Dr. Nelson is a nice guy who seems like he knows his stuff. I only saw him for an initial visit, but he was personable and knowledgable. I had no reason not to trust him. Which is why I find it so odd that his office staff is the worst I have ever experienced in my entire life. The customer service is nowhere to be found. There seems to be no training or incentive to offer any true service. These people are clearly trained with a bill collector mentality to be cold, unassuming, and deflective. They will not answer your questions, they will not give you a straight answer, and they will not let you speak to anyone else. I was charged $380 up front for a echocardiogram, and was told it was because it was a new year and a new deductible. I do have a deductible so I took their word for it. When the claim was filed with Anthem, my out of pocket was found to be $15.
So I called to inquire about a refund seeing that Anthem had paid the claim. They only accept cash and check, no credit cards. (My personal guess is this makes it harder to fight for your money back. Credit card charges are more easily refuted than cash or check). They also tried to charge me $75 dollars just to call my insurance company for the prior auth they told me I wouldn't get. From what I have read, most contracts between providers and insurance companies forbid this practice of charging unless the provider is out of network.
So back to the $365 refund. I call and I was told that I can't speak to the office manager, that the office manager was not involved in the refund process or the billing process, and then later in the same conversation told she would process the refund in a week and write the check. So much for not involved. So, I asked for the name of the office manager and was told I can't have it. That it was private. I asked for a voice mail, phone number, or email so I could follow up and hold them accountable. I wanted to give that information to my insurance company as well, so they could follow. They absolutely refused to give any of this out. Oh and don't try to ask them to file first. They won't see you if you don't pay up front, so they get your money and you have to fight to get it back. So now I feel most of my uneasy suspicion about this place is completely confirmed.
Why not give out the office manager's name if you have nothing to hide? How do you let the person that controls your refunds impossible to contact? It is the most shady and unethical thing I have dealt with. I am just hope others take this to their insurance companies and eventually they drop their contracts with them.
I have reached out to Anthem to advocate for my refund and to inquire about the odd prior auth charge. Dr. Nelson really does seem like a good doctor, but if he lets his office be managed that way and it really is his shop, then shame on him. If this is the result of bad management and it isn't his call, then that is a bummer because I do think he is a good doctor. No one should go there because they are completely unfriendly, unhelpful, and not trustworthy.
Update: I was told that I couldn't come get the check in person because it was their policy to mail it. I got a call back that I can now come get my check in person. So you will have to fight to get them to do the right thing, or save yourself the time and don't go there.
In response to your comments "Dr Nelson": I never requested personal info. I simply asked for the name, work voicemail, or a business email to be able to follow up and to provide it to Anthem who had offer to advocate for me based on how this was handled. Simple, professional request and courtesy with most businesses. You say I had an email, but I don't. You don't even have a website. Where is this information? And your office didn't offer to resolve anything quickly until I pressed. I was told it would take months, then "maybe a week," then all of a sudden after contacting my insurance provider, then it was resolved quickly. It was the lack of a clear policy on how this process would be handled
that rang another alarm about untrustworthy business practices. And you clearly have policies for how you charge your patients for everything. You see it in multiple copies taped to the check in window. The funny thing is....you and I didn't speak on the matter directly and you were not up front when I picked up the check. Your office manager (who I was told was not in the office that day) was the one up front and continued to be rude and attempted to be intimidating and threatening. In a waiting room full of your patients. At this point, it's not about the policies. It's the insane amount of lying on the phone and now on here. It's shameful. Don't let people like this represent you.
I have a funny feeling you didn't write this comment though... :) read more
