ENT and Allergy Associates LLP

Review: I lost my job last year due to the economy. Back in March of 2013 I started to experience severe vertigo. Due to lack of income I waited a few months to seeks medical advise. When I did end up going ENT & Allergy to see Dr.[redacted] the Dr. took my blood pressure and said it was too high and asked me to go see my primary care physician asap. Dr.[redacted] wrote me a prescription for the vertigo and sent me on my way- saying " thats all I can do for you today because your blood pressure is too high and thats more important" he stressed that to me. This statement alone would indicate to the patient that the office visit was not thorough. Turned out my blood pressure was fine, just elevated that day for whatever reason. My vertigo persisted so I returned to ENT & Allergy this time getting an appointment quicker with another doctor who did a thorough and lengthly evaluation (Dr.[redacted], great experience). When I spoke to the office billing staff on that second visit they explained that I had a balance on my account. I told them I had no job but would make payments, the staff was fine with that. Never telling me I would be sent to collections. I never once stopped paying ENT & Allergy, I made payments every time I was in office and when they mailed me a monthly bill. The practice of demanding full payment or sending a patient to collections for medical services is a poor practice and highly unethical. I was open and honest from day one with the whomever I encountered with ENT & Allergy about my limited income but full willingness to pay in payments. I take issue with ENT & Allergy two fold. Firstly, the office staff tells you one thing while the billing & collection staff (who are sharks) call you relentlessly and demand full payment. I explained in letters and voice mails that I could only continue to make payments and I could not make a full payment. Finally after a few months of back and forth a billing person named [redacted] from collections officered me a 6 month payment plan. For their poor practices it would be a good gesture to say they are sorry for their poor handling of my situation. The second of this, and how the Revdex.com can assist me is simple. Upon the initial visit with Dr.[redacted] (who I am sure is a good Dr.) the billing dept. billed me for a full comprehensive consultation. I asked in office,over the phone, and by letter to remove this or reduce this charge as Dr.[redacted]'s visit with me was not a full comprehensive evaluation. (I know the difference as my visit with Dr.[redacted] & Dr.[redacted] were very lengthly and comprehensive...and billed for much less!). I should not have to pay and am in dispute about the $254 high level consult office visit charge. ENT & Allergy appears to have a "no dispute" policy. They simply bill for what they are "legally" allowed to bill for, if the patient does not agree "oh well" , as I do not and was told to " take it up with your insurance company". The reality is insurance companies will accept whatever the office bills as long as it is within scope. ENT & Allergy has very poor patient relations, and poor customer service skills. They made no effort to work with me at all. I am not seeking and never did ask for a charity, but I am unemployed and have a limited income right now. I had a medical emergency (debilitating vertigo that kept me from seeking reemployment). ENT & Allergy billing dept. are ruthless & money hungry with no real care for their patients. This is my opinion based on my experiences. I will never return, and I will never recommend this company now. Dr.[redacted] & [redacted] are good Drs. and should be aware as to why their patients are not returning. This ultimately hurts their wallets if they lose patents due to the billing and staff members they are associated with.Desired Settlement: [redacted] told me that they could not and would not adjust my bill because it was illegal for them to do so. I know that statement to be an outright lie. I guess [redacted] has a hard job, and it's better for her to lie to the patients then be honest. I have already entered into a forced repayment agreement with ENT & Allergy ( they forced / demanded of me to give them a $100 payment or they would send me to collections ). I currently have a $125 a week budget due to my circumstances. This weeks I am left with $25 for food, gas etc. I want ENT & Allergy's top executives to read this, take notice of it and make the changes needed. I am not a one off situation, I have been witness to the billing & office managers tirades with patients. Then I ask that they write off the visit with Dr.[redacted] and readjust my 6 month payment plan to reflect this lower balance. They can simply mail me at the address on file the ew statement and payment agreement. That is what I am disputing and seeking mediation form Revdex.com. I really appreciate and mediation you are able to provide here. Best Regards, [redacted]

Business

Response:

As a practice we are never happy to hear that a patient is dissatisfied with any of the

services provided. Mr. [redacted] has a few disputes and I will respond to each.

The first dispute was regarding his visit with Dr. [redacted] and it would seem,

from his complaint, that Dr. [redacted] did not even examine him after finding he

had high blood pressure. In reviewing the medical record, it is evident that

Dr. [redacted] did perform a comprehensive history and evaluation including a

neurologic exam. He recommended further testing and provided a prescription

for medication. There was a note that the patient had elevated blood pressure

and that the patient was to see the PCP that day. This evaluation was an

initial evaluation for this problem and this would explain why the charge was

higher than that of Dr. [redacted]. Dr. [redacted] saw Mr. [redacted] in follow-up

and had access to Dr. [redacted]’s records as they are in the same practice.

Mr. [redacted] received 5 statements for a June visit, before contacting our

Billing Department in October. There were no notes in his account that Mr.

[redacted] expressed a potential financial hardship. The only “letter” on file is

an August statement indicating that his address was incorrect and that he’d

asked several times for it to be corrected. However, at each visit he was

given a demographics sheet to review for changes and on none of these was

there any indication that the address was incorrect. There are no “billing”

staff at the office. The Billing Department is handled centrally and off

site. The “billing” staff o which he refers is likely the patient

representative responsible for collecting copayments and past balances that

are applied to the patient responsibility by the time of the next visit. This

staff does not set up payment plans nor do they otherwise get involved

billing activities.

Mr. [redacted] waited until his account was about to be sent to collections to

contact the Billing Department. Mr. [redacted] states that he made it clear that

he intended to pay the previous balance, but at no time during his subsequent

encounters did he pay any amount above the copayment amount due for the

current encounter. Therefore, after over 4 months his initial encounter

remained unresolved without any additional payment. [redacted] explained to him

that he could avoid being sent to collections if he wanted to set up a

payment plan. The policy is to collect 1/3 of the balance with the rest due

within 6 months.

If Mr. [redacted] had contacted the Billing Department, the number for which was

on the statements, sooner perhaps there would have been some time to work out

a reduced fee with the physician’s approval. In addition, we regret that the

Patient Representative did not have him speak to the Office Manager about

potentially applying for a financial hardship, nor did he or she make a note

in his chart that he’d indicated some financial woes to give our Billing

Department a heads up. We will take this criticism as a teaching opportunity

and this will be reviewed with the staff.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by ENT and Allergy Associates LLP regarding complaint ID [redacted], they did however send me a payment notice with letter asking for my "cooperation" in paying them.

Sincerely,