Stucky Chiropractic Center SC

Dr [redacted] joined Stucky Chiropractic Center in March of Although many of the insurance networks that Dr [redacted] participated in at [redacted] Chiropractic transferred over to Stucky, not all of them did By January we were well aware that WEA was out of network I think the issue arose due to a misunderstanding between our staff, and patient She stated in her complaint that “In January, I called to ask if Dr [redacted] accepted the same insurance as in his previous practice.” Dr [redacted] does indeed accept the same insurances as before; however what my staff member would have followed up with is, “While he does accept any insurance, we can’t be certain about your benefits in our office.” There are hundreds of different insurance policies that patients can participate in some we are in network with some we are out of network with In both cases there may be benefits for the consumer It would be impossible for our office to know what coverage a patient would have without first receiving their insurance card and doing a verification of insurance As a courtesy to our patients we do a verification of benefits (which was completed after her second visit) but ultimately, insurance policies are an arrangement between an insurance carrier and the patient And all services received are the responsibility of the patient (See attached policy signed by the patient.) [redacted] Office Manager I spoke with the consumer/patient on two occasions in regards to her issues with her insurance reimbursements As mentioned above my staff is made aware of the fact that there are many policies and different benefits that patients may have Because of this we never tell our patients that they have guaranteed benefits in our office as I explained to this patient on our second conversation after speaking with my staff, treating doctor and office manager It was my opinion that there was a misunderstanding of our office policy in regards to insurance payments As stated in our policy as signed by the patient, insurance policies are a contract between the patient and the insurance carrier We do our very best to determine a patient’s benefits in our office Ultimately, the consumer is responsible to know what their benefits are and which providers are available to them As an office we do our very best to clearly communicate how a patient’s insurance may work in our office Unfortunately, with the changes in healthcare and the many different policies it is harder to know what to expect in regards to payment from insurance Following my conversation with said patient on May 7, I agreed to remove the x-ray fee if she paid the remainder of balance in full In the end this was an unfortunate misunderstanding resulting in a disgruntled consumer [redacted] Director

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meI will be continuing my process and filing a complaint with the Consumer Protection agencyEven after the phone call with DrBecker, I requested to receive the agreement of the waiver of the x-ray fees and was not supplied that and had to take their word on this agreementThis was only resolved once this complaint was filedIt should not take a patient four weeks, dozens of phone calls, and a complaint to the Revdex.com to even speak to the ownerWhile I did sign that document, they have outright lied to me about my insuranceI called in December to make the appointment - not in JanuaryThey lied to me in December about my insuranceThey can claim that they didn't and I do not have proof of this lie, but their overall business practices lends to the fact that several customers could have this happeningMost people would have given up and paid the full billOnly because of my knowledge of the insurance industry, protection agencies like the Revdex.com, and my persistence could I actually get an answerDr*** stated during our phone call that the Revdex.com complaint was the first time he knew of my issueThis was after over a dozen phone calls (at least to *** who responded below) to his front desk requesting a time to talk to Dr*** and was assured by the front desk that they would relay the message to Dr***So either Dr*** lied to me regarding his knowledge of my request or his staff (***) is not doing her job and lying to customersWhile this is "resolved", I am beyond disappointed and I have never been treated in such a demeaning, untrustworthy way.
Regards,
*** ***

Dr [redacted] joined Stucky Chiropractic Center in March of
2014.  Although many of the insurance
networks that Dr. [redacted] participated in at [redacted] Chiropractic transferred
over to Stucky, not all of them did.  By
January 2015 we were well aware that WEA was out of network.  I think...

the issue arose due to a
misunderstanding between our staff, and patient.  She stated in her complaint that “In January,
I called to ask if Dr. [redacted] accepted the same insurance as in his previous
practice.”  Dr. [redacted] does indeed accept
the same insurances as before; however what my staff member would have followed
up with is, “While he does accept any insurance, we can’t be certain about your
benefits in our office.”    There are hundreds
of different insurance policies that patients can participate in some we are in
network with some we are out of network with. 
In both cases there may be benefits for the consumer.  It would be impossible for our office to know
what coverage a patient would have without first receiving their insurance card
and doing a verification of insurance.  
As a courtesy to our patients we do a verification of benefits (which
was completed after her second visit) but ultimately, insurance policies are an
arrangement between an insurance carrier and the patient.  And all services received are the
responsibility of the patient.  (See
attached policy signed by the patient.)
[redacted]
Office
Manager
I spoke with the consumer/patient on two occasions in regards
to her issues with her insurance reimbursements.   As
mentioned above my staff is made aware of the fact that there are many policies
and different benefits that patients may have. 
Because of this we never tell our patients that they have guaranteed benefits
in our office as I explained to this patient on our second conversation after
speaking with my staff, treating doctor and office manager.  It was my opinion that there was a
misunderstanding of our office policy in regards to insurance payments.  As stated in our policy as signed by the
patient, insurance policies are a contract between the patient and the
insurance carrier.  We do our very best
to determine a patient’s benefits in our office.  Ultimately, the consumer is responsible to
know what their benefits are and which providers are available to them.
As an office we do our very best to clearly communicate how
a patient’s insurance may work in our office. 
Unfortunately, with the changes in healthcare and the many different
policies it is harder to know what to expect in regards to payment from
insurance. 
 Following my
conversation with said patient on May 7, 2015 I agreed to remove the x-ray fee
if she paid the remainder of balance in full. 
In the end this was an unfortunate misunderstanding resulting in a
disgruntled consumer. 
[redacted]
Director

Review: To Whom it May Concern:I have been a patient of Dr. [redacted] for over five years. Dr. [redacted] moved practices to Stucky Chiropractic. In January, I called to ask if Dr. [redacted] accepted the same insurance as his previous practice. The answer given by the receptionist was Yes, all the insurance he accepted before would be accepted at Stucky. Because of this reassurance, I made appointments. I have a copay insurance. I only have to pay 10% of ANY medical appointment, as long as it is in my network, which is why I made sure to ask about coverage. There is no way I would have taken advantage of Dr. [redacted]'s services had I known that my insurance would not be accepted. Furthermore, I went in for 2 appointments between January 8th and January 13th. At these appointments, the following occurred: I was told that I needed X-rays and a special treatment for my neck. I brought my insurance card (WEA Trust) and the receptionist took said card. Again, I asked if my insurance was accepted and AGAIN was assured that WEA Trust was an accepted insurance for Stucky Chiro. I paid my 10% owed for my first appointment. My question is: How did the receptionist know that I only pay 10%, but failed to notify me that my insurance was not accepted? For my second appointment, I was very ill with the flu. I called that day to cancel and was told by the receptionist to not cancel my appointment and that your "office is fine with sick clients." So, I came in, yet did not receive information on what was to happen at this appointment. One set of x-rays were taken. Then, weights were strapped to my head and I was told to stand on a vibrating table. At this point, I, again, told Dr. [redacted] and the assistant that I was sick. I had to stop the test due to tunnel vision so badly, that I had to remove the weights. I was not given the second set of x-rays and did not actually finish whatever therapy they were trying to give me. A week after this, I received a call from my insurance comDesired Settlement: The full bill remaining to be forgiven and stopped from going to collections under my name as the above information states - it is their improper business practices that got me to this point.

Business

Response:

Dr [redacted] joined Stucky Chiropractic Center in March of

2014. Although many of the insurance

networks that Dr. [redacted] participated in at [redacted] Chiropractic transferred

over to Stucky, not all of them did. By

January 2015 we were well aware that WEA was out of network. I think the issue arose due to a

misunderstanding between our staff, and patient. She stated in her complaint that “In January,

I called to ask if Dr. [redacted] accepted the same insurance as in his previous

practice.” Dr. [redacted] does indeed accept

the same insurances as before; however what my staff member would have followed

up with is, “While he does accept any insurance, we can’t be certain about your

benefits in our office.” There are hundreds

of different insurance policies that patients can participate in some we are in

network with some we are out of network with.

In both cases there may be benefits for the consumer. It would be impossible for our office to know

what coverage a patient would have without first receiving their insurance card

and doing a verification of insurance.

As a courtesy to our patients we do a verification of benefits (which

was completed after her second visit) but ultimately, insurance policies are an

arrangement between an insurance carrier and the patient. And all services received are the

responsibility of the patient. (See

attached policy signed by the patient.)

Office

Manager

I spoke with the consumer/patient on two occasions in regards

to her issues with her insurance reimbursements. As

mentioned above my staff is made aware of the fact that there are many policies

and different benefits that patients may have.

Because of this we never tell our patients that they have guaranteed benefits

in our office as I explained to this patient on our second conversation after

speaking with my staff, treating doctor and office manager. It was my opinion that there was a

misunderstanding of our office policy in regards to insurance payments. As stated in our policy as signed by the

patient, insurance policies are a contract between the patient and the

insurance carrier. We do our very best

to determine a patient’s benefits in our office. Ultimately, the consumer is responsible to

know what their benefits are and which providers are available to them.

As an office we do our very best to clearly communicate how

a patient’s insurance may work in our office.

Unfortunately, with the changes in healthcare and the many different

policies it is harder to know what to expect in regards to payment from

insurance.

Following my

conversation with said patient on May 7, 2015 I agreed to remove the x-ray fee

if she paid the remainder of balance in full.

In the end this was an unfortunate misunderstanding resulting in a

disgruntled consumer.

Director

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I will be continuing my process and filing a complaint with the Consumer Protection agency. Even after the phone call with Dr. Becker, I requested to receive the agreement of the waiver of the x-ray fees and was not supplied that and had to take their word on this agreement. This was only resolved once this complaint was filed. It should not take a patient four weeks, dozens of phone calls, and a complaint to the Revdex.com to even speak to the owner. While I did sign that document, they have outright lied to me about my insurance. I called in December to make the appointment - not in January. They lied to me in December about my insurance. They can claim that they didn't and I do not have proof of this lie, but their overall business practices lends to the fact that several customers could have this happening. Most people would have given up and paid the full bill. Only because of my knowledge of the insurance industry, protection agencies like the Revdex.com, and my persistence could I actually get an answer. Dr. [redacted] stated during our phone call that the Revdex.com complaint was the first time he knew of my issue. This was after over a dozen phone calls (at least 6 to [redacted] who responded below) to his front desk requesting a time to talk to Dr. [redacted] and was assured by the front desk that they would relay the message to Dr. [redacted]. So either Dr. [redacted] lied to me regarding his knowledge of my request or his staff ([redacted]) is not doing her job and lying to customers. While this is "resolved", I am beyond disappointed and I have never been treated in such a demeaning, untrustworthy way.

Regards,