First of all, this review is about the Cass St. location, where I have been going for 11 years, and the doctors are great. The 1-star rating is based on an experience I had yesterday with a particular front office staff member (sorry, I don't remember her name). If you don't mind dealing with an antagonistic distrustful receptionist, then please, by all means, ignore this review. Then again, the same great doctors are available at the Ryan Ranch location, where I hear the front office staff is very pleasant, friendly, and service-minded (my husband goes there), and it's not that far away, so why not just go there?
The appointment I had yesterday was a rescheduling from a prior appointment that I didn't make it to. I was 5 minutes late for the prior appointment, and the receptionist called me as I was driving there and insisted that I reschedule due to lateness, which was fine, although I would have gotten there within a minute. I totally accepted that, and that's not the issue at all.
The issue began upon my arrival (15 minutes early) for my appointment yesterday, when the receptionist tried to charge me $50 for a refraction. I told her my insurance covers refraction. My insurance covers refraction in full. Immediately she did not believe me and took on a tone like she thought I was trying to get out of paying what was owed. She told me to call my employer's HR department to confirm coverage. So I sat in the waiting room making phone calls for several minutes.
I called three HR personnel, and each one was away from their desk. Finally, after my employer's switchboard operator told me the HR personnel were in a meeting, I called the customer service line on the back of my insurance card. (Which the receptionist could have easily done herself. Am I mistaken in my thinking that her position in a medical office is that of customer service, which would include making a phone call to confirm coverage?) I was placed on hold for a while before a representative confirmed that my insurance does indeed fully cover refraction.
When I relayed the confirmation from the representative to the receptionist, she received the news with an expression of further disbelief and replied, "If your insurance doesn't cover refraction, we will bill you." As if I hadn't just told her my insurance covers refraction, several times, as confirmed by a representative from my insurance company. As if I had been faking the phone calls she just witnessed for several minutes. I don't know why she told me to make the calls if she didn't find me credible anyway.
Don't worry, lady, I'm going to pay what I owe, as I have been for 11 years.
Again, I have seen various doctors at the Cass St. location through the years (lately it's been Dr. Sablad, who is fantastic), and they have all been great, so I admit I may be low-balling this office due to the unpleasantness of the receptionist being fresh on my mind. I don't recall meeting her before yesterday, and who knows how long she'll be there. But I don't appreciate being treated like a liar and a thief, especially as a longtime patron.
If, as a matter of protocol, you want me to shell out $50 upfront and go through the hassle of submitting a claim to my insurance company to get reimbursed, when I know for a fact that my insurance fully covers it (and you are going to bill my insurance company anyway for other services), then there are more tactful diplomatic ways to get me to agree to it.
I am going to the Ryan Ranch location from now on. read more
