ComplaintsforPhysicians Ambulance

• Initial Complaint

  07/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Today, I received an alert that there was debt turned over to a collection agency by Physician's Ambulance. I never received any bill from Physician's Ambulance. They did, however, transport me from The Heights nursing home in Brecksville OH to University Hospitals in Cleveland OH on July 19th, 2023. I would have paid any bill that was sent to me, however, no bill has ever been received by me from that company in the last year. I have great credit and now this derogatory remark is on there due to a company never sending a bill or trying to contact me. I am requesting copies of all bills sent including dates they were sent. I will happily pay any amount due, however, my credit report needs corrected and this deragatory remark removed.

  

  Business response

  07/31/2024

  This patient was transported in July of 2023. The nursing home did not give us any insurance information, nor did they have a billing address on file, so the invoices were sent to the nursing home vs the patient. Bills were mailed out via ground mail on 8/3/2023, 9/18/2023, 10/19/2023 and 11/4/2023. On 1/11/2024, the bill was sent to collections. It does look like soon after, it was paid in full, so the individual was never reported to any credit bureaus. This has been confirmed with our collections team at ***** ******* ** *********

  Customer response

  07/31/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Me and my wife were present during transport. You should have asked us for the address and insurance information. It is not our fault that you didn't do your due diligence. Additionally, this collection WAS reported to the credit bureaus which is how I found out it existed. We have since paid it and requested the removal; however, you should have done your due diligence in asking the patient or his family for contact information.  
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ******
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  07/09/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  They were supposed to be at UH to move my family to Hospice House at 8:00 pm. Nurses and Hospice call at 9:00. Dispatch calls driver, no answer. Finally a connection and they are right downstairs. Another hour goes by...more calls...Finally talk to dispatch...snotty...tells me 5 or 10....5 or 10 what? Hours? 20 minutes later they show up. Robbie is friendly, Miley won't even look at us. We lost 3 hours not being able to tell friends where to go to see our dying loved one. Get to Hospice House at midnight. No calls with ETA's with this company...nothing...UH needs to sever this contract... No excuses...seeing this same review over and over with this company...I am livid at the time lost...

  

  Business response

  07/31/2024

  In response to complaint ID ********, we contacted the family directly after she emailed ***************************** There is considerable misinformation in submission, including what time the transport was scheduled for, who was notified of delays and the reason for delays (critical diversions), and their interactions with the crew members of the arriving ambulance, as caught on our dashcams. There seemed to be pleasant interaction, and this complaint is largely exaggerated by someone going through excruciating times, which I fully understand.

  
  

  She also makes note of derogatory Google reviews, of which we have 36 (total) and we transport over 70,000 patients annually... this is not a good representation of our impact in the communities we serve and have served since 1958.

  
  

  I do understand folks do not understand market forces, staffing challenges, reasonable diversions, late hospital or hospice scheduled transports that lead to unsatisfactory discharge times, but had I seen your BBB email for this complaint ID, I surely would have responded sooner. My apologies for this.

  
  

  Thank you,

  
  

  Jason

  
  

  
  

  --
  

  Jason Hess
  

  President

  Physicians Ambulance Service, Inc.

  
  

  ** ************

  ** ************

  Customer response

  07/31/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** *********
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  03/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The physicians ambulances service refused to provide the service information/ document to my insurance (UMR), instead they turned my bill to collection agency.

  

  Business response

  03/18/2024

  This response was submitted by Michelle ******, Director of Revenue Cycle at Physicians Ambulance Service, Inc. on 3/18/2024:

  "UMR Processed the claim in March of 2023 with Adjustment code of ***** - Information requested from the patient/insured/responsible party was not provided or was insufficient or incomplete.  PR Adjustment codes mean we are allowed to send the bill to the patient. They were sent three invoices along with a final notice and never contacted our office to inquire about the denial from their insurance company or steps to resolve. 
  
  We were requested and sent paperwork to UMR on 8/8/2023.  
  
  We never once received a phone call from the patient requesting information, paperwork, or information on the denial and how to resolve this. It was then sent to collections on 1/11/2024.  
  
  On 1/25/24 We received a note from Sheena P at UMR stating that after searching Documents, they found what we provided and the paperwork was received and 9/5/23; they had a note in their system from a specialist and that they still haven't provided an update since then. The note stated they would be creating an escalation ticket to have the claim completely reviewed and reprocessed and provided an escalation ticket number to us.  
  
  We still have not heard from UMR or the patient and on 3/6 have a note that we again sent paperwork to UMR and collections was notified to place the account on hold."

  Confirmed by: Jason ****, President, Physicians Ambulance Service, Inc.

  Customer response

  03/18/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Please provide/ send all informations and papers to UMR.  Thanks.
  
  Regards,
  
  Lanshin Wilson
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  11/28/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was in a bike accident on September 9, 2020 in Ohio and was transported by Physicians Ambulance from one hospital to another. A couple of months later I received a notification from ******** that I was reported to a collection agency. As I did my investigation I realized the Physicians Ambulance had the wrong address on file and this was the reason why I never received an invoice from this company. I called my insurance company and they stated to me that it was already paid on September 3, 2021. I received proof from my insurance company that the check was cleared, but Physicians ambulance has stated they never received the check. I called my insurance company back and they stated to me that the check was cleared and I owe nothing. I thought it was settled, but then I received another invoice from physicians ambulance on November 24, 2021 with the same amount as if the check was not cleared. I am very confused and tired of arguing with this company and need a resolution, due to them harassing me about an amount that was already paid. I will be uploading the invoice from Physicians ambulance and the proof from my insurance company that it was paid.

  

  Business response

  11/29/2021

  Good morning, please see the below. This is not resolved because we do not yet have a copy of the check, but we will take out of collections while we continue to wait. Thank you

   

  Was sent to collections as we did receive return mail (was sent to the address listed on facesheet from hospital). 
  
  
  3/30 Pt called and gave insurance information, notified collections to place the account on hold. 
  
  
  5/19, 6/3, and 6/23 Collections called to ask about insurance payment and we notified them that there was no payment on file.  
  
  8/5 We received a copy of a letter from the insurance that they sent to the patient asking if the trip was job related, or if there was other insurance on file. 
  
  
  8/10 Insurance denied the transport as they had not received information from the patient that they needed to process claim
  
  
  8/18 We notified collections that the claim was denied due to multiple attempts from insurance to obtain information from the patient
  
  
  9/9 Collections called us to state that they received paperwork from the patient that a check was issued to us on 9/3 However there was no check number or payment information
  
  
  10/4 We contacted Ms ****** at the local 1199 and she notified us that the claim was paid and check cleared, we requested a copy of the front and back of that check as we had no record of it and she notified us it would take 45 days to receive. 
  
  
  11/10 Patient contacted us that stated the the check was sent and cleared, and supposedly got upset when asked for a copy of the check.  She was notified that we needed proof of payment/check cleared.  

*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. ↩