I feel bad for giving 1 star for this review but it is not toward Dr. Samplaski's surgical care. Dr. Samplaski was wonderful and the surgery went well.
This below-par review is to the Keck Hospital of USC and her assistant, Maria G so the new patients are better prepared. After reading some of the reviews about the billing, I thought I did my best by reaching out to her assistant, Maria, in the beginning before my surgery to get the proper out-of-cost estimate with my Anthem insurance coverage. She did forward me an email from Richard P., Keck Medicine of USC University of Southern California, with one line, "Patient estimate for cpt xxxxx is $461.60. This is the 20% co-insurance and insurance will cover 80% of contracted rates." So I thought that was it. However, a month later, I noticed the claims on my Anthem account and found out I had two out of pocket charges: one from the Keck Hospital of USC for $1060.00 (facility services), and another one from USC Care Medical Group for $168.09 (physician services). I was shocked, and reached out to Maria and Richard. I didn't know about another separate cost from the USC Care Medical Group for $168.09. Maria G should have informed me that from the beginning. Regardless, I don't mind that $168.09. Anyway, Richard came back and said he made a mistake by quoting me for a different location for the facilities services. Oh my god, for real? Seriously??? A different in location can cost me more than double for the same surgery operation from the same doctor? How could he made that mistake if Maria should have told him the surgery information (type of surgery and location)? Richard said he would contact the Keck Hospital of USC to see if they could honor his quote, by lowering the $1060 charge. Two weeks went by and I didn't hear back from Richard. I finally got a bill from the Keck Hospital of USC, so I called and explained to them what had happened with Richard's estimate, guess what? They responded, "It was an estimate, you should have confirmed with your insurance. Even though he made a mistake, but at the end, the wording is that it is still an estimate. It's your responsibility to confirm with your insurance." Oh my, I was furious. Wow... Sensing my frustration, the supervisor offered me 30% discount, still came out to be $742. I was able to get a hold of Richard later, he confirmed that his request was not reviewed yet but he said even if it is reviewed, it would be between 5%-30% discount, so he said there was not much he could have done. He apologized for his mistake. These folks need be held to a higher standard, they should not have made a mistake like that. What if the patient is NOT financially sounded? :(
Lesson learned from this story is that I should have asked "Please provide me a list of items that will be billed to my insurance for this surgical operation from everything (doctors, facilities, etc...)?" instead of "I would like to find out more about the estimated out-of-pocket cost in addition to my current Anthem medical plan." Then call your insurance to re-confirm. What a horrible experience!!! I hope new patients can benefit from this review. read more