ComplaintsforIt Is Well Healthcare, LLC.

• Initial Complaint

  11/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I made an appointment last week which was made for 11/272023 for abdominal pain in left side, left side hurting, left leg feeling heavy and headaches.At the time I was on phone with scheduler for almost 5 minutes.I received several reminder calls and emails yet NOTHING was mentioned about owing a fee.I do have a $30 copay which I am aware of.I took off early from work only to get to appointment and be rejected to be seen. She stated I owe 60 for an old bill and copay. When asked what the bill was for she stated her words exact on a visit they must have accidentally forgot to take a payment which I paid on my visit.My last visit was in June. She didnt state this during scheduling the appt OR in any of the reminders which would be good to know BEFORE an appointment.When I received a letter for billing I thought it was for seeing my OBGYN which they double charged me on a visit and I was told to ignore.I explained that to the rep and also advised nothing was mentioned and she said maybe at the time of scheduling it didnt show a balance which is my last visit was in June that is something they should be able you see, I asked if I could pay half and be billed the other half and she said NO!She went back and forth even when I advised during call and reminders thats a key point to mention when someone is coming in to an appointment because money does not grow on trees and I need to be seen badly.She didnt care and didnt take my money.I took off work, waste of time, in horrible pain and headed to emergency.IF there is a payment owed I feel it should be credited because it was never mentioned AT ALL when scheduling our reminder calls and e-mails.I also feel I should be paid for the time I took off and gas because now I have to go sit hours in emergency because pain is unbearable to sit and wait for another appointment when I can actually pay the past due AND copay.

  Business response

  12/06/2023

  The patient arrived for her appointment and checked in with our front desk associate on 11/27/23. During check-in, our employee informed her about the $30 copay balance from her previous visit and the $30 copay for the current visit. While our associate was having a conversation with the patient, the latter suddenly left the building. As the office manager, I was informed about the incident by the front desk employee and received a verbal summary of what happened. After discussing the matter with our billing department, I called the patient on November 28, 2023, to resolve the issue. We agreed that she would pay half of the amount owed upfront to be seen and discuss a payment plan for the remaining balance later. However, when I called, the patient did not answer, and the call was rejected before I could leave a message. According to our records, the patient currently owes a balance of $30 from her appointment on June 9, 2023. Although the appointment was initially scheduled as a routine physical without a copay, the patient mentioned multiple ailments during the consultation, resulting in the appointment being changed to an office visit requiring a copay. We use various methods to send billing statements and reminders, and all the statements and reminder texts were successfully sent to the patient. On September 16, she received a text, email, and a paper copy of the statement via mail. On October 18, she received a text, email, and paper copy of the statement via mail, followed by additional text messages on November 22 reminding her about the balance and requesting payment before her appointment on November 27, 2023. We would be happy to see the patient for any medical concerns. However, there is a $30 balance due which will be added to her appointment copay.

  Customer response

  12/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 20928695
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I was not told during making appointment, during any reminder call, text or email that there was a balance and AGAIN when received bill I thought it was the $30 I was overcharged and told to ignore from the office of my OBGYN.

  Although I went in in June for a routine visit you are still suppose to let someone know BEFORE leaving the building if there is something that needs to be paid up front.

  while there for Nov appointment I ASKED several times could I pay half due to not knowing about the previous bill and pay the remaining $30 in the following week NOT a payment plan and she told me no more than once and I said : I took off work for the afternoon to be here and this is a pain Im worried about and the front desk STILL declined the funds and said we cant see you without you paying the $60, so yes I did leave because I missed hours of work to not be seen and had to go sit in ER for SEVERAL hours only to have to pay more because they needed to do an MRI, X-rays on my leg, back and hip also had to do a head scan 

  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

  Business response

  12/15/2023

  We have a standard schedule for sending out reminders via text, email, and paper copies for balances that are due. As mentioned earlier, we reached out to the patient through all channels on September 16th, as well as on October 18th. On November 22nd, we sent another text reminding the patient of the balance due and requesting payment before their upcoming appointment on November 27th, 2023. We have a record of this in her chart if this is needed for review.
   The reason the balance was not discussed during the June 9th appointment was that it was scheduled as a routine physical/wellness visit, which does not require a copay. However, during the visit, the patient mentioned other ailments which turned the appointment into an office visit. Like most offices, our billing department does not process claims on the spot, and therefore, the balance was unknown until the claim was processed later.
  We cannot be held responsible if the attempts to collect the balance were ignored by the patient because the patient believed this to be from another office.  Our statements clearly have our name printed on them. Our front desk staff does not have the authority to change or negotiate balances owed. Due to the patient leaving abruptly we were unable to discuss a solution. A phone call was also made to resolve the matter which again was ignored.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩