Drs. Fine, Hoffman & Sims, LLC.

We apologize for any offense taken as it is not our intent to be offensive in any wayWe did contact our patient to schedule her appointment as she was a year overdue for her medical eye exam for a diagnosis related to the associated symptoms and signs present at the recent visitHer previous complete exam was December of which yielded a physician directed recall of two years for the next medical eye exam to follow her medical diagnosis

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meNot really, but they are being unreasonable.Sincerely, [redacted]

I went in for an annual eye exam, and they proceeded to do a full medical exam, which I did not realize at the time, and did not ask forThey billed it as a medical exam, which is not covered by my insurance, rather than as an eye exam, which isI asked them to resubmit it to my insurance and they said they would not, stating that I signed the form, so basically I was out of luckI'm sure they make more money billing it out how they did, in fact, I had an employee tell me that on my last visit

We are very unhappy to have not been able to successfully explain this situation to our patientOur practice works diligently to inform our patients of insurance and billing rules we are both bound by in insurance contracts as providers and patients(In fact, it is fraudulent to change a
billing after the fact in order to reduce a patient’s costs.) We developed the form our patient refers to below in effort to further make the Vision versus Medical insurance nuances clear to our patients so we may honor their choice of benefit use if possible in advance of their actual appointment, or otherwise work to explain why their choice may not applyIt has been a very helpful tool for patients to be able to better understand their benefits and ask questions ahead of having their actual appointmentsThe copays are often quite different between insurance plans and patients do have personal responsibility to understand their particular benefits and we do our best to assistUnfortunately in today’s insurance climate of higher deductible insurance plans, there is more patient payment responsibility than in the past; this patient’s visit went toward her deductible appropriatelyIn this particular case the primary reason for visit, which is what a provider must code a visit on, was a medical symptom with associated signs and symptoms, medical examination and testing were performed, and a treatment plan was initiatedUnfortunately, a month after the visit and following her insurance’s processing of her claim, when the patient received her statement for her payment portion, she would like to minimize her out-of-pocket expenses; we have offered her a payment plan which she has declinedExcellence in patient care and service are our goals and we continue to work hard to make patient finances with our practice go as smoothly as possible, while adhering to appropriate and compliant billing practices

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
I was not trying to reduce my deductible after the fact, and I am offended that you are implying that. I went in for a standard yearly eye exam. Your office contacted me to schedule it, I did not contact them because I had a medical problem. I chose your office because I thought you had a good reputation, but evidently you are just in it strictly for money. There are a lot of forms that everyone signs, and I am sure 99% of the people don't read 100% of them. The receptionist said there may be charges for additional tests, which I was willing to pay for, and that is all.Sincerely,[redacted]

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Not really, but they are being unreasonable.Sincerely, [redacted]

We apologize for any offense taken as it is not our intent to be offensive in any way. We did contact our patient to schedule her appointment as she was a year overdue for her medical eye exam for a diagnosis related to the associated symptoms and signs present at the recent visit. Her previous complete exam was December of 2012 which yielded a physician directed recall of two years for the next medical eye exam to follow her medical diagnosis.