Pro-Care Medical Center

This is the right patient - for sure We will strongly object to any accusations unethical/immoral/unlawful behavior regarding our billing/collecting procedures His account was turned over to collections because he had an unpaid balance and we were unable to contact himOur inability to contact him is a combination of a couple of issues First, his new patient paperwork is virtually illegible due to poor handwriting - this could have resulted in an email that bounced back and an address that wasn't entered correctly Second, his mail correspondence was returned back to us an undeliverableWhen his account was turned over to collections, the first thing the collection agency had to do was figure out his new addressWe are working to get this off of his credit asap This is probably the 10th time that either I or my staff has had to contact his patient (directly or indirectly) in the past two weeks We are diligently working to resolve this asap

While we have zero ability to control another business, the lab, we are attempting, yet again, to get them to write off the balance

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:The core issue here is that the business never contacted or notified me of the balance prior to releasing it to collectionsSo the statement that they did so is 100% falseThis is confirmed by recent conversation with their billing manager who stated: 1) My record showed they never attempted to call me regarding the bill and 2) only mailed letter, as opposed to their standard of 3, in an attempt to collectI can provide records of when this conversation happened if neededIn addition, the balance is for a visit prior to my final visit with the clinic, meaning they could have attempted to collect at my final visit and they did not do soThis is further demonstrated by the business's willingness to "release" $of the balance, mostly due to the possible date of claim expiring with the insurance agencyUpon realizing this lack of attempt to contact, the "billing manager" was noticeably confused, and hung up on me despite asking to settle the remaining $balance.Based on the timing they suggest, I suspect they may have me confused with another patientWhich leads me to believe billing issues such as this are a common occurrence for this business.At no time, did I use any foul languageStrong language yes, but never fowlI can also confirm that my credit rating has been negatively affected by roughly points due to this mismanaged collection attempt Regards, [redacted] ***

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: While it is true that ProCare Medical Center "cannot be held responsible for what the lab decides to do or not to do," I was promised several times by the physician, Dr [redacted] , the Office Manager, [redacted] , as well as other members of the office staff that this would be completely covered by my insurance, and that if there was any remaining balance, it would be COMPLETELY "written off." I never understood the purpose of this "gene test" but wrongly entrusted my doctors to make the best decision for meI never received the results of this supposed test, either! This week, [redacted] suggested I get in touch with [redacted] to resolve the errorAfter hours of phone tag, I did this, only to be told that [redacted] was well aware that the remaining balance was up to me to payIt was after this conversation with [redacted] that [redacted] was conveniently "unavailable" for every call I made to the officeI am not raising an issue over $134, but rather the history of a medical center for adding unnecessary, timely, and costly testing to patients' bills in order to charge insurance companies more money, and, if necessary, patients as wellI will also be in touch with my insurance provider, ***, simply to let them know of the nature of the business at ProCare Medical Center, and to advise that it is not in any insurance company's best interest to do business with any care provider under the umbrella of this business It is my belief that medical care providers should be in the business of providing the necessary care that is in the best interest of a patient, rather than doing their best to "up-sell" their services in a deceptive manner which takes advantage of the vulnerability of the patientsAll it takes is a simple Google of "ProCare Medical Center billing scam" to see that I am not the first patient, and definitely won't be the last one to find an issue with the "shady billing practices" at this particular location of ProCare Medical Center I hope my complaint is reviewed with consideration for the best interest of potential patients all over the city of Austin Regards, [redacted] [redacted]

This patient was billed times via email and paper (9/16/15, 11/03/15, 1/18/16, 3/7/16, 4/19/and 6/6/16) before it was ever turned over to collections She wanted to come in to see us in January of and cancelled same day due to some personal issuesShe spoke with Mary Alice (in our office) the day of the cancellation and was notified at that point of the cancellation policy/fee We have a signed cancellation policy from the patient This is the kind of unscrupulous stuff we have to deal with on a daily basis - unfortunately

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
This response in no way addresses the fact that insufficient attempt was made to contact me regarding the debt prior to sending it to collectionsPlease address the core issue at hand.
Regards,
*** ***

We have not been able to reach to patient to let her know that we were able to get the lab to write off the entire billCan you please relay this information to the patient? Thanks!

This is the right patient - for sure We will strongly object to any accusations unethical/immoral/unlawful behavior regarding our billing/collecting procedures His account was turned over to collections because he had an unpaid balance and we were unable to contact him.Our inability to contact him is a combination of a couple of issues First, his new patient paperwork is virtually illegible due to poor handwriting - this could have resulted in an email that bounced back and an address that wasn't entered correctly Second, his mail correspondence was returned back to us an undeliverableWhen his account was turned over to collections, the first thing the collection agency had to do was figure out his new address.We are working to get this off of his credit asap This is probably the 10th time that either I or my staff has had to contact his patient (directly or indirectly) in the past two weeks We are diligently working to resolve this asap

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:This response in no way addresses the fact that insufficient attempt was made to contact me regarding the debt prior to sending it to collectionsPlease address the core issue at hand.
Regards,
*** ***

This patient was billed times via email and paper (9/16/15, 11/03/15, 1/18/16, 3/7/16, 4/19/and 6/6/16) before it was ever turned over to collections She wanted to come in to see us in January of and cancelled same day due to some personal issuesShe spoke with Mary Alice (in our
office) the day of the cancellation and was notified at that point of the cancellation policy/fee We have a signed cancellation policy from the patient This is the kind of unscrupulous stuff we have to deal with on a daily basis - unfortunately

While we have zero ability to control another business, the lab, we are attempting, yet again, to get them to write off the balance.

While I am unhappy that Ms. [redacted] is upset with the lab bill, we are not the lab and cannot be held responsible for what the lab decides to do or not to do.  We were initially told by the lab that if insurance did not pay for the test, they would significantly write off some of the balance....

 We have discussed Ms. [redacted] account with the lab and her current balance is what the lab was willing to do regarding a substantial discount for their service.Again, we have done everything we can do to assist Ms. [redacted].

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: While it is true that ProCare Medical Center "cannot be held responsible for what the lab decides to do or not to do," I was promised several times by the physician, Dr. [redacted], the Office Manager, [redacted], as well as other members of the office staff that this would be completely covered by my insurance, and that if there was any remaining balance, it would be COMPLETELY "written off." I never understood the purpose of this "gene test" but wrongly entrusted my doctors to make the best decision for me. I never received the results of this supposed test, either! This week, [redacted] suggested I get in touch with [redacted] to resolve the error. After hours of phone tag, I did this, only to be told that [redacted] was well aware that the remaining balance was up to me to pay. It was after this conversation with [redacted] that [redacted] was conveniently "unavailable" for every call I made to the office. I am not raising an issue over $134, but rather the history of a medical center for adding unnecessary, timely, and costly testing to patients' bills in order to charge insurance companies more money, and, if necessary, patients as well. I will also be in touch with my insurance provider, [redacted], simply to let them know of the nature of the business at ProCare Medical Center, and to advise that it is not in any insurance company's best interest to do business with any care provider under the umbrella of this business.  It is my belief that medical care providers should be in the business of providing the necessary care that is in the best interest of a patient, rather than doing their best to "up-sell" their services in a deceptive manner which takes advantage of the vulnerability of the patients. All it takes is a simple Google of "ProCare Medical Center billing scam" to see that I am not the first patient, and definitely won't be the last one to find an issue with the "shady billing practices" at this particular location of ProCare Medical Center.  I hope my complaint is reviewed with consideration for the best interest of potential patients all over the city of Austin. 
Regards,
[redacted]

There is a very limited amount of information I can disclose based on health information privacy.  I can state that we had several interactions with the patient and had several opportunities to resolve his balance before it was turned over to collections. During interactions with my staff we...

was rude and abusive, so much that I received an email from one of my staff members on the 8th of this Month warning me about this guy.  While I am not 100% confident that the collection agency has not dinged his credit, it would be highly unusual for them to do it so quickly as his account was not turned over to them until December.  We are checking to make sure.We try, in every way, to avoid sending folks to collections.  We send statement after statement via email and postal mail and that is followed by a personal phone call from our office warning that their account is being turned over to collections.  I am very sorry that this patient is so upset.  We will make sure his credit is not affected by this.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
The core issue here is that the business never contacted or notified me of the balance prior to releasing it to collections. So the statement that they did so is 100% false. This is confirmed by recent conversation with their billing manager who stated: 1) My record showed they never attempted to call me regarding the bill and 2) only mailed 1 letter, as opposed to their standard of 3, in an attempt to collect. I can provide records of when this conversation happened if needed. In addition, the balance is for a visit prior to my final visit with the clinic, meaning they could have attempted to collect at my final visit and they did not do so.
This is further demonstrated by the business's willingness to "release" $90 of the balance, mostly due to the possible date of claim expiring with the insurance agency. Upon realizing this lack of attempt to contact, the "billing manager" was noticeably confused, and hung up on me despite asking to settle the remaining $30 balance.
Based on the timing they suggest, I suspect they may have me confused with another patient. Which leads me to believe billing issues such as this are a common occurrence for this business.
At no time, did I use any foul language. Strong language yes, but never fowl. 
I can also confirm that my credit rating has been negatively affected by roughly 60 points due to this mismanaged collection attempt.
Regards,
[redacted]

This patient was billed 6 times via email and paper (9/16/15, 11/03/15, 1/18/16, 3/7/16, 4/19/16 and 6/6/16) before it was ever turned over to collections.  She wanted to come in to see us in January of 2016 and cancelled same day due to some personal issues. She spoke with Mary Alice (in...

our office) the day of the cancellation and was notified at that point of the cancellation policy/fee.  We have a signed cancellation policy from the patient.  This is the kind of unscrupulous stuff we have to deal with on a daily basis - unfortunately.

Revdex.com,
This is a complaint I am aware of.  We do not have a great process for patient refunds which is why this has taken so long (we are working on that).  I have been consistently corresponding with [redacted] about his refund.  In fact, he wrote me an email this...

morning which I immediately responded to.  Two weeks ago, I told him that it would be processed the next time the bookeeper was in the office.  She was here on Tuesday of this week and make out the check.  I have not been able to process these checks until today.  
I apologize that this is not a better process and that [redacted]'s refund took so long.  Please keep in mind the refund check was made out before this complaint was issued.  Thank you.

From: [redacted] [mailto:[redacted]] On Behalf Of [redacted] Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2016 4:18 PM To: info <[email protected]> Subject: Regarding Complaint #[redacted]   Here is some updated information:   I just found out that the collection agency DID report his account to the credit agencies.  We reported to collection agency that his bill was paid and they are going to RUSH to get the report taken off of his credit.  It will take approximately 10 business days.  We are trying to make this a peaceful ending for all involved.   --   Best Regards, [redacted] CEO

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:The core issue here is that the business never contacted or notified me of the balance prior to releasing it to collections. So the statement that they did so is 100% false. This is confirmed by recent conversation with their billing manager who stated: 1) My record showed they never attempted to call me regarding the bill and 2) only mailed 1 letter, as opposed to their standard of 3, in an attempt to collect. I can provide records of when this conversation happened if needed. In addition, the balance is for a visit prior to my final visit with the clinic, meaning they could have attempted to collect at my final visit and they did not do so. This is further demonstrated by the business's willingness to "release" $90 of the balance, mostly due to the possible date of claim expiring with the insurance agency. Upon realizing this lack of attempt to contact, the "billing manager" was noticeably confused, and hung up on me despite asking to settle the remaining $30 balance.Based on the timing they suggest, I suspect they may have me confused with another patient. Which leads me to believe billing issues such as this are a common occurrence for this business.At no time, did I use any foul language. Strong language yes, but never fowl. I can also confirm that my credit rating has been negatively affected by roughly 60 points due to this mismanaged collection attempt.
Regards,
[redacted]