St. Joseph's Physicians

FThank you for bringing forward the concerns of ID ***. StJoseph Physicians has thoroughly investigated the complainants concern and spoke to the patient on several occasions most recent being January 22, The complainant called our office on April 16, requesting a physical
exam and routine medication refillHe was seen in our office on April 22, by one of our Physician Assistants. At this appointment, he understood that as part of his physical, it was recommended he have routine lab work. He agreed to this on this date. It is made clear to our patients, as it was to the complainant, that we do not know what insurance companies will cover or not. It is the responsibility of the patient to contact his/her insurance company to understand the chargesThe complainant had his blood work done which resulted in some abnormalities that required further lab testing. His insurance company was billed for the lab work that was ordered on April 22, The complainant’s routine physical was covered by his insurance, however due to insurance payments and his deductible not being met he was required to pay $for the lab work that was drawn. He stated an understanding of this to one of our nurses and indicated in an email communication “I know it is not your fault-the medical industry just blows my mind and it is nothing again you or DrB or anything...” After review of his overall medical record as well as discussion with his care team, the decision is that we are unable to write off this amount as a full service was provided to the complainant. It is unfortunate that his insurance does not cover 100%. We have offered him the option of payment plans, as well as pulling back his claim from the collections agency if he would like to make payments on this invoice, which he adamantly declines. We would be happy to help the complainant in any way we can but at this time we are unable to write off his deductibleWriting off the deductible would require us to refund the whole amount that the insurance company paid us for including the physical exam that was in fact rendered. If we can be of any further assistance or if you should have any questions or concerns related to this matter, please feel free to contact my office. Sincerely, Julianne *** *** ***Chief Operating Officer StJoseph’s Physicians

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. First of all, the quote placed in the business' response is completely taken out of context My comment was directed directly to the doctor's nurse, Amanda (and ONLY Amanda), in reference to the fact that this has had to come to this point and she is stuck in the middle as the one communicating with me I had included all communications regarding this matter with the business, specifically the message where that quote is selectively trimmed from, (as an attachment) in the initial submission of this disputePlease take a look for yourself and make your own assessment as to if I was releasing liability I can tell you I certainly would not be wasting all the ridiculous time I have put into this going back and forth with the business, the collections agency, and submitting this dispute to Revdex.com, if I contradicted myself at any point in time. Also, the Collection Agency was still calling me after me after I requested this be at least put on HOLD while it is sorted out, and even after I even submitted this to the Revdex.com (and offered proof of said complaint). I am currently buying a house so, this is potentially causing me issues in obtaining the best rate for a mortgage, which I do not believe is fair when a decision has not yet been made I also think it is pretty obvious I would not have included the messages to the Revdex.com, myself, in which I allegedly indicated the business was not at fault, if in fact I had done so If I felt that there was any way this office visit was justified, or was properly conveyed, it would have been economically cheaper for me to pay the balance off, as opposed to going through all this, if you factor the time alone I have had to put into this nonsense It is more hours than a part time job, which would have paid me well more than the $bill would have cost me To me this is more than just the $96, it is about me clearly stating to the nurse and doctor an almost excessive amount of times, that I really do not even want the physical at all! I was only there to get my prescription for a medication that has no cure (I will literally sign off releasing my medical records to prove this is 100% true and not exaggerated that there is no cure), so the visit was entirely unnecessary to begin with, except for StJoseph's PC to make some revenue off billing for an office visit The only reason I called it a "Physical" was to avoid having to pay for the pointless visit by it being covered under my insurance, due to the fact I have a High Deductible plan that I literally have to pay every dollar out of pockcopay, no partial coverage of a visit until my extremely high deductible was met (which I never come close to as I rarely go to the doctor for this very reason, always something with the billing) I was asked repeatedly if I wanted more testing, to which I stated my intention of the visit was only for the script. I had made sure I asked several employees and staff in advance if I could avoid this fee, by scheduling this as a “Physical,” which was confirmed it could be. Once they began the examination I was under the impression that what they were doing was necessary for me to obtain my prescription, or why was I even having to come into the office in the first place? Once again, the script I was requesting I have been prescribed for around years now (close to half my life), for a condition that has no cure I asked repeatedly why I needed to come in and I was told it is protocol and there is no way around it Yet now, I can send a message via the StJoe's webpage to get a prescription refilled, so why could I not achieve this in the scenario prior to my disputed visit, is my question to them as well? What I get from this now, if the procedures were not for the intention of confirming my script, or whatever the reason being was, is that they forced me to come in with their “protocol, to not perform any action? In my eyes, the procedures the doctor and nurse were performing were what needed to be done for me to get my prescription, when in fact it appears it was not And please do not forget, I confirmed, multiple times in advance, that whatever needed to be done for me to get my script, could in fact be taken care of, free of any additional charge, under the coding of a “Physical Exam.” The statement conveyed in the message prior to this from the business that I "understood and accepted any additional blood work…” is completely erroneous. I strongly urge you to speak to the Doctor ***, as well as Nurse Amanda, as we were almost joking about how many times I stated I only came to the office because I was told there is no other way to get my prescription, and also reiterated why I scheduled it as a physical Furthermore, there was indeed additional blood work that resulted from the abnormality mentioned by the business, and it was promptly paid for the same day (before I even left the building), as I was fully aware, by checking with my insurance provider in advance that a “physical” (which is covered by my insurance) In my opinion, it appears it is trying to be conveyed that the additional blood work, done on a follvisit, is part of this dispute, when in fact it is not. The $in question is only from the one visit that I still am not sure why I was given no choice but to partake in, or not receive my prescription I had been taking regularly for the past decade +. The fact that I made it overly, repeatedly, crystal, clear (before, during and after the appointment) my intention for the visit was solely for obtaining my prescription and I did not want ANYTHING extra at all, completely negates the accusation that I “understood and accepted any additional bloodwork…” Logic summarizes this whole ordeal: why would I indicate I do not want to come into the office at all, tried to oppose it on several levels, then told I could only get my script if I came in, found a way to not make it billable, but then once I was there I requested and requested extra blood work? It does not make sense! Like I said, I strongly urge you to talk with Dr***, and her nurse, Amanda, in hopes that they would be truthful about this and how adamant I was that day. I feel like they would recall it off the top of their heads as it literally became comical how many times I told them to please, please, please make sure that whatever they are doing is not outside of the scope necessary for me to get my script. My previous doctor, also at the same practice (*** ***-whom I can only imagine has had several Revdex.com disputes against him), made me come in for a prescription one time in the same manner, promising it would not be billable beforehand. While he was writing the script, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind taking my blood pressure, just out of curiosity. He went ahead and proceeded to do so, and then when I was checking out I noticed he charged me $for the minutes I was in his office At the time I had different insurance, where my copay was the same either way, regardless of his invoice, but I questioned it out of curiosity on the next visit. His reply was that because I asked for him to take my blood pressure for the seconds it took, it was now a fully billable office visit. Not only that, he bragged about how it is commonplace for him, as well as any and every doctor he knows to perform such acts because people pay there copay and that is all, either way. It was obviously not necessary, and I could simply have walked to the drug store half a block away if I would have known that. My point is, after that experience, and ever since then, I am overly cautious with any and everything a doctor is doing. Now that my insurance has changed, where as I have to pay every dollar that is billed while I am there, I am sure to make my intentions almost annoyingly, clear, overstating my intentions so that there is no misconceptions. I did this on my visit for this day in question as well, and the irony is almost painfully comical…but not at my expense it isn’tRegards,*** ***