Forest Hill Family Practice and Aesthetics

Lab work covered by Cigna Health Spring, LabCorp and/or Quest office discriminated sent to Baptist lab and charged me $227 before I left.On January 19, went for 1st physical through CignaHealth Spring/Medicare. Forest Hill Family Practice billing person Teresa wanted to charge me $400 for office visit without checking with Cigna by calling the number on the back of my insurance card. My wife [redacted] called Teresa and was told that Medicare did not cover lab work or EKGs which was not true. Teresa then said that I would have to pay $227 out of pocket before leaving office for lab work which I did. Instead of checking with Cigna to see where to send the labs she sent lab to BMG. Labs should have gone to Quest or LabCorp instead, now the office is refusing to reimburse my money. Such a DIRTY trick and way to treat seniors. I refuse to give Forest Hill any of my future business. And will not accept any referrals from them. I plan to see a new primary care physician for the referral that I need.Teresa said it is not their responsibility to verify where the labs should go; that it is the patient' responsibility to tell the doctors office where to send the lab for results.The office of Samuel Timonty Summers, MD did not inquire at all if I knew where to send the labs. Teresa only said that Medicare did not cover labs.Desired SettlementI am requesting a FULL refund in the amount of $227. for lab work, minus the office visit fee.Business Response The patient presented on January 19, 2016 for an annual wellness exam. Included in the wellness are laboratory tests. The patient was informed that due to their insurance there was a possibility that the services may not be covered. The patient understood and filled out the appropriate documentation agreeing to the patient financial responsibility disclosure. The patient's spouse later informed that the lab services are covered by another laboratory and requested a refund. The patient and spouse then made a formal complaint after communicating with the clinic. During the investigation it was identified that due an internal issue with the clinical analysis, the labs were sent to a third-party laboratory. We notified the third-party laboratory and they assisted with resolving the matter.The patient was then called and informed that a refund would be issued for the amount paid. The refund was issued on January 28, 2016. The patient's spouse was thankful for the quick response and informed that a request would be made to dismiss the complaint.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)My husband has a Medicare ADVANTAGE PLAN not basic Medicare.I am satisfied that training will be provided to Forrest Hill Family Practice on proper procedures for accepting and verifying insurance payments prior to requiring funds from senior citizensespecially when Advantage Plan cards are presented at time of visit, copied and placed in patient files.To be clear Labs are covered by Medicare Advantage Plansthe issue is that clinics need to make sure they are being sent to labs within the advantage plan network, and not to a lab of their choice which will in turn be an expense to the patient unnecessarily. Additionally, no payments should be requested up front, except for co-payments. This matter has been resolved in my families instance. I am hopeful that this will be a learning curve for medical clinics to be precise and exacting for the benefit of the patient, especially seniors.