ComplaintsforRockville Dental Care

• Initial Complaint

  03/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On November 13, 2021 i went into the office to get my 4 wisdom teeth removed. On previous appointments October 21, 2021 i was told it was urgent for me to get my wisdom teeth removed because of the positioning and they had cavities. I elected the doctor that i didnt have the fund for my procedure and i couldnt get it. She told me my insurance should cover most and i will only have to come out of pocket 400$. So i attended my appointment in November to get the removed. My mouth was numbed and they began to remove my teeth, after my surgery i couldnt talk. I paid the amount owe that was discussed with the dentist. As i was leaving out after having the procedure done my dentist told me i will have to pay more than 400$. After she just told me a week prior i would only have to pay 400$. But i was confused as to why she told me after the procedure instead of telling me beforehand. I contacted her over phone various times to get a invoice which i never received. I also contacted her assistant via text to see if i can receive one which i have yet to receive. And its been two months, and i have no idea what she billed me for. I was recently contacted to say i still have a 300$ balance do two months later. I havent had contact with them in over a month, and they are not trying to let me see an invoice of my procedure, and i feel they didnt not treat me as a valued customer. They took advantage of me by not providing an invoice and telling me i owe a certain amount to change it days later. I really need help with this, i feel like they are taking advantage of me. An invoice of procedure is supposed to be provided to each patient before any procedure is started. And i was deprived of that and i still am 3 months later.

  Business response

  03/14/2022

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: Soheil R*************** <rockvilledentalcare@***********>
  Date: Mon, Mar 14, 2022 at 1:42 PM
  Subject: Complaint ID ********: ***************************
  To: <[email protected]>
  

  
  

  To Whom It May Concern:
  

  
  

  This message is to address the complaint ID ******** and sum up the actions we have taken to date since receipt of this complaint.

  
  

  Patient "**" was first seen by our office on 10/21/2021. At this time she completed our standard new patient intake paperwork, which includes reading and signing our Financial Policy forms. This Financial Policy includes the following statements:

  
  

  "Unless another financial option is PRE-ARRANGED, payment in full is due the day of treatment, or on pre-op visits for sedation appointments. Should a patient have dental insurance with assignment to Dr. R*****************, the estimated patient portion will be the amount due.

  
  

  Dental insurance plans often pay less than the actual fee for service, therefore the patient or Guarantor is the responsible party for all dental services provided. Dental insurance in most cases is a benefit with limitations and should not be expected to take care of all costs.

  
  

  If your insurance does not cover a procedure for any reason, the patient is thereby responsible to pay remainder at the time of the appointment.

  
  

  Balances in excess of 60 days are subject to a finance charge of 1.5% per month (18% annual)."

  
  

  and 

  
  

  "As a responsible party, I understand and agree that any and all charges that are not paid by my insurance company will be my responsibility. Everything quoted to you for your co-insurance payment is an approximation based on the information provided to us by your insurance.

  
  

  I understand that I am financially responsible for all charges whether or not paid by my insurance carrier.

  
  

  All accounts are due in full 30 days after the insurance company has paid. Interest in the amount of 1.5% per month will be added until the balance is paid. 

  
  

  I HAVE READ,  UNDERSTOOD AND AGREE TO THE ABOVE FINANCIAL POLICY FOR PAYMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL FEES. I UNDERSTAND THAT I AM ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL FEES FOR SERVICES PROVIDED TO ME."

  
  

  Patient ** signed and dated these policies on 10/21/2021.

  
  

  On this same date, and on her later appointments at 11/13/2021 and 11/27/2021, it was verbally explained by both the doctor and office staff that her *** **** dental insurance paid only a standard partial percentage of fees for her recommended treatment plan, and she would be responsible for the remaining patient deductible and coinsurance percentage set by her insurance. We explained the $400 payment she made was our estimate of the patient portion for her treatment, but we verbally reminded her that as noted in our financial policy, this was merely an estimate and her insurance company had the final authority on how much they would cover and how much she was expected to pay herself. We also explained that we would contact her if this initial estimated payment proved to be lower or higher than what *** **** ultimately told us was their final determination of the portion due to be paid by the patient. 

  
  

  When **'s insurer, *******, processed and paid our claim for her treatment, their final benefits statement showed her patient coinsurance portion to be $1,129.80; minus the $400 she had already prepaid (and rounding off the 80 cents), this left her remaining balance due, as directed by her insurance, to be $729. As she was a good patient, Dr. R************* chose to write off a large portion of this balance as a courtesy to **, and only asked for payment of $300. We have previously informed the patient of this balance due but have not yet applied any interest fees to the outstanding balance or sent it to a collection agency, even though it is several months past due at this point. 

  
  

  Upon receipt of this complaint last week, on 3/8/2022 we emailed ** another copy of their statement as requested, along with copies of the statements direct from ******* and their signed Financial Policy documents. We also once more explained how their insurance makes the final determination of how much patient coinsurance they must pay, apologized if there was any misunderstanding of our past communication, and noted again as explained above that we had already greatly reduced her outstanding balance as a courtesy, and had not added any interest fees despite her account being several months past due. We have not yet had any response from ** to this correspondence.

  
  

  I hope this answers your questions. 

  --

  Rockville Dental Care

  50 West Edmonston Drive #503
  Rockville, MD

  Phone: ************

  Fax: ************

*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. ↩