I have been trying to schedule an appointment with this practice for a MONTH, now. I have never seen/heard a front desk staff talk or react to patients; future patients for that matter, the way this staff does. America does not make the healthcare system easy for anyone, but there is a certain rapport you maintain with the people coming into your office and this office certainly does not know how to balance this.
I am not sure if this office has been burned by patients in the past (most likely the case) or is facing financial issues but demanding that new patients present all of their insurance information prior to even being able to SCHEDULE an appointment is absurd; especially when you get all the way through the questions of being a new patient and the receptionist asks for all the insurance information. She then became very short and danced around my questions of why this was needed. I know of most offices asking for this information, but if you do not have it at the time you may present it so many days before your appointment or your appointment is canceled; some offices even allow you to bring it on the day of your appointment, otherwise, they do not see you. I even offered to pay out of pocket (which gives the practice more money) if my insurance somehow wasn't finalized within a week, (like I explained to her) but she declined that offer. "I deal with insurance company billing since I know you have insurance and would want to bill it through insurance, I cannot let you pay out of pocket." -- Direct quote from the receptionist. The only time you cannot let someone legally pay out of pocket is if they are covered under a Medicaid insurance plan. I do not have that and she knew that.
Doctor's offices cannot legally bill you for services before you are seen by a provider. I understand making the check-in process smooth and efficient, I'm all for that, but so many people move to the DMV, start new jobs, and maybe don't have their cards, yet, or don't have all of the information at the time of making an appointment, but would have it prior to the day of the appointment and your "billing issue" would be fine during the time when you can LEGALLY bill for your services.
It's very unfair to patient's who can prove that they have insurance, who want to schedule an appointment that's far enough down the calendar, that would receive their cards or at least get it over the phone from the insurance company so they don't have to continue to wait for a week(s) after they may have already waited long enough because, and I quote the receptionist, "...need to have accurate insurance on file so we can bill the insurance properly." You don't bill the insurance until after the services are completed. Period, end of story.
I could barely get a word in edgewise because of the way the receptionist was talking to me to let her know that I actually work in the healthcare industry and am very aware of how the process works. I see no issue in someone being able to schedule an appointment, who can prove (with documents) that they have active coverage, ahead of time so they can be seen in a timely fashion for THEIR well-being, without having the final insurance member number.
Hospitals cannot legally ask you for accurate insurance before an ER visit, prior to treating you...so I'm not sure why you can legally get away with this, but I hope the practice takes note of this. read more
