First, I want to start by saying that I LOVE Amanda Gay and the office staff and have always had a pleasant experience with this team. They always seem eager to assist me in meeting my needs and answering my questions.
The reason for my negative review is due to the billing side of Texas Family Physicians operations and Ana Cortez, their billing manager. This is the first office practice I have been a patient of where I have not received a statement/invoice to indicate services rendered and when payment is due. My first appointment with Amanda Gay was back in April and I received my first, and LAST statement from their office in May. In June, I was contacted by Ana Cortez who indicated to me that they would be charging my credit card for $160 dollars for outstanding balances. When I asked when a statement was submitted, she was not able to indicate this, only stating "we sent you a bill....check your insurance EOB". The EOB doesn't clearly indicate what TFP will charge, just what my insurance covered and what "could" be charged by TFP, and more importantly, it doesn't provide me a due date of payment to ensure I am not reflecting outstanding balances. The EOB indicates "this is not a bill" and I am usually receiving these 45-60 days post my date of service.
I have been dealing with Ana Cortez since June about their billing issues and needless to say it has been a negative experience. Voicemails are not returned timely. When I do speak to her on the phone and request documentation to be emailed to me, she communicates it will be done by end of day, and then I am having to follow up days later to see why I still haven't received. Additionally, I have emailed Ana now on two attempts with no returned response. I was in the office earlier this week and expressed my concerns to the office manager, and still haven't heard a response from either the manager or Ana regarding my complaints. I have requested to receive paper or email statements and you would think that would be a simple request since it is my patient right.... not the case.
Their Notice of Patient Privacy Practice has no mention of their billing practice process nor do I show a Patients Bill of Rights that communicates this.
At the initial point of registration you are asked to complete a form that states "having read this form and talked with the physician, and/or staff, my signature below acknowledges that I voluntarily give my authorization and consent to providing requested information for my credit card to be charged accordingly for the conditions listed above".... however, this is a one page form so there is no "above" that is referenced.
-When I asked for clarification on this form at the front desk, I was told it was in the event of cancelled appointments or defaulted payments to which I agreed to sign as I support this cause for payment.
If you "decline" to sign, the bottom form states "in the event you do not complete and agree to this authorization TFP will collect $120.00 deposit when you arrive for your office visit. TFP will process your insurance claim. After the Explanation of Benefits is received from your insurance company, TFP will refund any excess payments to you within 14 days."
-Seeing as how my insurance company has and will continue to cover these services, it doesn't make sense as a patient to pay this up front and since they are submitting bills 60 days post discharge, this is a significant lag time, as a patient, to wait for $120.00 to be returned to my account. Additionally, with the experience I have faced dealing with Ana- I do not have confidence in the timely turn around of this process.
-I did seek clarification on this process at my last appointment and the front desk communicated this was a "one time" deposit of $120.00 that would be used. In reading the above statement, you can dedact that this is not the case so there is clearly mis-communication in the billing process within the office, which is why the situation became an issue in the first place.
Texas Family Physicians doesn't have a patient bill of rights indicating their process, their credit card form doesn't clearly indicate this process and what is verbally communicated at the front desk doesn't match the process that is being executed by Ana Cortez and the billing team.
Short story long... I really love Amanda Gay and she has been the sole purpose for why I have continued being a patient of this practice. This location is a drive out of my way that has to be planned/scheduled time away from work but I enjoy Amanda Gay as a practitioner and her bed side manner with her patients. She truly is a joy to be around. I hope that the back end operations of this practice can be straightened out so that this practice doesn't lose patients because my patients is wearing thin. read more
