[Florida] Male, 27, I hope this is the right sub. I’ll try to keep it short, but this has stretched on for over year now and there’s a lot that happened, so bear with me.
Last summer, I took a 5-minute call with my doctor to get a med refill—15-minute scheduled appointment, just took 5 minutes. It was required every three months for the refill. I had seen this doctor for years under my company’s healthcare provider.
When making the appointment, the office staff did not inform me they no longer accepted my company’s insurance. The call with the doc was no more than 5 minutes, he called in the RX, and a month later I got a bill for $337. I called the office and the woman swore up and down that she most definitely remembered that exact call two months earlier when I scheduled it, claiming she informed me I’d be paying in full, which is total logical nonsense.
She said she would talk to the office manager about reducing the bill, and to call back in a week. I called back in two weeks after no answer, and she told me I should see a reduced bill in my account within a few days. After checking for over a week and the bill had been reduced, I called back and the same woman now claimed that we never had such a conversation and told me I have to contact billing (essentially gaslighting me).
I contacted billing and their exact response was “they need to stop giving out our number. We handle billing for the hospital, that doctor’s services go through ARM or Accounts Receivable Management” and gave me their number.
I called ARM and they said for some reason, none of my patient files were showing up—the most recent info they had was an appointment I had three years prior. She didn’t know why they couldn’t find any of my info, so she instructed me to contact the doctor’s office again to “troubleshoot.”
I called the doctor’s office again, by this point I was in need of another refill. They said to contact my insurance provider, and that I would need another appointment for a refill. So I made an appointment with a new doctor as I could not afford another $337 bill. The same woman calls me back the next day saying she scheduled an appointment for me (without my consent) for the refill. I demanded she cancel it immediately and I would be going to a new doctor who was covered under my insurance. I called several more times to confirm the appointment had been cancelled because by this point, she seemed to be rather irresponsible with her duties.
I sent a message to a different department within the hospital explaining the situation within the hospital’s online portal. I had already contacted my insurance provider. My insurance provider told me they would pay up to 50% of the bill original, but needed me to submit any information regarding the hospital reducing the bill, so they would know exactly how much they would need to pay. I was also leaving my job and losing that insurance within a few weeks.
I received a call from a random department in the hospital saying they could reduce my bill by 50% only if I paid on the spot using a card, for $168.50. I asked for a printout of the bill by email, as there wouldn’t be enough time to submit it if they sent by mail. They made a verbal agreement to send one by email immediately after the call, instead of physical mail, so I’d have time to submit it to my insurance.
I paid the bill, and the email never came. I called every single day (I have records of all of this) for two weeks, leaving messages, sending messages in the online portal, pleading for the email. I was told “it should arrive by the end of today” several times, and never did.
Finally the deadline passed, my job was over and I lost my insurance and couldn’t request the 50% refund from my former insurance. Three days later I received the email with the reduced charge my insurance provided needed, but at this point it was too late.
I contacted my credit card company to dispute the charge, submitting all phone records, messages from the online portal, explaining the situation, everything. My credit card company agreed that because they promised the paperwork needed in a reasonable amount of time, and never provided it before the deadline for my health insurance, the verbal agreement was moot and they would not pay the hospital and refunded my payment. Then the hospital tried to bill me again for $168.50.
I don’t have recordings of these calls unfortunately, just some of the messages and phone logs. I contacted several Florida state agencies. Florida Department of Financial Services said there’s nothing they can do, as it’s not in their department to handle those things. Florida Department of Health said they do not have the power to work with billing disputes. Florida Attorney General’s Office said it’s out of their power, suggested I contact the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Health Quality Assurance, by mail. I did so, and they mailed me back saying they asked hospital to review and respond, and if the hospital chooses not to cooperate, the complaint will be closed (basically, this accomplished nothing) and surely, they did not respond and the case was closed.
At this point, the hospital is now trying to bill me again for $168.50, and refuses to cooperate. Their staff failed to inform me I was not covered, repeatedly lied, gaslighting, failed to fulfill their duties, and failed on their end of an agreement to simply provide a printout of my bill. My credit card company sided with me, but it seems no Florida state agencies have any power to handle the hospital’s remaining attempts to bill me.
It has now been over a year since that appointment. I no longer live in the US, I’m abroad on a work visa, but my family in Florida is still receiving letters from the hospital by mail requesting $168.50. My dad keeps telling me to ignore it and throwing them in the trash. But I want this erased, it’s absurd for a 5-minute zoom call to simply get a one-time prescription refill on a $7 bottle of meds.
What can I do? Who else is there to contact? What happens if I just never pay them and ignore it?
TL;DR: Dr. office failed to inform me they stopped taking my insurance. Was billed $337. Office staff repeatedly lied about the call, lied about talking to the doctor, gave me the wrong phone numbers, lost my patient information, promised to send necessary paperwork to have it reduced and covered, never sent it, credit card company sided with me, hospital continues to try and bill me, I no longer live in the US and no longer have insurance there.
submitted by /u/shaherrrb
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[Florida] Male, 27, I hope this is the right sub. I’ll try to keep it short, but this has stretched on for over year now and there’s a lot that happened, so bear with me. Last summer, I took a 5-minute call with my doctor to get a med refill—15-minute scheduled appointment, just took 5 minutes. It was required every three months for the refill. I had seen this doctor for years under my company’s healthcare provider. When making the appointment, the office staff did not inform me they no longer accepted my company’s insurance. The call with the doc was no more than 5 minutes, he called in the RX, and a month later I got a bill for $337. I called the office and the woman swore up and down that she most definitely remembered that exact call two months earlier when I scheduled it, claiming she informed me I’d be paying in full, which is total logical nonsense. She said she would talk to the office manager about reducing the bill, and to call back in a week. I called back in two weeks after no answer, and she told me I should see a reduced bill in my account within a few days. After checking for over a week and the bill had been reduced, I called back and the same woman now claimed that we never had such a conversation and told me I have to contact billing (essentially gaslighting me). I contacted billing and their exact response was “they need to stop giving out our number. We handle billing for the hospital, that doctor’s services go through ARM or Accounts Receivable Management” and gave me their number. I called ARM and they said for some reason, none of my patient files were showing up—the most recent info they had was an appointment I had three years prior. She didn’t know why they couldn’t find any of my info, so she instructed me to contact the doctor’s office again to “troubleshoot.” I called the doctor’s office again, by this point I was in need of another refill. They said to contact my insurance provider, and that I would need another appointment for a refill. So I made an appointment with a new doctor as I could not afford another $337 bill. The same woman calls me back the next day saying she scheduled an appointment for me (without my consent) for the refill. I demanded she cancel it immediately and I would be going to a new doctor who was covered under my insurance. I called several more times to confirm the appointment had been cancelled because by this point, she seemed to be rather irresponsible with her duties. I sent a message to a different department within the hospital explaining the situation within the hospital’s online portal. I had already contacted my insurance provider. My insurance provider told me they would pay up to 50% of the bill original, but needed me to submit any information regarding the hospital reducing the bill, so they would know exactly how much they would need to pay. I was also leaving my job and losing that insurance within a few weeks. I received a call from a random department in the hospital saying they could reduce my bill by 50% only if I paid on the spot using a card, for $168.50. I asked for a printout of the bill by email, as there wouldn’t be enough time to submit it if they sent by mail. They made a verbal agreement to send one by email immediately after the call, instead of physical mail, so I’d have time to submit it to my insurance. I paid the bill, and the email never came. I called every single day (I have records of all of this) for two weeks, leaving messages, sending messages in the online portal, pleading for the email. I was told “it should arrive by the end of today” several times, and never did. Finally the deadline passed, my job was over and I lost my insurance and couldn’t request the 50% refund from my former insurance. Three days later I received the email with the reduced charge my insurance provided needed, but at this point it was too late. I contacted my credit card company to dispute the charge, submitting all phone records, messages from the online portal, explaining the situation, everything. My credit card company agreed that because they promised the paperwork needed in a reasonable amount of time, and never provided it before the deadline for my health insurance, the verbal agreement was moot and they would not pay the hospital and refunded my payment. Then the hospital tried to bill me again for $168.50. I don’t have recordings of these calls unfortunately, just some of the messages and phone logs. I contacted several Florida state agencies. Florida Department of Financial Services said there’s nothing they can do, as it’s not in their department to handle those things. Florida Department of Health said they do not have the power to work with billing disputes. Florida Attorney General’s Office said it’s out of their power, suggested I contact the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Health Quality Assurance, by mail. I did so, and they mailed me back saying they asked hospital to review and respond, and if the hospital chooses not to cooperate, the complaint will be closed (basically, this accomplished nothing) and surely, they did not respond and the case was closed. At this point, the hospital is now trying to bill me again for $168.50, and refuses to cooperate. Their staff failed to inform me I was not covered, repeatedly lied, gaslighting, failed to fulfill their duties, and failed on their end of an agreement to simply provide a printout of my bill. My credit card company sided with me, but it seems no Florida state agencies have any power to handle the hospital’s remaining attempts to bill me. It has now been over a year since that appointment. I no longer live in the US, I’m abroad on a work visa, but my family in Florida is still receiving letters from the hospital by mail requesting $168.50. My dad keeps telling me to ignore it and throwing them in the trash. But I want this erased, it’s absurd for a 5-minute zoom call to simply get a one-time prescription refill on a $7 bottle of meds. What can I do? Who else is there to contact? What happens if I just never pay them and ignore it? TL;DR: Dr. office failed to inform me they stopped taking my insurance. Was billed $337. Office staff repeatedly lied about the call, lied about talking to the doctor, gave me the wrong phone numbers, lost my patient information, promised to send necessary paperwork to have it reduced and covered, never sent it, credit card company sided with me, hospital continues to try and bill me, I no longer live in the US and no longer have insurance there.
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