Orthopaedic Associates of Saratoga, LLP

We received your letter dated 2/24/regarding the above consumer's billing complaintThis patient took exception to our billing for services rendered on 1/14/Her belief Is that since we did not send her the bill within a year of the date of service, she should not have to pay
usTo the best of my knowledge, there is no statute in New York State regarding a specific time frame for billing a patient for their portion of a medical claim.While we do everything In our power to bill our patients in a timely manner for their out of pocket responsibility, most processes are automatic/electronic and may occasionally fail to execute the way we would likeThis is the case with Ms***'s servicesWe had a download from a carrier that neglected to automatically transfer to the guarantor as It should have, Upon reviewing an aging report, I actually transferred this balance of $to the patient, realizing this had not happened at the time of Insurance payment on 2/17/15, We keep a very detailed accounting of patient and insurance payments, and there was not a payment made by the patient on this account at the time of serviceShe has been to our practice many times over the last several years and has never paid at the time of service, Historically, we have always billed both of her Insurances first and then sent her a statement for her portion once those insurances have paid.Ms*** was never sent to collectionsWe have a third party patient billing service that sends our patient statements, answers patient inquiries about their bill, and collects payments on our behalfThat service has noted many conversations with the patient where she has claimed she should not be responsible for this balanceOn 2/14/17, my staff advised that service thisbalance was correctShe again called and disputed the bill stating we should not have billed her for something that happened over a year ago.At this point, I am happy to adjust Ms***'s bill Had I been informed earlier that there was an issue with her account: I most likely would have done the adjustment just to keep a good rapport with the patient and maintain excellent customer service.Lisa O*** ***Manager Central Business Office