Doctor's Ambulance Service

[redacted] >12/29/(days ago) [redacted] *** Complaint ID: [redacted] Status:ResolvingDate Filed:12/9/2014Consumer: [redacted] Nature of Complaint:Billing or Collection IssuesProblem Description:I needed an Ambulance on 10/3/Doctors Ambulance did not contract with the largest insurgence company in CA [redacted] **) leaving me with an outstanding bill of [redacted] They agreed to let me break it up into paymentsI said I could afford $**They said they would not accept that payment at allI could only make payments of [redacted] I had to borrow money from my parents to cover the rest and so I sent my first payment in of [redacted] as agreed on timeUpon receiving my first payment, Doctors Ambulance called and said they could not deposit my check because they could only do it via automatic payment set up with my bankThis is ridiculousI made my first payment and they wont take it and will send me to collections unless I complyI have a $ [redacted] dollar bill with Hoag Hospital and they were more than happy to take my check.Desired Outcome:I should be allowed to pay via check like all other businesses.Resolution History:12/9/12:50:PM Pending initial Revdex.com review ( [redacted] 12/9/12:51:PM Pending initial Business response [redacted] In response to the patient, [redacted] concern, we had spoken to her regarding her account starting in November She was mostly concerned about the rates being too high and was upset we were not contracted with her insurance [redacted] of [redacted] Her insurance only paid $ [redacted] on a principal balance of $ [redacted] [redacted] first sent in a check on 11/19/for $ [redacted] towards her account balance of $ [redacted] balanceWe called her back that same day to advise that our policy for Time-payments is sthrough credit card/debit card, charged on a monthly basis, and we don’t charge any interest on the balance to the patientShe was also advised that the minimum for the Time-payment plan would be $ [redacted] for eleven (11) monthsWe advised the patient that we would be sending back her check and that her account would age internally and eventually go to collectionsShe responded by stating “then let it go to collections.” On 12/8/14, we received a check for $ [redacted] from the patient We called her on that same day to offer the formal Time-payment by depositing her check as the first installment and the remaining balance to be son a credit cardShe stated she was doing the best she can and when we stated we were going to return her check, she hung upOur Time-payment policy through credit /debit cards system was setup over five (5) years ago in our efforts to make the payment arrangement option more efficient, less costly due to the time-consuming man hours the payment plan entails, and more convenient for the patientWe are making every effort in resolving this matterLet me know if you have any further questions *** [redacted] Senior Vice President [redacted] Doctor's Ambulance Service [redacted] ***CELL [redacted] OFC [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint In addition, the facts as noted by Doctors Ambulance Service are incorrect I never sent in a payment of $** and it was never returned The only check I sent in was for the agreed amount of *** and it was returned Further more I was upset that they did not contract with *** *** *** *** ** *** not *** *** Lastly I am not able to set up an automatic payment through credit card and will continue to send in checks in a timely manner Should they wish to keep returning them, then I can only assume they do not want my money
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
Not sure how to do this, but I wanted to reopen complaint #***. They seemed to resolve the problem and are now saying they are going to send me to collections even though they’ve been depositing my checks for the last months. I’d like to reopen the same complaint if possible and continue it
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
Regards,
*** *** I filed a complaint against Doctor Ambulance I never heard of (*** *** *** ***)

*** *** ***>12/29/(days ago)** *** *** Complaint ID:***Status:ResolvingDate Filed:12/9/2014Consumer:*** ***Nature of Complaint:Billing or Collection IssuesProblem Description:I needed an Ambulance on 10/3/Doctors Ambulance did not
contract with the largest insurgence company in CA *** *** *** *** ** **) leaving me with an outstanding bill of ***They agreed to let me break it up into paymentsI said I could afford $**They said they would not accept that payment at allI could only make payments of ***I had to borrow money from my parents to cover the rest and so I sent my first payment in of *** as agreed on timeUpon receiving my first payment, Doctors Ambulance called and said they could not deposit my check because they could only do it via automatic payment set up with my bankThis is ridiculousI made my first payment and they wont take it and will send me to collections unless I complyI have a $*** dollar bill with Hoag Hospital and they were more than happy to take my check.Desired Outcome:I should be allowed to pay via check like all other businesses.Resolution History:12/9/12:50:PM Pending initial Revdex.com review (***12/9/12:51:PM Pending initial Business response *** In response to the patient, *** *** concern, we had spoken to her regarding her account starting in November She was mostly concerned about the rates being too high and was upset we were not contracted with her insurance *** *** *** of *** ***Her insurance only paid $*** on a principal balance of $***. *** *** first sent in a check on 11/19/for $*** towards her account balance of $*** balanceWe called her back that same day to advise that our policy for Time-payments is sthrough credit card/debit card, charged on a monthly basis, and we don’t charge any interest on the balance to the patientShe was also advised that the minimum for the Time-payment plan would be $*** for eleven (11) monthsWe advised the patient that we would be sending back her check and that her account would age internally and eventually go to collectionsShe responded by stating … “then let it go to collections.” On 12/8/14, we received a check for $*** from the patient We called her on that same day to offer the formal Time-payment by depositing her check as the first installment and the remaining balance to be son a credit cardShe stated she was doing the best she can and when we stated we were going to return her check, she hung up. Our Time-payment policy through credit /debit cards system was setup over five (5) years ago in our efforts to make the payment arrangement option more efficient, less costly due to the time-consuming man hours the payment plan entails, and more convenient for the patient. We are making every effort in resolving this matter. Let me know if you have any further questions. ***
*** ***Senior Vice President ***Doctor's Ambulance Service*** *** *** *** ** ***CELL ***OFC ***

We are responding to the consumer's concern for the above assigned ID *** that was submitted to you on 4/18/at 7:12PM regarding the billing practices of Doctor's Ambulance Service.We have attached the trip details and account history of what transpired between the patient and
Doctors'a Ambulance from their date of service 10/1/until present for your review.Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at ***.Thank you, *** *** Assigned ID: ***Service Provider: Doctor's
Ambulance ServiceWe are responding to the consumer’s
concern for the above assigned ID *** that was submitted to you on 4/18/
at 7:12:PM regarding the billing practices of Doctor’s Ambulance (herein
“Doctor’s”).As part of our billing practice,
we file a claim with the consumer’s (herein “patient”) insurance if insurance
information is provided and we have verified that the patient is eligible on
the date of service. Once the insurance
carrier has reimbursed our company and has left the patient with a balance as
their responsibility, we send the patient an invoice. When a patient contacts us expressing
financial hardship, we make reasonable efforts to assist the patient with their
financial situation by offering payment plans for up to twelve (12) months from
their date of service without interest charges or a discount if the account balance
is paid in full.In reviewing this patient’s
account, we received a zero pay Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from the patient’s
insurance on 11/12/stating $1,
was applied to the patient’s deductible and $was their co-pay amount
The EOB explained “deductibles, co-payment, and non-benefit items are the
subscriber’s responsibility”An invoice was then sent to the patient for the
full amount on the next day (11/13/2014). On 12/23/2014, the patient contacted Doctor’s to confirm that her
insurance was billedWe confirmed that is was billed and that the insurance
applied a portion to the patient’s deductible and another amount was their
co-payAt that time, the patient was offered a time payment of $per
month for ten (10) months as two (2) months had already transpired since their
date of serviceThe patient stated she was going to contact her insurance and
call us back.On 1/23/2015, Doctor’s received a partial check of $check #***
from the patientWe called the patient to advise we would post the payment and
that the remaining balance would be divided into payments of nine (9) months
for the amount of $115.15, but we had to leave a message on her voicemail for
the patient to call us back.On 1/30/2015, we had not received a response from the patient and we mailed
the patient’s check #*** for $back to the patient along with a letter
offering an official time-payment plan.On 2/10/2015, the patient contacted us and stated she was advised by
her insurance company that her copay was only $The patient also stated
she had completed some paperwork from the insurance approximately weeks prior
in order to have the claim paidWe advised her that we could not hold the
account while she was appealing her claimWe also advised her that her account
was sent to an outside collection agency on 1/31/We offered her again a time-payment of $per month
for nine (9) months and if her insurance makes any payment, we would reimburse
the patient accordinglyThe patient stated that she misunderstood thinking we
were only requesting the copayment of $The patient stated she was going
to contact her insurance and then call us back.Later that same day of 2/10/2015, the patient contacted us
asking if we sent her claim in with the correct diagnosisWe reviewed her
reports and affirmed that we did submit a correct claimThe patient became
upset that we didn’t accept her $check and when we explained that we had
made several offers to sa time-payment plan and the patient declining the
offers, the patient did not respond at first.
It was then she agreed to a sa time-payment plan of $per
month to commence on the 15th of each month In the interim, the patient was to foll
with the appeal to her insurance.When our Customer Service/Collections
Representative reviewed the account on 2/11/to sthe time-payment, she noted that four (4) months had now lapsed from
the patient’s date of service; therefore the time-payment offer of nine (9)
months should have in fact been for eight (8) months at $per monthThe
patient was immediately contacted to inform her of the discrepancy, but we had
to leave a message on the patient’s voicemail.
We then left subsequent messages regarding the matter on 2/12/15, 2/13/15, 3/2/15, 3/16/and 3/27/As we only have a 45-day grace
period from which to remove an account from the collection agency without any
charges to us or negative credit reporting to the patient, we did not remove
the account due to the lack of response from the patient. The patient called us on 4/17/and asked if the payment plan
was ever set-up, and when we advised her that it was not, she stated she would
contact the collection agency and sa payment plan with them

Hello, American Medical Response values our customers and strives to provide quality serviceUnfortunately, we are unable to locate the account with the information providedTo assist the consumer with his recent inquiry, he may provide us with copies of any bills he received from us or
contact me directly at *** *** for further assistance. Thank you,

March 31, *** *** *** ** *** *** *** * *** ***
*** *** *** *** ***
*** *** ** *** RE: Ambulance Transport Revdex.com Case#: *** Dear Revdex.com: Thank you for taking the time to contact our office with the consumer’s concerns. We have thoroughly researched and confirmed a claim was submitted to the consumer’s Medicare insurance, and denied due to non-covered services. A claim was subsequently submitted to the consumer’s secondary insurance, and also denied. As we received a denial from both insurance carriers the consumer became responsible for the balance due, and the account ultimately defaulted to collections. At this time, the consumer may contact *** *** *** *** for available payment options at *** *** Should the consumer have any further questions or concerns, I may be contacted directly at *** *** *** Sincerely, *** *** Patient Advocate Tell us why here

Dear Sirs:
I would like to apologize to *** *** as it was an honest mistake of a common name. The billing department did speak with *** *** several times in July after erroneously sending him a statement, but in order to identify the accountto correct the information, the
billing department had to ask for specific information regarding the account
As soon as he brought this to our attention, the billing department immediately removed his information, stopped sending any further correspondence to him, and resolved the issue
Thank you for your consideration and time
*** *** ** **