San Diego Medical Services

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID *** and find that this resolution would
be satisfactory to me and I appreciate San Diego Medical Services response
I request that San Diego Medical Services, in writing, cite the invoice number when referencing which account/invoice was reduced to zero for complete documentation purposesI will wait for the business to perform this action and I request written documentation confirming the action has been taken
If action taken and documentation received showing action taken, I will consider this complaint resolved
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint...

resolved. 
Today I received my refund check and apology.
Regards,
[redacted]

Due to a billing service change this account was mishandled and failed to bill in error. Account has been written off to zero balance. Our apologies for the inconvenance.

Review: Invoices SD [redacted] for $1,749.41 dated 12/29/2013 and SD [redacted] for $1,593.57 (with discounts applied for a "Please Pay This Amount" of $220.00) dated 12/30/2013 for ambulance services from San Diego Medical Services on 12/22/2014. County Medical Services San Diego County (CMS) hardship approved to pay medical bills incurred in December of 2013. Written confirmation and account information received from CMS on 01/27/2014. San Diego Medical Services called on 01/28/2014 and given CMS account and payment information. On 02/03/2014 a bill from San Diego Medical Services Customer Account # 9672833 was received dated 01/28/2014 for $1,969.41 (combining the two original invoices). San Diego Medical Services called again on 02/04/2014 and provided with the CMS payment information.

No telephone calls, correspondence or bills were received from San Diego Medical Services or Rural Metro between 02/04/2014 and 08/06/2014.

On 08/06/2014, received bill from San Diego Medical Services, invoice SD[redacted] dated 07/30/2014 and on 08/11/2014 received bill from Rural Metro dated 08/06/2014 for $3,342.98 combining both invoices cited above. There was concern that the bill dated 08/06/2014 from Rural Metro was incorrect as the destination hospital on the bill was Del E Webb Memorial Hospital (which is in Sun City West, Arizona) and the amount on the bill did not match the billed amounts on previous bills (which was later found to be the two invoices combined where the discounts on the original invoice SD[redacted] were rescinded).

Note: Between 01/28/2104 and 10/10/2014, EIGHT PHONE CALLS made to Rural/Metro to try to resolve this issue and assist Rural/Metro to get paid by CMS San Diego.

Point of contact at CMS San Diego was [redacted] at [redacted]. On 10/10/2014, Ms. [redacted] advised that she would be willing to receive the bills from Rural Metro via e-mail or fax. Ms. [redacted] also said that Rural/Metro has the ability to send bills electronically to CMS but said that Rural Metro only sends hardcopy bills via mail. Ms. [redacted] also advised us that invoice SD [redacted] had been received and paid by CMS but invoice SD [redacted] HAS NEVER BEEN RECEIVED. Ms. [redacted] advised us that any bills received after 10/31/2014 could not be paid as the County of San Diego's fiscal year ends on that date and no payments could be sent out on or after 11/01/2014.

SEVEN PHONE CALLS made to Rural Metro between 10/10/2014 and 10/22/2014 to advise of the deadline date and to try to assist them in submitting the invoice to CMS before the deadline of 10/31/2014. During this time we spoke to supervisor [redacted]. (she would not provide full last name) twice to convey the urgency of timely submission of the bill to CMS San Diego. During the first call on 10/20/2014, [redacted] O. was advised that CMS San Diego had to receive invoice SD [redacted] before or on 10/31/2014 in order to be paid yet [redacted] O. responded that they (Rural/Metro) had one year to submit the bill; we again told her the 10/31/2014 deadline was the latest CMS San Diego could pay on this invoice because of their fiscal year ending at that time. The second time we spoke to [redacted] O. on 10/22/2014 we tried to confirm the invoice was sent to CMS but [redacted] O. could not verify this as this was handled in their billing department and they do not get feedback from their billing department on when invoices are mailed. We asked if there was anyone in the billing department we could speak to and she said no. We asked/begged if the invoice could be faxed or sent electronically via E-mail to CMS (CMS fax number and e-mail address provided to Rural Metro) as Ms. [redacted] advised us that CMS would accept a faxed or electronically transmitted invoice from Rural/Metro. [redacted] O. said no ... that was not part of their protocol. I asked if she could call someone in her billing department to find out if it has been mailed and she said no, they communicate electronically.

Situation now is that Rural Metro did not get the outstanding invoice to CMS San Diego by 10/31/2014 (confirmed by Ms. [redacted] on 11/04/2014). To sum up, we gave the payment information to Rural Metro on 01/28/2014 for both invoices and we have had FIFTEEN PHONE CALLS TOTAL with Rural Metro in TEN MONTHS in multiple attempts to assist/motivate Rural Metro to be paid by CMS San Diego. Of great concern is that, as of 10/31/2014, invoice SD [redacted] WAS NEVER RECEIVED by CMS San Diego over a ten month period (between 01/28/2104 and 10/31/2014) and as of 10/22/2014 Rural/Metro would not confirm that they received payment from CMS San Diego for invoice SD [redacted].Desired Settlement: On 10/21/2014, letters sent via US Mail to Rural Metro via US Mail to Scottsdale Az address, agent for service of process, and via fax and e-mail to their billing department. As of today, no response has been received.

Request that the balance on invoice SD [redacted] be reduced to zero because Rural/Metro failed to submit the bill to CMS in a timely manner . Over a ten month period we have been communicating with Rural Metro with CMS San Diego contact information but Rural/Metro has never communicated with CMS regarding invoice SD [redacted]. This CMS account was established under hardship circumstances. CMS San Diego was the only resource we had to pay this bill. We have been contacting Rural Metro with payment information since 01/28/2014.If Rural Metro refuses to adjust this invoice to zero then we believe that Rural/Metro is engaging in unfair and predatory billing practices. In holding us accountable for the invoice they have avoided negotiating with and getting paid by CMS San Diego.

We also request that Rural/Metro acknowledge in writing that invoice SD [redacted] has been paid by CMS San Diego and the balance on that invoice is now zero.

Business

Response:

Due to a billing service change this account was mishandled and failed to bill in error. Account has been written off to zero balance. Our apologies for the inconvenance.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me and I appreciate San Diego Medical Services response.

I request that San Diego Medical Services, in writing, cite the invoice number when referencing which account/invoice was reduced to zero for complete documentation purposes. I will wait for the business to perform this action and I request written documentation confirming the action has been taken.

If action taken and documentation received showing action taken, I will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: On 3-6-15, my mother, [redacted], an Alzheimer's patient, was transported from Sharps Memorial Hospital to her assisted care facility, La Vida Real in El Cajon by Rural Metro. The hospital arranged for this transport as I was out of the state at the time. Rural Metro called me on 3-6-15, prior to transporting my mother and told me the cost of transporting her would be $508.00. I gave them my Master card info and authorized the transaction. In April I received a bill from Rural Metro showing it had not been paid and I now owed over $1300.00. I called the company and spoke with several representatives. The end result of those conversations was I only owed $508.00 since I had agreed to pay the bill prior to the transport and they neglected to charge my credit card. On May 30, 2015, I received a new bill from Rural Metro which shows I now owe $2237.60. There is no explanation for this different amount (i.e. late fees, etc.) I called the company on 6-1-15 and spoke with "Poonie" who said I needed to speak with a supervisor but they were all in a meeting.She said a supervisor would call me back. On 6-3-15, I called Rural Metro back when I did not hear from them as promised. I spoke with supervisor [redacted] who said I needed to send a dispute letter to try to resolve this matter. He was vague and evasive about my account, blaming a computer conversion glitch as the problem and the reason he could not locate the original info from 3-6-15.Desired Settlement: I would like to pay the original amount of $508.00 and close out the account.

Business

Response:

Our apologies for the confusion. The $508 was applied on 6-12-15. Account is considered paid in full. Due to a switch in billing systems we had a miscommunication. Again please accept my apology for the confusion.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: My account was overpaid when insurance made an additional payment in June 2014. My wife called numerous times for a refund and was told a check would finally be issued November 5th and overnighted so it would be received on the 6th. It is now the 11th and this check has still not arrived.Desired Settlement: An apology for having to repeatedly call them for a refund that has taken over four months to receive.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Today I received my refund check and apology.

Regards,

Review: We have been making payments to San Diego Medical Services/Rural Metro for ambulance services. We stopped receiving invoices as of February 2014. I continued to make payments and emailed them to ask for an invoice so that I may know the balance. I received no response and no invoice. We continued to make payments as to make sure that we do not default. I requested an invoice again via email and was unable to reach anyone by phone. As of September 2014, I was unaware that we reached our balance and no longer owed payments. In April, I was able to reach someone who told me that I overpaid by $331.96. She said to call back in 2 weeks to find out when a refund would be sent. I called back and they told me a check would be mailed to me in 6-8 weeks. I have waited and I called today to find out why we still have not been refunded. They told me 2 more weeks. It is almost one year now since my account has been paid in full and they still have not issued a refund.Desired Settlement: A refund.

Business

Response:

In our system the refund has been processed and will be mailed out on Monday. My apologies for the confusion and the wait. If you do not receive it by Wednesday please feel free to call me directly at 619-280-0642.[redacted]Regional Director San Diego

Review: On 05/06/15 I went to an Urgent Care Clinic on 3rd Street in Chula Vista for chest pains, I was evaluated to be stable and I was informed that I had possibly had a heart attack but would require further tests that they were not equipped to do or handle. It was recommended that I check in to an ER on 4th Street in Chula Vista, literally 1 block away, I had transportation to the ER but the urgent care doctor recommended I use a EMS transport for pre-cautionary measures should my condition deteriorate. I heeded to the recommendation and walked on to the gurney, was strapped in and secured and I was transported to the ER. It literally took longer to get strapped in and secured that the ride over. The next day I am release after tests and monitoring reveal it was not a heart attack. Two months later I receive a bill for $2706 from Rural Metro, which in my opinion is excessive for 1 block non emergency transport services. I called their billing department, spoke to a Sheila who is unable to provide any answers to question, she says her company provides collection services to this and other companies but provides me a local number to call. I called that number and spoke to [redacted], he tells me they are a sister company with no information and provides me with a 3rd number to call. I call that number and speak to Nathan, he tells me he cannot answer any questions but gets my number and says a supervisor will call me back soon..... Still waiting.Desired Settlement: 5 years ago, I was involved in an accident where EMS services were used, it was about 5 mile transportation to an ER and it was an emergency. The bill for that service was 1/3 of this bill plus a few hundred dollars. I understand about inflation, cost of equipment, personnel but com'on. I would like to see the bill adjusted accordingly and if they do not I would like their business license reviewed/revoked. They do provide a much needed service but this is price gouging of people in need.

Business

Response:

A company representive ([redacted]) has been in contact with the party prior to receiving this inquiry and is addressing his concerns.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I spoke to [redacted] with regards to their billing, according to her, that is their standard billing rate for a specialty transport service (because there was a nurse on board) and that even though it was only 1 block from the urgent care to the ER that IS the fee for their service. According to [redacted], the only way that the fee can be reduced is if I either do not have insurance or the insurance declines to pay for the service. As it stands, I have a deductible to meet and it will be mostly met by paying for this service. The problem I have, is that the bill for the urgent care where I taken in immediately after walking through their door, was hooked up to an EKG, monitored to see if I was having a heart attack by a doctor is less than 1/3 of this bill. IT WAS A 2 MINUTE RIDE DOWN THE STREET. How can this be? Rural Metro is taking advantage of people, insurance companies, and a HUGE reason of why our medical costs are out of control.

Regards,[redacted]

Review: On October 10th, 2013 my wife had to call 911 and request an ambulance to transport me to the emergency room. We provided our insurance information at that time. We received request for insurance information from San Diego Medical Services (SDMS) on October 21st, 2013. We filled out the provided insurance request form and we mailed it. We were also checking with our insurance and the claim was not submitted. In November we received a bill from SDMS stating that the bill is due. We paid the bill for full amount of $1,933.49. On December 16, 2013 the claim was still not submitted to our insurance. I called SDMS why the claim was still not submitted to our insurance. They said that they did not have the information on file. I provide insurance information again and they said it will be submitted to our insurance tomorrow. Two weeks later the claim was still not submitted to our insurance. I submitted the claim to our insurance directly and insurance sent a check to SDMS for $506.53. SDMS received the insurance payment on January 29th, 2014. Since at that point our bill was overpaid we were expecting a refund. I called SDMS on February 10th, 2014 and I was told they will send a reimbursement. I called again on March 3rd, 2014 and on June 10th, 2014. Every time we were told they will send a payment and none have been received.

SDMS owes us money and we are not able to get it back. Their billing department does not submit claims to insurance. They overcharge and they do not pay the money back. Considering that I had no choice of ambulance when my wife mad a 911 call this is absolutely an acceptable. We also did not know that the ambulance that arrive was not in our insurance network which is another issue in itself.

I request that the business rating of SDMS is decreased due to horrible billing service that is withholding customer’s overpayment for almost 6 months and does not submit claims to customer’s insurance even they say they will do it.Desired Settlement: I would like to received the overpayment back. We were promissed the check already 3 times and we are not getting the check back.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Today, we finally received the check for the reimbursement for what the insurance company paid to the Ambulance company. The envelope is dated June 23rd.

Thank you for your help.

Review: I received an ambulance ride on 5-28-13. A few weeks later I received an explanation of benefits from my insurance [redacted]. It stated the ambulance ride was $1768.82 but that the [redacted] member contracted price was $1535.10 so my portion owed would be 10% which equals out to $153.41. A couple weeks after that I receive a bill from San Diego medical services for $388.13. I was shocked because it was a $234.76 difference. Immediately I called San Diego medical services. I explained to them about my claim and at first the guy I spoke with said it went thru your insurance that's the price. I told him no I pay 10% on the contracted price. After looking into it he said that yes indeed I was right they were contracted with [redacted] and told me that I would have to fax the customer service department to get it fixed which I thought was weird because it was their fault to begin with. Anyway he said he would note the account and had me fax 1-480-606-3675 and put attn customer service. I did so and I faxed them to please fix the error and correct the bill. I got a confirmation the fax went through. So fast forward to July 26, I receive another bill in the mail figuring that it's the corrected bill. It is for the same amount not fixed and telling me to pay or it's going to collections. I don't understand how they overcharge like this. If I had not checked my [redacted] explanation of benefits I would have blindly over paid and I don't see how that's far to the consumer. I already went out of my way to fix the error to no avail. My account number is [redacted]. I'm going to attempt another fix and see if it works this time but if it happened to me who knows how many other people they are overcharging.Desired Settlement: I would just like then to correct their error without me having to go thru all this trouble and to fix their business practices so they don't overcharge others.

Review: I received a bill from Rural metro for ambulance services. I returned the bill after filling in my insurance information which they claimed they would attempt to process. I received no further contact from them, and became suspicious. I attempted to contact them twice via the email address provided on the bill. No response to either email was recieved.

Today I received a notice from a collection agency that the bill is unpaid. After calling the agency, the person I talked to confirmed that Rural Metro simply refuses to respond to any inquiries.

It's extremely unethical to provide contact information you have no intention of responding to, and then sending my bill without any further contact to a collection agency.Desired Settlement: Rural metro should staff appropriately to handle the volume of business they do, and follow up with customers if there is a problem with billing prior to submitting to collections.

Review: My husband, [redacted] and I, [redacted] M. [redacted] were involved in a motor scooter accident on June 7, 2014. I accompanied my husband (he had a broken collar bone and broken ribs), in the ambulance provided by San Diego Medical Services. A phone call was made from the ambulance, to the company, specifically acknowledging that I, [redacted] M. [redacted] was not being transported via ambulance for medical treatment, and asked for me to waive liability to the ambulance company, specifically, which I did. On June 25, 2014, we received two invoices for service: [redacted] #[redacted], Invoice #[redacted] & [redacted] M. [redacted] #[redacted], Invoice #[redacted]. Although we did provide our medical card to the ambulance service, we again provided San Diego Medical Services, again. They even inserted into the bill, that the billing rates are "set by the County of Santa Clara", although the accident occurred in San Diego County. We requested that they correct their billing, process the appropriate insurance claim, to Anthem Blue Cross, and we remitted the remaining balance of $173.99, when received, for my husband, [redacted]. Bills for me, [redacted] M. [redacted], continues to be receive bills from "Rural Metro" for San Diego Medical Services from offices in Dallas, TX, Toledo, OH, and Wixom, MI, and we have sent to those addresses, copies and explanations, via mail and e-mail, complaining of the "double billing practices", to no avail.Desired Settlement: Clear this bogus bill and apologize for the harassment and continued collection processes.

On the positive side, the ambulance company during the ride, was compassionate and competent, during our time of need.