Family Foot and Ankle Associates of MD

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered] Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:On March my husband was seen by Dr M.F [redacted] as we both stated and again as per my husband [redacted] was asked before any further services ect gets done he wanted to make sure it was all covered as we have (2) insurancesThe Dr went to find out what would be covered and came back in the room and told my husband yes everything is coveredHe did not say most of its covered, he did not say you have to pay deductible, he said its all coveredIf as he (Dr) noted that his office does everything to get the bill covered then why was my husband NOT notified that there will be deductible!! You let the patient know this (before) treatment, before you send out a cast to make a shoe cookie, so that is a straight outright lie on the Dr parts twice! Im very disgusted that a professional Doctor or grown man would say such a thing and turn it against the patient! That is not a healthy, honest righteous way to do business or behave!As for Sharon C***, (I) called her at least about the bill and explained it all to her and she said she would get back to me and she did but said we were responsible.I again explained it all and asked her to talk to the Dr because again, my husband was told the services were coveredShe in all instances said he was busy and I understand him being busy but he can call me anytime, other times I called he was out and on vacationThats fine, but I wanted to talk to him and have it resolvedWe even went to the office in person to talk to the Dr and to no avail he was not in! I have left messages and asked the Dr MF [redacted] please call us back when he is free to discuss this bill and not once has he called us, Sharon C [redacted] just called me a few days ago because she must have been informed I notified Revdex.com and told me its not the Drs responsibility to know our deductible its the patience and therefore its our problem and even if the Dr wanted to do something (which he feels no need) its in collections! Really? Thats the responseWe have been patiently waiting on the Dr to call us back because this is a serious issue and now its in collections and its (our) fault because he didn't know what was or was not covered?? No matter where you go, the Drs the dentists ect before you go you call to make sure they accept your insurances, and once there what ever procedures need to be done the Dr will make sure they are covered before he works on you or orders tests ectThis supposedly was done as per the Dr and the Dr stated to my husband its all covered! This letter he or his assist wrote was a flat out lieI was the one always calling and also I and my husband went to his office to get this rectifiedAs of today 01/24/I still have not heard from the DR on this matterI would like to take further action.Thank you Regards, [redacted] ***

January 12, 2017To Whom it May Concern:I am writing in response to the complaint filed by *** *** on behalf of her husband *** ***On March 7, 2016, he was treated in my office for heel pain at which time he had xrays takenA diagnosis was then made and we had a thorough discussion of
treatment options, both conservative and surgicalWe agreed on the noninvasive conservative measures which included a Night Splint and Custom molded orthoticsThese conservative measures are within the standard of care to help prevent surgeryDuring our discussion, he was informed that his primary insurance company covered the durable medical equipment at 85% after a $annual deductibleThe patient was never told everything is covered, My office does everything possible to try and get the medical services covered through the patient's insurance policyWe try to assist patients daily with learning their insurance plans and coverage, but ultimately it is the subscriber's responsibility to know their insurance benefitsThey are the ones that choose their plans and their level of benefitsWe are contracted with most insurance companies in the area and are required to follow their guidelines for reimbursementHowever, the insurance Company makes the final determination as to what is covered and what is not coveredIt would be illegal and a violation of my contract with *** to write off the balance from ***'s bill.My office manager, Sharon C*** spoke to *** *** several months ago in an attempt to resolve this issueWhen our office Manager made a follow up call, *** *** stated she was busy, and would call her back*** *** never returned that phone cali and never responded to the many billing statements we sent to her addressThis left my billing office no choice but to send the account to collections months after the initial treatmentMy main focus was improving *** ***'s foot painWhile lam sympathetic to my patient's health care costs, I do my best to inform patients of any financial responsibility, before incurring any major expenseThis was the case with *** ***He was informed of the percentage of what was covered, and his $deductible on that March visitUnfortunately, *** and *** *** did not resolve this issueWe could have worked out a payment plan of some sort to avoid collections.The bottom line is that *** *** received appropriate and successful medical care for his foot pain which the practice deserves to be reimbursed forThere were no issues with his careThe only issues are with his insurance coverage which he is in full control of choosing, *** *** signed the financial agreement with Family Foot and Ankle Associates of Maryland on his initial visit, which states that the patient is responsible to pay any balances deemed appropriate by the insurance carrier, I have attached a blank copy of our policy and can produce the one he signed on request, *** *** is aware that he is responsible for payments of his insurance deductible, co-payments and/or non-covered services.Thank You,DrMichael F*

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:On March my husband was seen by Dr M.F* as we both stated and again as per my husband *** *** was asked before any further services ect gets done he wanted to make sure it was all covered as we have (2) insurancesThe Dr went to find out what would be covered and came back in the room and told my husband yes everything is coveredHe did not say most of its covered, he did not say you have to pay deductible, he said its all coveredIf as he (Dr) noted that his office does everything to get the bill covered then why was my husband NOT notified that there will be deductible!! You let the patient know this (before) treatment, before you send out a cast to make a shoe cookie, so that is a straight outright lie on the Dr parts twice! Im very disgusted that a professional Doctor or grown man would say such a thing and turn it against the patient! That is not a healthy, honest righteous way to do business or behave!As for Sharon C***, (I) called her at least about the bill and explained it all to her and she said she would get back to me and she did but said we were responsible.I again explained it all and asked her to talk to the Dr because again, my husband was told the services were coveredShe in all instances said he was busy and I understand him being busy but he can call me anytime, other times I called he was out and on vacationThats fine, but I wanted to talk to him and have it resolvedWe even went to the office in person to talk to the Dr and to no avail he was not in! I have left messages and asked the Dr MF* please call us back when he is free to discuss this bill and not once has he called us, Sharon C*** just called me a few days ago because she must have been informed I notified Revdex.com and told me its not the Drs responsibility to know our deductible its the patience and therefore its our problem and even if the Dr wanted to do something (which he feels no need) its in collections! Really? Thats the responseWe have been patiently waiting on the Dr to call us back because this is a serious issue and now its in collections and its (our) fault because he didn't know what was or was not covered?? No matter where you go, the Drs the dentists ect before you go you call to make sure they accept your insurances, and once there what ever procedures need to be done the Dr will make sure they are covered before he works on you or orders tests ectThis supposedly was done as per the Dr and the Dr stated to my husband its all covered! This letter he or his assist wrote was a flat out lieI was the one always calling and also I and my husband went to his office to get this rectifiedAs of today 01/24/I still have not heard from the DR on this matterI would like to take further action.Thank you
Regards,
*** ***

January 12, 2017To Whom it May Concern:I am writing in response to the complaint filed by [redacted] on behalf of her husband [redacted]. On March 7, 2016, he was treated in my office for heel pain at which time he had xrays taken. A diagnosis was then made and we had a thorough discussion of...

treatment options, both conservative and surgical. We agreed on the noninvasive conservative measures which included a Night Splint and Custom molded orthotics. These conservative measures are within the standard of care to help prevent surgery. During our discussion, he was informed that his primary insurance company covered the durable medical equipment at 85% after a $350 annual deductible. The patient was never told everything is covered, My office does everything possible to try and get the medical services covered through the patient's insurance policy. We try to assist patients daily with learning their insurance plans and coverage, but ultimately it is the subscriber's responsibility to know their insurance benefits. They are the ones that choose their plans and their level of benefits. We are contracted with most insurance companies in the area and are required to follow their guidelines for reimbursement. However, the insurance Company makes the final determination as to what is covered and what is not covered. It would be illegal and a violation of my contract with [redacted] to write off the balance from **. [redacted]'s bill.My office manager, Sharon C[redacted] spoke to [redacted] several months ago in an attempt to resolve this issue. When our office Manager made a follow up call, [redacted] stated she was busy, and would call her back. [redacted] never returned that phone cali and never responded to the many billing statements we sent to her address. This left my billing office no choice but to send the account to collections 9 months after the initial treatment. My main focus was improving [redacted]'s foot pain. While lam sympathetic to my patient's health care costs, I do my best to inform patients of any financial responsibility, before incurring any major expense. This was the case with [redacted]. He was informed of the percentage of what was covered, and his $350 deductible on that March visit. Unfortunately, [redacted] and [redacted] did not resolve this issue. We could have worked out a payment plan of some sort to avoid collections.The bottom line is that [redacted] received appropriate and successful medical care for his foot pain which the practice deserves to be reimbursed for. There were no issues with his care. The only issues are with his insurance coverage which he is in full control of choosing, [redacted] signed the financial agreement with Family Foot and Ankle Associates of Maryland on his initial visit, which states that the patient is responsible to pay any balances deemed appropriate by the insurance carrier, I have attached a blank copy of our policy and can produce the one he signed on request, [redacted] is aware that he is responsible for payments of his insurance deductible, co-payments and/or non-covered services.Thank You,Dr. Michael F[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:On March 7 2016 my husband was seen by Dr M.F[redacted] as we both stated and again as per my husband [redacted] was asked before any further services ect gets done he wanted to make sure it was all covered as we have (2) insurances. The Dr went to find out what would be covered and came back in the room and told my husband yes everything is covered. He did not say most of its covered, he did not say you have to pay 350.00 deductible, he said its all covered. If as he (Dr) noted that his office does everything to get the bill covered then why was my husband NOT notified that there will be 350.00 deductible!! You let the patient know this (before) treatment, before you send out a cast to make a shoe cookie, so that is a straight outright lie on the Dr parts twice! Im very disgusted that a professional Doctor or grown man would say such a thing and turn it against the patient! That is not a healthy, honest righteous way to do business or behave!. As for Sharon C[redacted], (I) called her at least 3 about the bill and explained it all to her and she said she would get back to me and she did but said we were responsible.I again explained it all and asked her to talk to the Dr because again, my husband was told the services were covered. She in all instances said he was busy and I understand him being busy but he can call me anytime, 2 other times I called he was out and on vacation. Thats fine, but I wanted to talk to him and have it resolved. We even went to the office in person to talk to the Dr and to no avail he was not in! I have left messages and asked the Dr M. F[redacted] please call us back when he is free to discuss this bill and not once has he called us, Sharon C[redacted] just called me a few days ago because she must have been informed I notified Revdex.com and told me its not the Drs responsibility to know our deductible its the patience and therefore its our problem and even if the Dr wanted to do something (which he feels no need) its in collections! Really? Thats the response. We have been patiently waiting on the Dr to call us back because this is a serious issue and now its in collections and its (our) fault because he didn't know what was or was not covered?? No matter where you go, the Drs the dentists ect before you go you call to make sure they accept your insurances, and once there what ever procedures need to be done the Dr will make sure they are covered before he works on you or orders tests ect. This supposedly was done as per the Dr and the Dr stated to my husband its all covered! This letter he or his assist wrote was a flat out lie. I was the one always calling and also I and my husband went to his office to get this rectified. As of today 01/24/17 I still have not heard from the DR on this matter. I would like to take further action.Thank you.
Regards,
[redacted]  [redacted]