My family was “fired” from our dentist on June 30. Our assumption is they did this because we questioned there billing practices.
On June 3 my wife and I went in for an initial visit and supposedly for a cleaning. Instead of a cleaning though they took a bunch of x-rays (18 pics each!) and just poked around our mouths. Then they told both of us that we needed a full deep cleaning across all teeth. (Periodontic scaling). When we went to the front desk to schedule follow up appointments we were told that our once-a-year deductable was $50.00 each but that our treatments would come to a total of $38.40 each. These are treatments that would normally run over $2000. While skeptical that we actually needed the deep cleaning we went ahead and scheduled for them.
A couple weeks later I went in for my first cleaning. When it was all done and I went up front to pay the person there told me it would be $254.00 for that day’s work. Needless to say I was shocked as I was expecting to pay just under $20 that day.
The person explained that they had gotten my insurance info wrong and that the estimate was quoted for PPO and not the DMO that we actually have. I did my best to be polite but ended up asking if they had “pulled the quotes out of their ass”. At that point the person understandably got mad. She quickly decided that it would be best just to bill me. And I quickly decided that it would be best if I calmed down before addressing this further.
So about an hour later I came back with the original estimates in hand. It turned out that the person I was talking to earlier was the office manager. I apologized for the comment then calmly proceeded to make my case. It turned out that the $254 that was due for the day was the correct amount due. (I had checked with my insurance company before coming back). It was the original estimate that was wrong. However, they also were not supposed to charge us the deductables ($50 each).
What got my goat was that the office manager then proceeded to blame ME for the mistake because I hadn’t put the insurance information on the new patient form. Never mind that they had a copy of my card and the card clearly has all the information on it. Of course that also puts them at fault for a bad estimate because if they didn’t know my insurance information then they were effectively pulling numbers out of thin air.
But somehow by the time my appointment rolled around they figured out what my insurance actually covered, so they had the correct information the whole time.
Anyway, I asked her to give me new estimates for all of our upcoming procedures. She told me she could have it for me in time for my appointment the next day. Fine.
I came in the next day about 30 minutes before my scheduled time sneezing and coughing (turned out it’s bronchitis – I still have it). She saw me walk in and we started our conversation. She gave me the new estimates as well as a new amount due of $154 due to the incorrect charging of a deductable. I paid that by check but put “to be disputed” in the memo field.
I also asked to cancel my appointment for that day because I was coughing and sneezing and felt that having them poke around in my mouth with sharp instruments probably wasn’t a good idea, plus I didn’t want to get the hygenist sick. The office manager waived the $25 cancellation fee typically charged for cancelling with less than 24 hours notice. I thanked her and told her that I appreciated that.
She also asked if I was planning on cancelling any other appointments. I told her that I wasn’t sure. She warned me that if I cancelled less than 24 hours in advance that I would be charged the $25 fee. This is fine since that’s their policy.
So today I check the mail after being laid up sick for the past 5 days. There’s a letter from the dentist dated the same day that I went in the office saying that they no longer want my business. (Interestingly though, the postmark on the envelope is 2 days after the date on the letter.)
Here’s the dilemma. We were already strongly considering changing dentists so I’m not really concerned that we’ve been fired. What I’m wondering is if I should go after the dentist for misleading billing practices.
The other concern is whether or not the deep cleaning procedure was even necessary. That’s something I hope to find out soon from whatever new dentist I end up with. If it wasn’t necessary then does that push it further along to where I should go after the dentist for performing unecessary procedures?
I’m not a vengeful person. My concern is more for others who may not stand up for what’s best for them. And if that happens then this dentist will continue to mislead their patients.
What are your thoughts?
Tags: crime, Health Care, health insurance, insurance, medical, right