ComplaintsforNourish Modern Healthcare

• Initial Complaint

  08/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  There were two major miscommunications from Nourish in regards to their fees. I'm a first time patient & booked the appointment over the phone w/****** She went over that the initial appointment would be 2 hrs,& instructed me to sign up with their patient portal & complete paperwork before appt. I then asked her about getting my thyroid tested & what the costs would be. She replied that the thyroid lab would be $80 & then i would also pay for any other labs the Dr. ordered & for supplements the doctor prescribed. I had my 2 hour appointment with Dr. ***** As we were going through my comprehensive plan, I asked her to go over my total cost. She was totaling costs on a calculator & told me the total was $245. After the appointment I asked her for a bill or invoice. Dr. **** told me I would be sent one through their portal and that my card on file would be charged. Shortly after I left, someone from their office called that my card had been declined. I asked what amount she was trying to charge, she said $900 and change. I was in shock & said that's not what i was told the appointment would cost the 2 times i had asked the office for my estimate and total charges. My card was then charged $245. I was then told there is a $600 doctor visit fee and it's listed on their website. And while the appointment fees are listed on the website, it's hard to find as it's listed under the "Book Online" tab. I did not click that tab since I knew I'd like to book the appointment over the phone. I called ***** to complain about the 2 miscommunications on the behalf of Nourish. ***** defends that she told me the amount and that if I don't pay it will go to collections. I do not want to pay for something that I didn't consent to based on their miscommunications. I offered to settle & to leave the $245 charge and to go our separate ways but ***** denied that offer. I didn't get my labwork done and confirmed w/lab that Nourish would not be charged & I returned all supplements. I still have not received an invoice from Nourish. I have filed a chargeback request with bank to get $245 returned to me and additional $200 and $100 charge the put through my card the following day.

  Business response

  08/25/2023

  This coplaint is from a patient who does not want to pay her lab bill and is upset that we will not accept 1/4 of the billed amount for the charges she agreed to. Her complaint states that she was not aware of the charges, but we make every effort for our prices to be clear. They are posted on our website, they are told to each patient who books an appointment before they are allowed to schedule as we require a card on file, and the patient has to sign a billing agreement saying that they agree and understand our financial policies, and there is a direct link to our visit fees on this agreement that she signed in her patient portal. 

  The agreement specifically reads: "Should you need to review our fees, all of our cash pay visit prices are listed here: **************************************************************** online . Costs of supplements and lab tests prescribed during your visits are set by the companies that offer these products and services." and she wrote that she understands and agrees, signed her name, and provided her credit card information. She came in and completed a 2 hour visit with our doctor, bought products in office, requested lab work, and then decided she did not want to pay for anything, (or was only offering to pay for 1/4th of the billed cost for services and products she requested.)

  We've offered her payment plan options, before we have to send to collections, which she has declined

  Customer response

  08/26/2023

   
  Complaint: 20518159
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This is not a case of buyers remorse.  I feel that Nourish Healthcare has vague and inconsistent communication when it comes to providing their customers with pricing and estimates.  And I feel that Dr. **** and ***** both made errors in their communications to me.  I do not wish to pay for their errors.  Nourish Healthcare is supposed to help their patients heal during a time when they are likely sick and vulnerable.  Their goal is to help them to come up with a comprehensive plan for their health that is to be paid out-of-pocket by their patients,yet they lacked the communication to provide me an accurate estimate and then expect me to pay up when they are billing 4x the amount of their estimate.  

  I stated that I would pay $245 because while in my 2 hour appointment with Dr. **** I asked her what my total costs would be and she told me $245.  After my appointment I was then told my card was attempted to be charged for $930.  That is a major discrepancy.  Especially since I was also given incorrect price information when I booked the appointment with *********** 

  Its also worth mentioning that ***** was distracted during her phone call with me when we booked the appointment.  Shortly into the phone call ***** started gasping, breathing heavily and saying Ahh! Ahh!and she then said there was a spider on her desk and she is very afraid of spiders.  It was clear she was very afraid.  One of her co-workers then came to kill the spider on her desk and we resumed the phone call.  However, ****** body would still be recovering from the rush of cortisol and adrenaline that had just been pumped into her body.  Since her body was in a fear response her brain would not be in a clear-thinking state. I brought this point up to ***** and she denies that this could have affected her performance on the phone call but scientific evidence would beg to differ.  There is scientific research that states that when put into a fear response the body will produce stress hormones and will disable ones cognitive abilities.   She said that she gave me the same speech she gives to all the patients several times a day. However, I would like to argue that ***** is not a robot or a computer,she is a human, who is capable of making mistakes especially when put into a fear response, which lowers cognitive abilities as it pertains to rational and logical thinking and memory.  

  
  In the billing agreement I signed, it does not state your fees, it provides a link to your fees and says should you need to review our prices click here. If the costs were posted in the billing agreement it would be much clearer and more upfront.   And since I booked the appointment with ***** over the phone and asked her what everything would cost, I felt there was no need to review it.   The billing agreements also states that Good ***** Estimates are required to be provided to the patient upon request.  The amount that Nourish Healthcare is invoicing me for is approximately $700 or 4X more than the good faith estimate I was verbally provided by Dr. **** and ***********  Pricing on their website is also hidden away under a tab titled Book Online. They are not clearly listing their pricing on their website as they claim to be. 

   I feel that ***** and Dr. **** gave me inaccurate, significantly lower estimates than what I was billed for.  I feel that they are not taking responsibility as a business for their errors.  I feel that they need to update their website and have more thorough written communication in regards to their good faith estimates.  I am rejecting their response and would be happy to pay them $245, the amount that Dr. **** specified was my total during our visit.

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