The Barnard Agency, Inc

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 16, 2016/02/16) */
To whom it may concern-
I received a letter today from the Revdex.com today stating we had a complaint filed against us from a patient and we had not responded so the case had been closedThis is the first we have seen of thisThere may have
been things sent but this is the first I had seen of this
In response to *** *** complaint:
*** Chiropractic has strict Standard Operating Procedures for any new patient scheduling an appointmentOur policy is:
New patients who call our office are asked if there is any insurance which will help them cover some of the costAt that time we get the insurance information over the phone to verify benefits prior to the patient coming inOnce our office sees a patient is giving us a Medicare plan, and they have mentioned a discount we are giving, we explain Medicare restricts us from giving discounts to their policy holdersWe then proceed to explain an estimate of cost the patient may occur and will be responsible forIn Mr*** case, he had a Medicare planMedicare only covers the adjustmentThe Office of Inspector General and Medicare guidelines prohibits chiropractors from offering any kind of discount to Medicare patients because they view it as enticementThis disclaimer is on the new patient offer card Mr*** is referring to in his complaint (see attached copy)If he would have mentioned he wanted to use this card at any discussion when scheduling or before seeing the doctor, our staff would have advised Mr*** of these rules
Once the new patient arrives in our office, the patient is explained their benefits which we verified by their insurance company about services covered, deductibles, copay and services not covered before the doctor starts any exam, xrays or treatmentThe patients are given a copy of the verification form we use when calling the insurance company which they initial and sign stating they understand their benefits(See Mr*** signed verification for attached) The patient is also told a second time an estimate of the cost they will be responsible for at that days visit before seeing the doctor or incurring any costThe patient has the option to say they cannot afford it and refuse any further time in our office at no cost
Since Mr *** has a Medicare plan we also had him sign an ABN form which is required from Medicare to show we explained what is not covered by Medicare(see attached)
At the end of his visit, Mr *** said he would pay next visit and understood his insurance only covered the adjustment but he did not bring enough moneyHe said he wanted to talk about a payment plan next visitOur office is very understanding when it comes to financesWe tell our patient as long as they are communicating with us about financial issues and if they are showing they are trying to pay the balance off, even if just $a monthWe keep their account in good standingWe tried contacting Mr*** several times without any response(See attached notes from attempts we have in his file)
*** Chiropractic has not turned MrHopkin's account over to a collection agencyHis account was in collection review, which means we look at every unpaid account on a case by case basisSince Mr*** was on disability, I wrote off his balance, but if he comes back in the future he will be responsible to make payment arrangementsIt sounds like he won't be back so his account will remain a zero balanceIf he would have called and discussed this account with me (I send a statement a month for months and then a final statement advising account is in collection review), I would have worked with himHowever, we have not heard anything from him since seeing him in our office back in September
If you have any further questions regarding this account, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at (XXX) XXX-XXXX Ext
*** *** * Director of Community and Patient Relations
Ext

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2017/03/30) */
see attached pdf