I saw Dr. Briskin last year for minor foot pain. The appointment itself was fine, he recommended physical therapy and custom orthotics. Since my insurance covers one pair of orthotics every two years I agreed. A coworker in the same union with the exact same insurance plan had previously received full coverage for orthotics through this office, so I had no reason to expect an issue. When I received my bill, the orthotics were not fully covered. I first contacted my insurance company to verify my benefits, and they confirmed my coverage. I then contacted the billing department, where I was told they would reach out to my insurance. Instead, I continued receiving the same bill with no explanation. This cycle went on for a year. Believing it was a coding issue, I began calling the doctor's office directly because I needed the claim corrected and resubmitted. I left multiple messages and eventually spoke with a medical assistant who said they would look into it. The only result was another bill for the exact same amount. After that, every time I called the office and specifically asked to speak with the medical assistant, I was transferred to billing instead. Eventually, the office stopped taking my calls altogether. The only callback I received was from someone in billing who was extremely rude and repeatedly insisted the balance was my responsibility. He eventually suggested a three-way call with my insurance company. During that call, my insurance representative stated that the claim contained coding errors and that additional information from the doctor's office was needed for the claim to be processed correctly. They even commented that the coding "made no sense." Because billing could not correct the medical coding, both the billing representative and my insurance company instructed me to contact the doctor's office. Unfortunately, the office has continued to ignore my calls and messages. It has now been weeks without any response. When I contacted my insurance again to ask how to file a complaint, I was told I would need to appeal the claim, but I was now outside the 180-day appeal window and would probably be denied. They also informed me they had no record of the billing department ever contacting them, despite my being repeatedly told that they would. While my appointment with Dr. Briskin itself was uneventful, the complete lack of follow-up, poor communication, refusal to address what appears to be a coding error, and the dismissive treatment from the office and billing departments have been beyond frustrating. What should have been a simple billing correction turned into a year-long ordeal where I was repeatedly ignored, passed around, and left to fix a problem that was not of my making. The fact that the office allowed this situation to drag on for so long, then stopped responding entirely, is completely unacceptable. I have never experienced this level of disregard from a medical office before. A practice should not only provide care during an appointment but also take responsibility when issues arise afterward. Instead, I was left feeling dismissed and abandoned over a problem their own billing process created. I sincerely hope others think twice before trusting this office. No patient should have to spend over a year fighting just to get a simple insurance issue corrected. This has been an incredibly stressful and exhausting experience, and I would not recommend this practice to anyone. read more
