 2017 to pay the balance. We subsequently filed the information to the patient’s insurance, who we informed the patient elected for a premium non-standard lens implants. By all accounts, that patient is extremely satisfied with the results of her surgery and is happy she elected for the premium implants. We tried diligently to work with the patient to make her understand her refusal to pay would force us to turn the matter over to a collection agency, which we did on October 31, 2017, a matter we did with great reluctance. Sometimes it’s easy to measure the value of a service in reduced taxes, increased profits, reduced costs, and so forth. Sometimes the value lies in peace of mind. Our goal is year in and year out, to be worth many times what we charge. We believe firmly that if you look back over the last few years and our patient comments, our patients agree that we are well worth what we charge. Again, protection of one’s vision is an investment, not just an ordinary expense. In summary, we will not adjust the patient’s bill nor contact the collection agency to amend any entries on the credit report. Respectfully, T[redacted] A. F[redacted] Practice Administrator
To Carolina Vision Associates: December 5, 2017 I am interested to know what percentage of patients who choose the multifocal lenses actually need more than the three after surgery eye checks I had with Dr. P[redacted]. Even if it is “uncommon” for most patients to have done as well as I did after the surgeries, I question your charging a standard rate for everyone regardless of the care they receive from you. It appears that you are making a big profit on your patients' choice of the 'premium' lenses. After the 3 short eye checks, Dr. P[redacted] was quick to dismiss me saying everything was perfect and she'd see me in December for my yearly exam. I did return to the ophthalmologist who did the surgeries after Dr. P[redacted] dismissed me because I had further questions about floaters and vision irregularities in my eyes that I wanted him to examine so I could feel completely secure with the process. You say that I agreed to pay you $300 per eye for this “co-management”. I did sign a form at the ophthalmologist's office before the surgeries called “Notice of Exclusion from Health Plan Benefits”. The wording of the form was “The following are estimated Co-management fees that may be collected by your optometrist: “ $300 was the amount written in by the office person there. This was intended to be $300 per eye. The wording does not appear to be an 'agreement'. This appears to me to be a “Notice” of what the “estimated fees” “may be”, not an agreement on my part. Rather than saying 'estimated' fees that 'may be collected by your optometrist', it should have read: The following are fees that will be collected by your optometrist. At the time I signed this 'notice', I was assuming that I would be charged a fair price for the service I was to receive. Also I signed this at the surgeon's office, not at your office. From your response it appears that you are selling me an extra “investment” from which I receive “peace of mind” about the extra cost of having chosen multifocal lenses. I didn't want an 'investment” from you, I simply was sent back to your office for eye care after my surgeries. If I had understood all of this before the surgeries, I might have gone to another ophthalmologist who would do his own follow up after surgery and thus avoid this extra cost. I assure you that I value my eyesight, and I was willing to pay extra for the multifocal lenses, but I am unhappy about being charged extra beyond what services I received. There is also the problem that Dr. P[redacted] billed my insurance company on the day of each surgery under the code 'Remove Cataract/Insert Lens' and she received payment from them for each surgery, a total of $172.08 for both, even though Dr. P[redacted] did not attend the surgeries. [redacted], my insurance company, agrees with me that my co-pay to your office is “0”. I was also told by [redacted] that there is no such thing as 'co-management'. Would you please tell me what this insurance billing from Dr. P[redacted] covers? I've paid your office $300 (half of the $600 you've billed me) for 3 short visits with Dr. P[redacted] after my surgeries, and you have also received $172.08 from my insurance company after the surgeries which totals $472.08. I understand from your billing department that you would charge $140 (as of last summer) for a complete eye exam for a first time patient with no insurance. $140 x 3 = $420. You have received $472.08 so far and are demanding another $300 as an “investment” for “peace of mind”? The “peace of mind” that I might gain from visiting your office comes purely from your doctors' professionalism and knowledge about my eye health and the care and concern that they provide me, not the fact of paying a higher price for that care. Please reconsider my request to cancel this extra $300 charge now.
Thank you for the opportunity to follow up to the patient’s comments to our response dated December 01, 2017 to her original complaint. The letter provided from [redacted] to the patient saying that the claims filed to [redacted] shows they have paid the provider in full and the patient’s responsibility on that claim is $0.00. We have never contested that. If the patient had chosen conventional cataract surgery, the fees paid by [redacted] would have covered our co-management fees. However, the patient elected not to have conventional lenses. In both Notice of Exclusion from Health Plan Benefits signed by the patient dated February 28, 2017, the first paragraph states: “The purpose of this notice is to help you make an informed decision regarding the cost of the procedure you and your doctor have selected. The option below is NOT COVERED by your insurance company and does not apply toward health plan deductibles, coinsurance, or copays.” It is very clear the patient consented to the elected procedure knowing there would be additional fees not covered by her insurance above and beyond those for conventional cataract surgery. Again, we are extremely pleased that the patient has had such a positive result with her procedures and a continues to enjoy excellent vision. However, we remain steadfast that we will not adjust the patient’s bill nor contact the collection agency to amend any entries on the credit report. Respectfully, T[redacted] A. F[redacted] Practice Administrator