While Dr. Huang is a very nice person, very professional, and seems to be an excellent doctor, this review is really about his office. After Dr. Huang saw me and diagnosed my sinus problem I went to the payment desk to settle my $40 co-pay. Instead I was informed by a very sheepish looking receptionist that I owed $300 because of my insurance deductible. I objected that I should not have to meet a deductible for a regular office visit. Another woman came up behind the sheepish receptionist and backed up this claim that I owed $300 for the visit. She hedged (and revealed the equivocal nature of the assertion that I had to meet a deductible) by saying that if it TURNED OUT that I did not need to meet a deductible, they would refund my money. I have had the same insurance for 8 years and have never had to meet a deductible for any of my medical care, so this really didn't sound right to me. However, I wasn't feeling well, I needed to get back to work, and I didn't feel like arguing with a defensive medical receptionist and her backup who (now I know) clearly knew that what they were telling me was incorrect, and maybe even verging on criminal. The fact that they waited until AFTER I had seen the doctor, rather than informing me beforehand what the visit was going to cost me was further evidence that they knew they were springing an unexpected demand on me and that I would have walked out on the spot or gotten my insurance carrier on the phone immediately if I had been told about the so-called deductible in advance.
When I got back to my office I contacted my health insurance carrier (United) and told them that I had just paid $300 out of pocket for an ENT visit. Lo and behold, they said I absolutely should NOT have been required to pay any amount above $40, the cost of a regular visit to an in-network specialist. When United contacted Dr. Huang's office to inform them that they had made an error, they made it clear that it was not, in fact, an error. It was, in fact, a scam that they pull on their patients to get paid up front even though they know they are 99% sure to be reimbursed 80% by the insurance company (plus my $40 co-pay which would have made it 100%), in order to get the money in-hand immediately and avoid waiting for actual reimbursement. Dr. Huang's office informed United that they would refund my money once United had paid the claim. So basically holding my money hostage until the doctor's office had been paid by the insurance company. Does that sound right to you? It doesn't to me.
This conduct on the part of a medical provider is absolutely unconscionable and one of the many reasons Americans have no faith in our health system. I'm sure they think because they are on the eastside, catering to professionals and Manhattanites, they can get away with pilfering money from their patients, but I would never recommend this office and I will certainly never use them again. Sad, because I really did like Dr. Huang and I wish I had never needed to write this review. But others must be warned. This office will rip you off. :-( read more