My name is Lea V [redacted] and I am the owner of Valley Isle Professional Services which provides medical billing services to doctorsThis patient is stating 1) that she declined anesthesia services for cataract surgery; 2) that her insurance does not cover anesthesia services; 3) that she says anesthesia services were not necessary; and 4) she states she never received a phone call back from our office 1) The standard of care for cataract surgery requires the presence of an anesthesiologist during the entire procedure so the patient can be continuously monitored and care provided if necessaryThe procedure was done at the [redacted] and it is their policy that an anesthesiologist must be in the room for every cataract surgeryWhen the patient initially called our office on 10-27-the patient was informed about the standard of care and that an anesthesiologist is always present and it was suggested that she call her surgeon’s office for additional information as to why the surgeon needs to have an anesthesiologist present 2) The patient has stated that her insurance does not cover anesthesia servicesThis is not a correct statement as her insurance does cover anesthesia services for cataract surgeryHer insurance company was billed and we received payment for the insurance company’s portion for the anesthesia servicesThe patient was billed for the anesthesia services copay (determined by the insurance company) along with the Hawaii State Tax amount due 3) The patient states that anesthesia services were not necessaryAs stated above it is the policy of the [redacted] to have an anesthesiologist present for all cataract surgeries 4) The patient states “promises were made to have somebody call me back so I can explain but I never received a call back, only more collection notices” On 10-27-the patient called our office and discussed her concerns and it was suggested to call the surgeon’s office for information as to why the surgeon needed to have an anesthesiologist present during the cataract procedureHer husband then called us on 11-11-to dispute the bill and he expressed that his wife did not call the surgeon’s office The staff member handling the call told him she would have the billing manager (me) call him backI called him on 11-12-and explained again that an anesthesiologist is required to be in the room for all cataract surgeries; that the patient is legally responsible for the copay due; and just as I was going to state that the patient signed a consent form at [redacted] he hung up on me Our standard billing cycle was followed for the patient The patient states that she wants the issue closed and “won’t be bullied into paying a not-legitimate bill”This is a legitimate bill for the patient’s anesthesia servicesThe patient’s husband called and left a message on our voicemail on 1-7-at 119pm requesting a callI returned his call at approximately 4pm on 1-7-and left a message for him to call meHe then called me at about 420pm and I discussed his concerns regarding his wife’s bill and advised him that the bill was written off because of non-payment Our office does not bully patients into paying their bills and it is our policy to treat patients with dignity and respectWe do everything we can to assist patients with their billing concernsIf you need any additional information please do not hesitate to contact meLea V***, CPCValley Isle Professional Services, Inc[redacted]
My name is Lea V [redacted] and I am the owner of Valley Isle Professional Services which provides medical billing services to doctorsThis patient is stating 1) that she declined anesthesia services for cataract surgery; 2) that her insurance does not cover anesthesia services; 3) that she says anesthesia services were not necessary; and 4) she states she never received a phone call back from our office 1) The standard of care for cataract surgery requires the presence of an anesthesiologist during the entire procedure so the patient can be continuously monitored and care provided if necessaryThe procedure was done at the [redacted] and it is their policy that an anesthesiologist must be in the room for every cataract surgeryWhen the patient initially called our office on 10-27-the patient was informed about the standard of care and that an anesthesiologist is always present and it was suggested that she call her surgeon’s office for additional information as to why the surgeon needs to have an anesthesiologist present 2) The patient has stated that her insurance does not cover anesthesia servicesThis is not a correct statement as her insurance does cover anesthesia services for cataract surgeryHer insurance company was billed and we received payment for the insurance company’s portion for the anesthesia servicesThe patient was billed for the anesthesia services copay (determined by the insurance company) along with the Hawaii State Tax amount due 3) The patient states that anesthesia services were not necessaryAs stated above it is the policy of the [redacted] to have an anesthesiologist present for all cataract surgeries 4) The patient states “promises were made to have somebody call me back so I can explain but I never received a call back, only more collection notices” On 10-27-the patient called our office and discussed her concerns and it was suggested to call the surgeon’s office for information as to why the surgeon needed to have an anesthesiologist present during the cataract procedureHer husband then called us on 11-11-to dispute the bill and he expressed that his wife did not call the surgeon’s office The staff member handling the call told him she would have the billing manager (me) call him backI called him on 11-12-and explained again that an anesthesiologist is required to be in the room for all cataract surgeries; that the patient is legally responsible for the copay due; and just as I was going to state that the patient signed a consent form at [redacted] he hung up on me Our standard billing cycle was followed for the patient The patient states that she wants the issue closed and “won’t be bullied into paying a not-legitimate bill”This is a legitimate bill for the patient’s anesthesia servicesThe patient’s husband called and left a message on our voicemail on 1-7-at 119pm requesting a callI returned his call at approximately 4pm on 1-7-and left a message for him to call meHe then called me at about 420pm and I discussed his concerns regarding his wife’s bill and advised him that the bill was written off because of non-payment Our office does not bully patients into paying their bills and it is our policy to treat patients with dignity and respectWe do everything we can to assist patients with their billing concernsIf you need any additional information please do not hesitate to contact meLea V***, CPCValley Isle Professional Services, Inc[redacted]