Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  09/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received three services from this provider which included both insurance-covered and non-insurance covered services around late June and early July. The practice charged me office visits fees which exceeded the amount due it after insurance reimbursement. The practice then failed to disclose that I would receive a separate bill from a laboratory, so I paid them the entire amount including the portion due to laboratory. I have contacted them several times about receiving a refund owed to me for being overcharged and paying them what was due to the laboratory. However, the practice referred me to a third party billing company based in Florida that doesn't bother to return voicemail messages, and washed its hands of any involvement in issuing my refund. It is now going on two months and I still have no clear indication when I will receive these funds so that I can pay this laboratory. Also, one of the two doctors, R*****, botched my ear piecing as the spacing between my two double holes in each ear was supposed to be equal. She pierced the second hole in my left ear to far from the first so there wasn't enough space to properly space the third hole away from the second before reaching the cartilage. There should have been equal distance between each hole and if the piercing had been done correctly there would have been sufficient space between the first and second, and second and third holes in both ears regardless of whether or not my ears where the symmetrical.

  Business response

  10/06/2022

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: Drs. **** and ******* <***********************>
  Date: Wed, Oct 5, 2022 at 5:06 PM
  Subject: response re: complaint ID ********
  To: drteam@mybbb.org <drteam@mybbb.org>
  

  
  

  Dear Dispute Resolution Team:

  We were not surprised to receive your letter regarding complaint ID ********. This patient has been verbally abusive to members of our staff over the past several years and she recently posted a negative review of us on ******* which essentially mimics the complaint that she filed with you.

  First, she complains that we charged office visit fees which exceeded the amount that insurance would pay. This is how medical billing works. We charge our standard fees, and we accept what the insurance pays us since we participate with them. We do not balance bill people. This patient received her EOB (explanation of benefits) which clearly states, this is not a bill, and paid the amount shown on the EOB without waiting for the bill from our billing company. She was responsible for $217.44 due to her deductible and $20.51 due to her co-insurance for a total of $237.95.  but she sent us a check for $241.95. The billing company determined that she was due a refund of $4 plus her copay of $35, which was collected at the time of service but ended up not being required because she had a surgical service, as well as a refund of $10.67 for overpayment on a second surgical procedure, totaling $49.67.

  Next, she complains about the bill for pathology services. All patients who have a biopsy are told that the specimen will be sent to the laboratory for evaluation. The pathology services are billed separately from the office visit. Our patient policies, which every patient signs when starting with our practice, state that a separate bill will be generated for these services. The patient was fully informed of our policies on pathology billing.

  Then, she complains about our offsite billing company. The patient sent us an incorrect payment on July 1, 2022. Her refund was issued on Sept 6, 2022, in the amount of $49.67. The is a typical turn around time for medical billing refunds. While waiting for her refund, the patient made several phone calls to the billing company to find out when her refund would be processed. On her last call to the billing company, she became verbally abusive, and the billing company had to terminate the call. We have an audio file of the phone call if you would like to hear the profanity and threating language used in that conversation. Our office manager attempted to call the patient to discuss the refund on multiple occasions, but she didn't not return any of our calls.

  Finally, we are aware that the patient is unhappy with the result of her ear piercing. We strive to provide the best possible care to all patients, so this is upsetting to us. However, the patient approved the markings on her ears prior to piercing and it was explained to her that due to anatomic differences in her earlobes, the piercings could not be in the exact same spot on both sides. She spoke with the office manager who suggested that she remove the piercings and that we could redo the piercings free of charge. We will gladly offer a refund as an alternative, but the patient has not returned any of our calls.

  Thank you for your consideration of this matter. We look forward to your response.

  Brittany S************, Office manager

  Anne ** R*************, MD, MPH
  

  Roni *. F***, MD

  
  

  Center for Cosmetic and Clinical Dermatology

  18310  Montgomery Village Avenue
  Suite 700
  Gaithersburg, MD 20879

  ************

  FAX ************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩