Emily Ngo OD, LLC

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I feel like it was very unfair that I went in for contacts because my last one was tore and the purpose was to go in to replace them And that was the reason why my eye was bad because I was wearing the last pair But yet when I left out on the last visit she still gave me trial ones in the meantime to wear ? and I am paying $plus the $copay for nothing no service at all but to write up expensive eye drop medication that I could’nt even afford Regards, [redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
I refuse to pay $210 for 2 visits  and  nothing was  done . So do whatever you must do because your service isn't acceptable and you are just ripping people off .I would never refer anybody to your office. Good luck. Please do not respond .
Regards,
[redacted]

March 23, 2015Dear Customer,
I understand that you are disappointed about your recent bill. I apologize for any misunderstanding. You came into our office on February 4, 2015 wanting a contact lens exam. Your chief complaint that day was eye irritation and redness of both eyes...

for the past 2-3 days. After examining your eyes and carefully evaluating the health of your cornea, it moderate inflammation of your corneas, which caused by prolonged contact lens wear. Also, your conjunctivitis were moderately red, revealing that prolonged contact lens wear has caused irritation to your eyes. As a health professional, my duty is to make sure that your eyes are healthy and that you incur no more additional harm to your eyes, I advised you to discontinue your contact lens wear until your eyes were better, and to get and wear flew glasses (since you did not have any). I also prescribed [redacted], which is a broad spectrum antibiotic dye irop that helps with moderate keratoconjunctivitis (inflammation to your cornea and conjunctiva from contact lens wear) from contact lens wear. Due to the keratoconjunctivitis of your eyes, I could not give you a contact lens prescription that day, because 1) your corneas were inflamed, and wearing contacts will worsen the condition, and 2) due to the inflammation of your corneas, your prescription was altered and wouldn’t be accurate until your corneas were healed. Because your main complaint was irritation of your eyes, and because you had moderate inflammation to the eye secondary to contact lens wear, this was considered as a medical office visit. A routine exam by your vision insurance does not cover a medical office visit, which is why we billed your medical. You also signed a consent form that allowed bill your medical insurance, if in any case a medical condition was presented.As for billing, we billed your medical insurance for an office visit for a new patient ([redacted]). We also billed for refraction ([redacted]), which is the procedure that allows me to determine your prescription. As seen as below, you have not met your insurance deductible yet, which is why we had to charge you out of pocket.
You paid $40.00 that day for your specialist office visit copay, so we deducted that from the $139.00, which is why you owe us $99.00 for that day.
As for the second visit, which was on February 14, 2015, you came back for a follow-up visit so I could check up on your health of your eyes. When I checked your vision, it was 20/25 in each eye. When I evaluated the health of your corneas and conjunctiva again, there was no improvement.  Instead the condition had worsened compared to the last visit.  You had moderate to severe keratoconjunctivitis (inflammation of the cornea and conjunctiva) in both eyes.  I advised to you that I could not give you a contact lens prescription that day, due to the worsened health of your eyes.  You told me that you did not discontinue your contact lens wear, and have not been wearing glasses at all. Discontinuing contact lens wear was a critical part in the healing process of your corneas, as well as using the antibiotic drops that I prescribed. Because you said the first drop was too expensive, I prescribed a more affordable drop for you. Since your corneas showed no improvement in healing, I could not give you a contact lens exam, again, due to the inflammation of your corneas. I advised to you the importance of discontinuing contact lens wear, and using the antibiotic drops as described, as it could lead to a corneal ulcer if not treated.
Again, we charged you $40 for your office visit copay, which you refused to pay that day. Because you ave not met your deductible yet, you would've had to pay $70 for that day, which is the price of my office visit of an established patient ([redacted]) A routine eye exam only covers for healthy eyes. Since your eyes were not healthy that day, we couldn’t charge your vision insurance, and again, had to charge you or an office visit out of pocket. I did not release a contact lens prescription that day due to the inflammation of your corneas.
A bill of $169.00 was sent to you for your office visits on February 04, 2015, and February 14, 2015. This already includes the copay that you paid us on your first visit. Below is the bill that was sent, which explains what your insurance did not cover, And what you owe.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  I feel like it was very unfair that I went in for contacts
because my last one was tore and the purpose was to go in to replace them.  And that was the reason why my eye was bad because I was wearing the last pair.
But yet when I left out on the last visit  she still gave me trial ones in the meantime to wear  ?  and I
am paying $169 plus the $40 copay for nothing no service at all but to write up
expensive eye drop medication that I could’nt even afford. 
Regards,
[redacted]

April 10, 2015
Dear Customer,
You tore your old contacts because you over wore them. They were old contacts, and worn beyond the wear schedule it was meant for. When you came in, your corneas were moderately to severely inflamed due to contact lens over wear. You did not have a back-up pair of glasses, which is why I gave - you a temporary trial contact lens for the day to leave with so that you could see and legally drive on the road (since you tore your old contact lens and could not see out of them). advised to you to discontinue wearing the contacts ASAP and wear glasses, to help aid in the heading process of your inflamed corneas. Again, as I explained in the previous detailed letter, your insurance does not cover for both of the office visits since you did not meet your deductible. You came in for a second visit the next week, as a follow-up to see if your corneas have healed. Your corneal health was worse, because you did not follow the instructions of discontinuing your contact lens wear as I had advised. Since your eyes were not healthy, I could not do a routine exam on you, and had to charge your medical insurance for the office visit, as stated in my policy that you signed for, Your main purpose was to get new contacts, but my main purpose was to make sure your eyes were healthy before you could wear contacts again. You corneas were severely inflamed, which is why I could not write you a prescription for contacts, I explained to you that I wanted to make sure your corneas were healthy first, before | could fit you with contacts again. Contacts are meant to be worn on healthy corneas. Contact lens wear on inflamed corneas can further promote more disease to the corneas, such as corneal ulcers, which could eventually lead to blindness, as I have told you in the office.
You never called my office nor had the pharmacist contact me to change your medication because of the price concern, so I never knew that you couldn't afford the medication. You wore the contacts that I gave you to wear temporarily for the day for a whole week, I advised you to get glasses ASAP to wear that day, and discontinue your temporary contact lens wear that day. You did not follow any of these instructions.
Again, if you have any insurance questions, please Call your insurance Company.
Sincerely,Emily Ngo, OD