Dr. Kim and his staff were friendly and accommodating to my rather severe dental anxiety. I say…read morethis to emphasize that I really wanted to like this place. But the scheduling and billing here is such a nightmare that I cannot recommend them.
Today, they canceled a longer appointment for which I had to take time off work with no notice. I only found out because I called in with a question. WHO CANCELS APPOINTMENTS WITH NO NOTICE WITHOUT EVEN INFORMING THE PATIENT?!
Their staff person responsible for processing insurance payments (Thomas) seems to not really understand different coverages and policies. I have two dental policies through Delta Dental: one HMO-style managed care plan that is somewhat restrictive but with minimal co-pays and co-insurance, and another more traditional PPO-plan that has more flexibility but bigger co-pays and co-insurance. Dealing with double insurance is a little more complicated than normal, but it's certainly not rocket science and certainly something a dental staff person should be able to understand. I was overbilled for my second appointment due to the office not submitting my insurance claim right, but I just dealt with it and paid out of pocket for the overbilling. I'd rather spend an extra $100/200 than go to a new dentist, and I've previously used private pay dentists with higher rates so it didn't feel that expensive and I figured they'd straighten stuff out at subsequent appointments. Wrong!
For the third appointment, I was shown a bill beforehand. I recognized immediately it wasn't run through my primary insurance (which likely pays the office at a lower rate, but results in a lower co-pay and no co-insurance for me). Thomas told me my primary insurance denied my claim entirely and said they'd pay nothing. I asked for a copy of the denial so that I could follow up, and he claimed he didn't have it. This sounded suspicious to me, but I didn't really care that much if I had to pay a higher amount and handle the insurance fixing myself.
Later, I called Delta Dental myself, and they indicated the office had never submitted my claims through my primary insurance - only the secondary (which again, probably pays them more but also results in higher charges to me). I ran through the procedures with her, and she kindly explained in detail the codes to be used, the co-pays I'd be charged, the limits of the office's charges to me, and how my second policy would play into those subsequent charges. I relayed this to the office two separate times. The second time, Thomas backtracked on his claim that Delta had denied the charge and claimed he hadn't been able to get it processed yet (even though the appointment was booked weeks out). I continue to be confused by the amount of hassle in scheduling and billing here but continue to stick it out because, even if I pay the higher amounts, it's fairly cheap, they did good with my dental anxiety, and it's close to home. Plus, I figure I've already waited weeks and just finishing work here would be faster than starting over somewhere else.
The appointment was longer and I was told previously I'd need a driver, so I not only had to take off my own time off work but also arrange for a driver to take time off work, arrange special childcare, etc. The day before my appointment, I follow up with the office and ask if the billing issue that I'd previously mentioned was sorted. No. It wasn't. I again figure, oh well, I'll just pay the difference. They indicate they'll call me back regarding my other appointment question. No call back. The following morning, I wait more. No call back. Finally, I call and am advised...wait for it...they'd decided to cancel my appointment, and I just hadn't been informed. Are. You. Kidding. Me. At this point, I've wasted h-o-w much time getting the insurance stuff sorted (their job), arranging time off work and for a driver, childcare, etc., and they cancel my appointment? With zero notice? My guess is dentists charge missed appointment fees if their clients fail to show. But, there is no similar offer here, when a patient is given zero notice of their cancellation. What a mess. The greatest part is that I wouldn't even have known it was canceled if I didn't call in. They didn't even notify me. What office operates like this?
Dr. Kim seems like an excellent dentist, but patients need two things to make dental care great: the skilled dentist and skilled staff to keep the office running. This place is clearly lacking the latter.
