Sierra Nevada Wellness Center

My family are (were) established patients with this practice and have been for over 10 years. For the past two years, we have been cash patients. (We have never had an outstanding balance on our account.) When I took my child in for a routine appointment with the physician's assistant on 5/19/14, I was informed by the office manager that they would not see my daughter because I had applied for [redacted] for my family via [redacted]. Although I had not been approved for [redacted] yet - nor did I have any documentation from [redacted] pertaining to our application status - the office manager showed me the door and told me I needed to find another provider, as they did not accept [redacted] patients. She showed me a piece of paper with my child's name on it, which showed there was a [redacted] application PENDING. I was shocked. And, appalled. I have never been treated so poorly and with so little regard for my child's medical predicament (she requires regular medication). I had to scramble to find a new doctor - and pay new patient fees - so that my child could be prescribed the necessary medication in a timely manner. I am sorely disappointed in the practices of this center and I will not return to their care again.Product_Or_Service: Medical CareDesired SettlementI would be grateful if somehow the doctors at the center could be informed of my experience, since it was the office manager who treated me so poorly.Business Response The client spoke with our billing representative while in our office. Our office has a contract with the [redacted], however we have a closed panel and are not accepting any more patients with this insurance coverage. It is our responsibility to confirm that patients are not covered by this plan or in a pending status because if they are we CAN NOT legally charge them for services, and if they are eligible for one of the [redacted] products (i.e. [redacted] or [redacted]) that we are not contracted providers for and we provide services to them, we will not receive any reimbursement for these services and cannot collect payment from the patient. This protocol was followed and the patient was deemed to be in a pending status. This was explained to the parent both by the front staff and by our billing representative. At this time it was explained that per [redacted] pending status it had to be treated as if they were eligible since we are not providers for all [redacted] plans and are not excepting new [redacted] receipients. Our biller explained that she could go to the [redacted] office and inquire about [redacted] status and if they gave her signed paperwork indicating "not eligible" we could reschedule the appointment. She wanted to know what to do now about her daughters care and she was provided with the names of two larger clinics that accept [redacted]. She was also provided with a copy of the print out from the [redacted] website with the pending ID number. She did not seem upset when she left. We recognize the frustration that many of our patients are experiencing with the new healthcare changes at this time including many who are being assigned to [redacted] without their knowledge of ever applying or understanding how this impacts their ability to receive medical care in the manner to which they are accustomed. Because of all of the frustration and confusion, our office has withdrawn from the [redacted] plan effective August 4, 2014 and will no longer be confronted with this issue. Sierra Nevada Family Medicine is sorry that this client is unhappy. We did receive a letter of complaint from the client which was reviewed by the practice administrator and the physician. Contact was initiated by the practice administration. We followed protocol and tried to provide information to aid in receiving the care needed.