I decided to get some allergy testing done this past fall. After coming in for my first appointment, I told his receptionist I had a new insurance and wanted to find out about my deductible before entering the room. She said it wasn’t a problem, took my insurance card and called my insurance company for me. She called me up a few minutes later and assured me my deductible would apply from September to September, the month I has signed up for it. She said the amount towards my deductible for allergy testing would only be a few hundred dollars, and then the doctor himself came out to persuade me to get allergy testing done. He actually told me I shouldn’t be concerned with any costs until we saw if I even had allergies, so I went in.
The patient room was… gross. There was clutter and the trash was literally overflowing. The first thing that made me really uncomfortable was when the doctor pulled an old used pen from his desk to draw on my back. After aggressively scribbling a few times he said his pen wasn’t working and went to find another.
After he finished drawing a grid on my back, he started the scratch test to check for my reaction. I was DISGUSTED when he placed the used sharps container next to my arm beside me on the table. I asked him “is that clean?!” and he just sort of laughed.
I felt really uncomfortable and decided upon leaving I wouldn’t be returning for shots because I didn’t trust the doctors judgment or the quality of his care.
I was horrified to receive my bill a few weeks later for a whopping $458 (after the $195 my insurance company forked over)
When I called my insurance company to confirm, they also mentioned my insurance deductible ran from January to December, NOT Sep-Sep as the receptionist originally told me. When I called to confront her about it, the receptionist admitted she hasn’t even gotten through to my insurance company and GUESSED what she thought it would be. She apologized for her mistake, but said I would have to pay the bill either way. She basically cost me $458 at the end of the year, just before I have to start paying toward a new deductible in January.
When I asked to speak with the doctor, she told me “no, he’s all booked”. When I tried calling again, she hung up on me! I don’t think I have ever been hung up on from someone who is supposed to be a professional. I left several messages asking the doctor to please call me so we could discuss what happened, and he never returned my calls.
From my experience, there is a reason the Dr has so few patients- he doesn’t keep up his office well enough and his staff will do anything, even tell lies, to get you in the office and get your money. I feel that the doctor is unprofessional for not calling me back and has poor staff representing his business. I hope you are able to find a different doctor that will treat you with more respect!
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