The PolyClinic Reviews (%countItem)
The PolyClinic Rating
Address: 904 7th Ave, Seattle, Washington, United States, 98104-1132
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Deborah Doane
The Poly Clinic has neglected to respond to letters and emails. And, you can't get them on the phone. I am filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the State of Washington, Medicare and have done so already with my insurance company.
I have changed my doctors through Swedish and plan to not use any doctors in the Poly Clinic system. I just received a notice from my insurance company that they may discontinue to cover the Poly Clinic.
*Received a bill for $3,000 (even though every Polyclinic bill I received was already paid in full)
*A large portion of this amount $3,000 was "adjustment" for a Date of Service rendered
over 18 months earlier
* 1 hour phone call | agent did not understand billing either and was advancing to his supervisor (I was told to hold off on paying & that they would follow up)
* A month later received same bill for $3,000 with literally NO explanation, NO follow up (EOB forms do not match amount) & a threat of reporting to collection agency
*Another 1 hour call to a savvy agent who did not have access to her colleagues notes of the previous call. We reinvented the wheel and she was finally able to conclude that the money I had paid was going toward bills that were NEVER sent by Polyclinic (I was never billed)
* This chaotic and irresponsible billing puts the onus of billing on every single patient & the hard-working, patient frontline staff that have to handle our calls of utter frustration. This chaos also threatens our credit ratings & wastes copious amounts of time.
Summary:
Please LISTEN to your front line staff that handle our calls. Better yet promote them to a position to make meaningful change.
I am happy to share my experience, if positive changes can come from this.
Connie Innis, M.D.
Seattle | U.S.A.
However, that changed on June 20,2022. I was seen by Dr Livingston to be fitted for hearing aids. I am a first-time hearing aid user. I wish I would have known what standard of care is for hearing lose and hearing aid fitting be for the appointment. It would have saved me time, money, and frustration.
Dr. Livingston didn’t do a basic assessment to determine what my needs were, Including, lifestyle, preferences, features, or companies approaches in hearing aid.
Hearing aid are very technical and there is vast difference in technology and price.
Moreover, she did not do a fit test that would have allowed me to trial, in the office, how several hearing aids would work for me. This a common practice to ensure the best fit.
The hearing aids I was steered to and purchased were $6,200.
They arrived two weeks later and was scheduled for a 1-hour appointment to fit and explain how to use them. The appointment lased 15min. The hearing aids were so uncomfortable they were actually painfully to wear. Two 2 weeks later I returned the hearing aid and expected a refund per the clinic policy.
It has been a month and I am still waiting for the refund after numerous calls to the billing department. I can not purchase my new hearing aids without to Premera Blue Cross $2000 and myself $3325.00 being refunded.
Reached out the Dr Livingston office on July 27th to provide refund paperwork so I could fill an appeal with my Premera. I was told WE DONT HAVE ANY PAPERWORD WE CAN PROVIDE FOR YOU! VERY VERY RUDE!
The Polyclinic submitted my vision related visit expenses to my medical insurance (Premera) instead of submitting them to VSP. I have been attempting to contact them weekly for the last month. They do not respond to voicemail or email and now I was submitted to collection. The Asset Recovery Group was completely unhelpful as well, telling me that I needed to pay the obligation and try to recover my funds through the Polyclinic. I have paid the collection agency for the balance due of $528.00, but should not have had to pay any residual balance. During these challenging financial times, it is ridiculous that the Polyclinic financial office is completely inaccessible and unresponsive.
We’re sorry to hear about your frustrations experienced
attempting to remedy this situation. We strive to provide responsive
customer service and I apologize if that did not happen here. I have shared your
complaint with our Patient Financial Services managers to address the issue.
Our billing department confirms that your
VSP has been correctly billed and a full refund of $528 has been issued to you
as of 6/12/20. Please reach out to our Office of Patient Experience at [email protected] if this does not resolve the issue to your satisfaction. Thank you.
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.
Sincerely
I was seen for an appointment at a new provider for physical therapy on July 24th, 2019 (Polyclinic Northgate Annex Physical Therapy). I filled out the requested new patient paperwork, they verified my insurance, and the appointment went as expected. I rescheduled another appointment on July 31st, then another in August and one more in September. I was told in person that their services were covered by insurance, and I received no bills. Later, on February 10th of 2020, I received a phone call from Asset Recovery Group saying that I was delinquent on $554.56 that was due to Polyclinic for these appointments. Upon further investigation, the Polyclinic had an incorrect address on file for me, an address I used about 10 years ago (several moves since then), and that was why I never received a bill. The intake paperwork did not ask me for an address, nor did they ask to update my information at all in their system. I was told it was my responsibility to know that 10+ years ago at a totally different provider, I had provided an address that is now out of date. The reason this is an issue is because what they told me regarding my insurance coverage was not correct, I am responsible for all of the payment (which is another insurance issue, but putting that aside). So I am in collections for nearly what will be in total over $600 and have never received a single bill. I was never notified at any of these appointments either, of my delinquent status. I had no way of knowing that this wasn't covered, and if I had, I never would have gone to the followup appointments.
We are sorry for the inconvenience the patient experienced in
this situation and appreciate the chance to look into this. As a result, we
learned that these services were covered by his insurance but the bulk of these
charges were to go to the patient’s deductible. We have no way of knowing what
is remaining of a patient’s deductible when they schedule so would have been
unable to provide this information to him. Our Physical Therapy director has
confirmed that the account was withdrawn from collections and she has spoken to
the patient about the situation. Additional training of front desk staff was
also conducted to reinforce the importance of capturing up to date patient
contact information upon check in to avoid such situations in the future. We
understand this matter to be resolved to the patient’s satisfaction.
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.
Sincerely
I have been paying a large balance on my account for the last 4 months. I was making significant payments, of at least $100. In November, I had questions about my bill, because the balance kept going up after every time payment I made. Someone told me she was going to get with supervisor and call me back, yet I never got a call. I called back 2 weeks later and she informed me insurance had adjusted the payment and everything was correct. Then, I was sent a collection letter saying that my account was over 120 days overdue, and I would be sent to collections unless payment in full was made in 10 days of the letter. First of all, the letter was dated 12/19/19, but I didn't receive it until 01/04/2020. I called the Polyclinic on Monday morning (01/06/2020) trying to get answers, and asked to speak with a supervisor. I was told I would be called back that day, and never heard back from anyone. So I called again, and spoke with someone else trying to get my account taken care of and prevent it from going to collections. I was told that I had to set up a payment plan with them (even though I was already making monthly payments) in order to prevent the account going to collections. I was informed my account HAD NOT been sent to collections, and as long as I made a $25 payment before the 20th, my account would be removed from the risk status. So I made the payment that day, & another payment of $70 the same week. Today I got the letter from a collection agency (dated 01/07/2020), the day after I spoke with them reassuring my account was safe and not going to collections. Still haven't heard back from the supervisor.
We are sorry to hear about the challenges the patient has experienced communicating with our billing office. It appears this complaint was submitted on the 17th of January, a Friday, and that the patient spoke with a billing supervisor on the 20th, the following Monday. At that time, the account was pulled back from collections, a payment was made by the patient, and the current balance on her account is $0. We do ask that patients who do not pay their bill in full, to please contact Patient Financial Services to make monthly payment arrangements so that we can prevent their account from being sent to collections.
If the patient has additional concerns or feedback, we encourage her to contact our Office of Patient Experience at [email protected].
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I contacted Polyclinic and asked to speak with a supervisor on January 6th. No one ever called me back. This is why I reported you to Revdex.com. I never received an apology for the way I was treated. All you said was you would remove the collection account as an error.
Currently, part of the bill I receive every three months is paid by a drug company savings program. On my most recent bill from the Polyclinic (which I never received, but was able to view online) neither the check sent July 23 nor the check sent Oct. 1 were reflected in the total owing.
Instead, they took the time to send me a letter threatening to send part of this total to collections.
I do owe about $30 but am unable to pay that amount online, since their system does not accept partial payments, and I can’t very well pay by check, since I have no bill.
I guard my credit carefully and the threat of having it destroyed due to someone else’s negligence is galling, as I’m sure you can appreciate.
This is not the first time this has happened, and the staff in billing is, well, unbelievably rude.
Can you help?
PS My husband suffers from dementia. Patients and their caregivers need this nonsense even less than everyone else.
Thanks
We apologize for the difficulties experienced by this patient regarding her drug company assistance. These programs and their billing requirements are challenging and we do everything we can to facilitate the process. It is ultimately the patient’s responsibility to communicate with the billing office when an outside organization is involved in their bill and to coordinate appropriate invoices and EOBs to that organization to ensure timely payment. When we investigated this complaint, we determined that the statement the patient received that motivated it likely crossed in the mail with the payment from the drug company. The billing office has reached out to the patient to clarify and answer any additional questions. Her current remaining balance on her account is $15.45 for a 7.30.19 date of service. If she has additional questions or needs further assistance with her bill, she is encouraged to contact our billing office directly at 206.860.4500.
I originally filed this complaint in Oct. (no. ***). I thought it had been resolved. Polyclinic accounting failed to credit my account with a check for $215.18 sent to them by a third party (***). At the request of Polyclinic I contacted ***, who sent me a copy of the check, which was issued on July 23, 2019, and subsequently endorsed and cashed by the Polyclinic. I thought an investigation was underway, and once the check was tracked down, my account would be credited.I was also told that the bill would not be sent to collections.I was told this last Thursday (I believe). I received a Final Notice from Polyclinic yesterday. They are once again threatening to destroy my credit. I am caring for a husband who is suffering from advanced Parkinson's with dementia. I really do NOT need this right now. This was their mistake from the beginning. I have always paid my bills on time and I fail to understand how it is within the law for an incompetent accounting department to arbitrarily destroy my credit. I appreciate any help you can give me.
In addition to having my account corrected, I would also like an apology from the Polyclinic accounting staff and any and all damage done to my credit repaired.
Please see previous response. We have connected with the patient and clarified her previous account balances and their statuses and confirmed appropriate payment has been made for the dates of service in question. She currently has a $0 balance.
I was hospitalized at Swedish Medical Center from 2/22/18-3/3/18 for a cardiac valve repair procedure. While in the hospital, cardiologists from the Polyclinic came by almost daily. I did not know who they were at first. My cardiologist was Dr. P and it was never him who came to my room. Often there were 3 of them; one middle-aged physician and 2 younger people whom I assume were also physicians. They came in winter parkas and on the first couple of visits I was very confused as to who they were. At one visit it became clear they were physicians from the Polyclinic. I found their visits intrusive and awkward but I was polite and spoke with them at their visits. They did not in anyway provide medical care or treatment. They left their parkas on, stood at the end of my bed, and stayed about 5 mintues. At the end of each visit they asked if they could listen to my heart. They did not take vitals, or lay ***ds on me other t*** to listen to my heart at the end of their visit. They would say, “would you mind if we listen to your heart?” I accommodated. They did not discuss my medications or aftercare. It was obvious when speaking with them that they had no idea who I was. Once I was home, I realized I had been billed for each of their visits. Dr. C visited me 3 times, Dr. A visited 4 times, and Dr. S visited 2 times. I have paid for Dr. S’s visits which were well documented with chart notes. He took my vitals, spoke to me about my discharge, and spent time discussing care and treatment. He was wearing appropriate clothing that indicated he was a physician, he pulled a stool up next to my bed and he conducted a thorough exam. The Polyclinic turned me over to a collection agency after I told them I disputed the charges. I have repeatedly explained the situation to the Polyclinic and the collection agency. It seems to satisfy them, and then about 6 months later, I will again get a call from the collection agency.
We have completed a thorough review of this matter and have also responded to the patient via voicemail and letter in August of 2018, when we first learned of her complaint. These communications were for the purpose of explaining cardiology rounding when a patient is in the hospital and the significance of doing so. It is standard practice for our cardiology doctors to follow patients during their hospital stay and these visits were determined to be part of the protocol for cardiology cases. Though we bill based on time, that time is not necessarily spent at bedside. Much of it can be spent reviewing the patient chart, vitals, medications, coordination of care, and imaging, all to ensure safe continuity of care. She was encouraged to speak with the cardiology practice manager at that time (August 2018) if she had additional questions regarding these visits and the subsequent bill.
We have confirmed that monthly statements were sent to her address clearly indicating her financial responsibility between the time her account was pulled from collections in August 2018 and when she was again sent to collections for non-payment on the balance. Since receiving this complaint via the Revdex.com, the Director of Practice Management has left the patient multiple voicemails in an attempt to address her concerns but has received no response to date.
We regret that the importance of these additional visits was not clearly communicated to the patient and will use her feedback to help our providers clarify who they are and what they are doing when at the patient’s bedside in the future.
I was told by a representative at the First Hill Surgery Center that my insurance plan would fully cover my nasal polyp removal surgery. I only consented to undergoing the surgery after receiving this confirmation that my amount owed would be $0. I have now spent a year battling with this billing department, which I've learned was outsourced to somewhere on the east coast a month after my surgery took place. They keep trying to pin me with a $4,000 bill that I cannot afford. I have received letters from my insurance provider and this very billing center both showing an amount owed of $0. I've called this billing center now 10+ times over the past year and have been told that my bill has been settled multiple times, only to receive another bill the next month. Now they're claiming they never received payment from my insurance, even though I have physical documentation from this billing center and my insurance provider proving that they did. What more do I have to do and how do I know if this bill has actually been settled? I am a young student in Seattle making below poverty wages and I simply cannot afford this bill that I shouldn't have to pay in the first place, and I very much cannot afford to be sent to collections with ruined credit. I just need someone with authority to help me resolve this issue, and the First Hill Surgery Billing Center has proven to be unable to help or even simply fulfill their responsibilities. It's starting to seem like they set up this bureaucratic system specifically to exploit people like me, continually lying to me and denying things I have proof of, then handing me over to someone else and never giving me answers, giving me new hoops to jump through each month. I have asked to speak with a manager and have been tossed around like a football, then put on hold for 20 minutes until I'm forced to hang up because my only chance to call and dispute this issue is during my lunch break at work. Thank you for your help.
We regret the multiple challenges faced by the patient to understand his bill and the amount of time and effort he has put into this issue. One of our financial counselors spoke with the patient shortly after this complaint was filed to advise him that part of the confusion stems from his multiple insurance plans on the date of his procedure. He must complete a coverage questionnaire form and submit it to Premera in order to move this bill along. To date, Premera has not received any additional information from the patient regarding their additional coverage. If he has any questions about this form he is advised to contact Premera directly.
This matter was resolved once the patient's insurance received the correct forms from the patient. The balance was processed and paid in full. His current account balance with The Polyclinic is $0.
Upon further review, it was determined that the appropriate information was provided to the patient regarding what steps he needed to take to facilitate proper processing of the claim. We are sorry for this unfortunate misunderstanding.
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.
If I am sent another bill, I now have proof that it is not valid.
Sincerely
I purchased a set of hearing devices. I was required to put a down payment of $2,000.00 to be able to pick up the hearing devices. Once the claim was sent to my insurance company an Explanation of Benefits was sent to me stating that the contracted rate for the devices was in the amount of $2,900.00. According to the contracted rate with ***, my responsibility should have only been $1,122.22. Polyclinic stated they were not accepting the contracted rate although they are an in-network provider with *** and are required to accept negotiated rates. I filed an appeal with *** and have a letter stating that my responsibility is only $1,122.22. The Polyclinic continued to bill me and even threatened to send my account to collections, even though the appeal letter clearly states that Polyclinic needed to contact *** if they had any questions regarding the claim and what is owed. The most recent bill was sent with a final notice letter and has an adjustment on it, which is still more than the contracted rate. *** and I have tried calling them numerous times but the supervisor is always "in a meeting" and will not speak to us. This has been going on over a year and I still have not been refunded the money that I overpaid. They owe me and yet threaten collections on me. I have serious concerns about the billing practices of the Polyclinic and will be contacting the Attorney General's Office, as well.
Unfortunately, the patient was given incorrect information from her insurance company about what was covered on her plan. The Polyclinic is contracted with her *** health plan but hearing aids and other durable medical equipment are not covered by her plan, therefore she is responsible for the cost as billed. The Polyclinic billing department contacted *** for confirmation of this and contacted the patient to explain what is covered. We deeply apologize for any confusion this patient experienced. Additional efforts will be made to assist patients in understanding their role and responsibility in verifying their insurance coverage for hearing aids. Ultimately, it is the patient’s responsibility to confirm their plan’s coverage and any out-of-pocket costs with their insurance company.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
This is not what *** has conveyed to me in my last conversation with them. They are of the contention that based on their contract with the Polyclinic, hearing devices are covered as a benefit and my payment responsibility on my Explanation of Benefits is accurate. Additionally, I have not received any communications from *** stating that they are reversing my appeal with them.
Sincerely
Upon resubmission of the claim to insurance, the patient's responsibility remains unchanged. We encourage her to contact the billing office to arrange payment.
This past January, I received a very large bill $700+, which I had paid at the time of service with my credit card, and could verify with my credit card statement. I called the billing office multiple times over 4 months... just to be told the charge was correct, they would 1. rebill my insurance company, 2. send it back to coding.. I received these responses on multiple occasions. I asked for a detailed print out of my account history... never got it. I asked for managers to return my calls, never got one. Finally, I took my multiple statements, and notes of attempts to resolve the issue in to my doctor to plead for assistance with the billing office. My doc took copies of everything and forwarded to the practice business manager 'Jason'. I asked for a call back. I never received a call back, but the next statement arrived showing I now owed $44. Well that is better than $700+ but still I have no idea why I owe this, there was not info on the statement just a 'balance forward'. I looked at my insurance processing of charges... couldn't find anything that would explain this. In the mean time, I have another doctor visit for a private pay service, I hand my CC to the receptionist she returns it I leave. Next billing cycle I get a bill for the full amount of the last private pay service plus the balance forward of $44. Confused still.. I review my CC charges and find that the Polyclinic charged my CC $84 & did not apply it to my account. My service was actually $500+ so I assume the receptionist erroneously charged another patient's service on my CC and applied it to their account and not mine.??? I of course will pay the amount of money I owe, but I would like the $84 credited to my acct, and would like to know what the old amount of $44 is for. I have called the bus mngr Jason twice .... NO RETURN CALL. I want an itemized history of all transactions and payments. Once I reconcile, I will pay the amount owed.
The Polyclinic practice manager for dermatology researched the situation and called the patient to apologize for not reaching out sooner and for the poor customer service from our Patient Financial Services team. He explained the charges and how some were mis-billed and confirmed they are fixed now. With this understanding, the patient said she will pay her balance due once she receives documentation of the charges; the practice manager will provide those. The patient was rightly frustrated by her service here but now seems satisfied with the resolution. We apologize for the missteps but appreciate her feedback to improve our service in the future.
I have tried repeatedly to resolove a payment issue of which I am clearly in the right. Kaiser permanente agrees with me. I have contacted payment staff, supervisiors, supervisors supervisor, CEO, etc. I am not receiving calls back from any one. I need help
Our Patient Financial Services director confirmed that she spoke with you to apologize for the delay in call backs and customer support. She said in researching the account she identified some errors in account payments and together you have resolved the outstanding issues. Thank you for your patience throughout this process.
I had a auto pay system set up and received monthly statements of my bill going down being paid on time, on 10/4/18 I received a call from a debt collections agency by the name of *** for $203.03, the number sounded familiar from my account so I paid it to avoid damaging my credit. I have just spoken with The bill payment center for the Polyclinic and they have told me that Even tho I set up a auto pay system to pay my bills, they didnt know about it and that I should have called them and told them I'm paying my bill. To me that makes no sense and seems like a fraudulent attempt to collect a debt when its being paid. My last invoice received is 09/20/18 and it shows I actually owed $167.56, which is also what the online bill payment site shows as well so I ended up paying more than I owed from what I can tell. I have since turned off the auto payment option on the bill payment website after speaking with them on the phone.
Transaction Details
-----------------------
Date: 10/04/18 16:00:05
Merchant: ***
Type: Credit Card Sale
Invoice #: *** Amount: 203.03
Description:
Card Holder: ***
Card Number: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I checked with our Patient Financial Services Director who shared that patients must call their office to set up payment arrangements. Because language on our online bill pay website may have not have been clear we have updated the website. Our director will recall the bill from collections and will contact the patient about establishing formal payment arrangements with us. I'm sorry for any miscommunication about this policy.
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.
Sincerely
Doctors are Great, Billing is Insulting, Filed a complaint for being sent to collections for literally paying my bill on time each month, that's how ridiculous this payment system is.
I have been receiving calls from a debt collector regarding a balance that was forwarded to them from the Polyclinic. I sent the debt collector proof of payment to the Polyclinic from my HSA. The debt collector followed-up with the Polyclinic and were told that a balance is still due.
I contacted The Polyclinic on two separate occasions, the latest being 8/15/2018, where the representative was able to review my account and show that indeed no balance should have been forwarded to the debt collector. On both occasions they said they would follow up with collections and get the issue resolved.
As of this morning, 9/7/2018, I have been receiving multiple calls from collections regarding the balance due.
Polyclinic is refusing to bill my medical insurance for care I received over 6 months ago. They will not provide me with a detailed summary of the care to submit the claim to my insurance carrier myself. I have contacted them numerous times by mail and by phone to remedy this situation. I have now been sent to collection.
We apologize for any delay in resolution of this issue. The Polyclinic billed the insurance company that was presented by the patient at the time of service. The claims were denied because the name on file at the clinic, per the patient’s drivers license, did not match the name on file with the insurance company. We requested the patient update her information. We will resubmit the claims.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely
Our Patient Financial Services department confirmed that the insurance company has paid on the claim submitted. The patient has a co-insurance balance due. A final bill was mailed to her on September 6.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I saw the Polyclinic doctor November 13, 2017. It took 10 months to bill my insurance????????? During that 10 months I was harassed, called a liar, sent to collection, yelled at, etc. Polyclinic is a despicable company that should cease to exist. Total incompetence at every level. CFO wrote a letter that was 100% lies. I have and will continue to warn patients to stay away from Polyclinic. I warn patients and their families every day I work as an ER nurse, EVERY DAY. I have posted on social media sites over and over STAY AWAY from Polyclinic! And now they have the gall to bill me for the remaining balance!!!!!! Why would I do that? I have already been sent to collection. My husband has been sent to collection. I have already paid the price of an outstanding, long term, unpaid balance. I should be getting an apology, not a bill.
Sincerely