ComplaintsforPathGroup

• Initial Complaint

  02/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company, "Associated Pathologists", has relentlessly hounded me calling my home sometimes over 4 times in one day... I told them, after the first call, to send me billing information, but they demanded personal information "over the phone", which I refused... I DID NOT authorize ANYONE to use this group! They have, now, sent my so-called "bill" to a collection agency, in an attempt to ruin my perfect credit.. I want this collection agency to retract its status with them.. They just sent me what "they" consider a "detailed" charges note that is complete bs! It states that they sent me or someone refunds, which I have absolutely NO awareness of... I think this bunch needs to be shut down, they are scamming folks by hacking their medical information.. I told them to never contact me again already...

  

  Business response

  02/08/2024

  We have performed extensive research regarding customer complaint and all services and charges are accurate from Associated Pathologists.  Accounts have been recalled from the collection agency for customer to pay outstanding balances. Please call us at ************** or your physician office directly for any questions.

  Customer response

  02/12/2024

   
  Complaint: 21245641
  
  I am rejecting this response because: If this charge is associated with a practice that is NOT recognized by my insurance, (out of network), then I have NOT authorized any "OUTSIDE" or out of Network businesses/practices to be used.. End of story..

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business response

  02/12/2024

  All account inquiries, questions or concerns can be addressed by calling **************.  

• Initial Complaint

  01/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In June 2023, I was sent a bill for pathology services and went online to pay it. When I put the medical record number and bill information into ********************'s online system, it shows an account statement. They are sending me bills for a different patient, who lives in a different state, has different insurance than I do, and is seeing a provider I have never even heard of, let alone saw for any medical reasons. When I login to view my account information, I can see the other patient's ordering physician, insurance information, patient's mailing address, date of her medical appointment, etc. I immediately reached out to PathGroup to notify them of the mix up and had email correspondence with a representative named ******************* (patient support analyst). He apologized for the confusion and asked me to shred the statement I received in the mail and said "we will handle this from here." In September 2023, I received another statement from PathGroup. This still included the other patient's information on my bill, along with what I believe may be my correct pathology services for myself. Again, I reached out to PathGroup to get my account fixed. I was told the same thing, that they "will handle it" and to shred the statement. PathGroup still has not fixed the account errors, and when I login I can still see the other patient's personal information. I believe she has been receiving statements with my medical information. When I look at my statements online, they have the other patient's mailing address. PathGroup has also sent me to collections for the other patient's balance.

  

  Business response

  01/18/2024

  Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention.  We have been in contact with our statement vendor to correct the patient discrepancy issue and will have our representative contact you to discuss these same actions. Please let us know if you have any further concerns. 

  Customer response

  01/25/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  12/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was billed for a service that was not sent to my insurance company to determine coverage. This service was then sent to collections after three billing notices were sent to the WRONG address through a clerical error on Path Group's (billed as Associated Pathology, LLC) part (sent to ********* ***** instead of *********, ** *****). Both I and my insurance have been in contact with Path Group who assured me they would have it processed through insurance and removed from collections. I additionally requested via certified mail and receipt request a stop collections to *********************** which was received on 11/21/28 and another letter was sent to me saying I owed the full amount on 11/28/24. No one has answered me from Path Group as to the status of the bill and it's being removed from collections.

  

  Business response

  12/15/2023

  Patient can disregard statements and collection notices. The balance has been adjusted and removed from collections. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Medical Record# ********. I was waiting to see if my insurance would pay for at least some of the charges or reduce the amounts, but for some reason my insurance did not. I attempted to call PathGroup several times on 10/10 & 10/11 but was left on hold for very long periods of time and could not reach anyone. I tried again 10/12/23 9:15am and spoke with a rep about the charges and she put in a request for a discount. After waiting on hold for over 20 minutes, she said she would call me back as soon as they responded to the request. She called back and said the acct was already turned over to collections which was definitely a surprise to me since I just received the final notice. I asked for a supervisor and was put on hold for ************************************** I called back and asked again for a supervisor after about 15 mins on hold I spoke with ********. She said there was nothing they could do since it was already turned over to collections. She said they would have reduced the amount before that but after it is in collections it was company policy that they would not discount the $950.21 for one day of lab work. According to the PathGroup website it says that customers are given at least 7 days before collections are possible. The final notice was dated 9/29/23 and the rep said that it was turned over to collections on 10/5/23. I have proof from **** that the final notice was not even delivered until 10/5/23 so turning over to collections was definitely premature and gave me no time at all to contact PathGroup before collections were involved. I started a payment plan to remove the acct from collections, but feel that the acct definitely does need to be discounted. Since the acct was sent to collections prematurely, I would like to request that the acct be discounted now please.

  

  Business response

  12/15/2023

  On 10/12/23 ************* requested services be discounted. It was determined a discount could not be applied due to the contractual insurance adjustment of $56.15 that posted to the account on 7/14/23. The account was removed from collections on 10/13/23.  

• Initial Complaint

  06/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My healthcare provider uses Pathgroup as their preferred lab. After the first few times of using their lab, I found out Pathgroup is not in network with my health insurance, however, I continued to allow my provider to send my lab work to them because their prices were reasonable. Their invoices are confusing though, and I once contacted their billing ***** to get a better explanation but the rep. was unable to assist me, stating that something on their end "is down" and that she would have to contact me later. That never happened, no one ever called me back. I never attempted to contact them again and simply paid my bills as I received them. Fast forward, I had labs processed through Pathgroup last in January 2023 and received statements for the amounts of $19.98 (which I paid by check mailed out 1/28/23), $5.10 (again paid by check mailed out 2/24/23), and $2.55 (paid by check mailed out 5/4/23). That was the last bill I received. I checked with my bank to verify that ALL checks cleared, and they did. Since then, I have not received any further statements/invoices from Pathgroup, nor has Pathgroup tried to contact me regarding further balances. I then received a collections notice for the amount of $593.04 from a company collecting on Pathgroup's behalf! When I called on 6/9/23 to verify, the company informed me that the balance was now $613 because Pathgroup sent two more accounts to them for collection. I have ALWAYS paid my balances with Pathgroup, despite knowing they are out of network, I chose to give them my business. I feel that I was unjustly sent to collections by this company without so much as a statement or warning for the amounts they were attempting to collect. It is unfair to send a paying customer to collections without even sending them a statement first, it's unheard of! I thought I was in good standing with Pathgroup since I have always paid my bills with them directly. I deserve an explanation from Pathgroup.

  

  Business response

  09/12/2023

  09/12/2023
  
  Consumer Name: ***********************
  Medical Record Number: ********
  Date of Service: 12/29/2022,01/05/23, AND 01/12/23
  Balance: $0
  Complaint ID: ********
  
  
  This communication is to serve as a formal response to complaint ID # ********, filed on 06/13/2023. After researching this complaint, it was determined that there was a system error which caused the account to prematurely forward the balances to collections. We are thoroughly investigating this matter to prevent it from happening in the future. We sincerely apologize for any frustration we have caused and we are able to confirm patient now has a zero balance with our office. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On Jan 17th, I received the second statement for the amount due for my wife. As it was the second statement, I paid it promptly the next day through the payment portal. The amount due was listed as $79.53, so I paid it; The additional $2.55 was not listed. We did not receive the February 14th statement but did receive the March 14th statement. I thought it was a bit out of the ordinary to send a bill for just $2.55 and threaten collection activity if not paid, but I nevertheless attempted to pay it. When I went to the payment portal, it indicated that there was no balance due (screen shot attached). I called and explained to the rep the issue; The rep's explanation was very difficult to understand, in that it sounded like the amount was zero because it had already been sent to collections. I then asked why they would send such a small balance to collections, and she then said it had been "recycled" or "reset" or something like that, and that the balance was still due. I then told her, again, that the payment portal indicated no balance due, and which point she told me I could pay by the automated system. I told her that I would prefer to do it by the payment portal vs. the automated system just for efficiency's sake. She then told me to check the payment portal in 24 hours, and the balance due should be listed. I did, and the balance still is listed as zero. Given the small balance in addition to the issues that I have experienced I respectfully request that the $2.55 be written off, as the amount expended on this issue already by Pathgroup and my side far exceeds that amount.

  

  Business response

  03/27/2023

  Consumer Name: *****************************
  Medical Record Number: ********
  Date of Service: 11/23/2022
  BBB Complaint ID # ********
  Total Balance Due: $0.00
  
  
  This communication is to serve as formal response to BBB complaint ID# ********. After researching the consumers husbands complaint,our records indicate that the statement sent on 01/17/2023 did indicate a balance due of $82.08, however, there appears to have been an issue with updating the account balance with the $2.55 invoice to the portal. This would explain why when the consumer logged in, the account balance was $79.53, to which the consumer paid that balance. Because there was an additional $2.55 balance, this caused the additional 2 statements to be sent 2/14/2023 & 03/14/2023, that indicated a $2.55 balance due,  with the last statement explaining potential placement with a collection agency if the balance is not resolved.
  
  We would like to express our sincere apologies regarding the entire balance not being reflected on the patient portal at the time the consumer made their payment in January 2023. This issue has been escalated to our internal support team to determine the root cause and correct this issue going forward. Also, we can assure the consumer that this account balance of $2.55 has not been placed with a collection agency and given the circumstances and frustration on the consumers behalf, we have adjusted the account to reflect no account balance for the date of service of 11/23/2022. 

  Customer response

  03/27/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  02/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 4/18/22 I went to a new OBGYN in **************. I received a bill from Mercy and paid everything in full. In September I received a collections letter saying I owed Associated Pathologists LLC $411.24. I had no idea what Associated Pathologists was until I googled them and it turns out they are a part of *************** I called my OBGYN asking if they sent my labs here or if they had any information about it but they couldn't help me. I then called the collections agency, because I never received a bill from Associated Pathologists. Since September, (it is now February 2023) the collections agency has been trying to get an itemized invoice from Associated Pathologists had has not been able to do so. I have no information on if this bill was run through insurance or what it is even billing me for. It has been sitting on my credit report for months now and I have still never received an invoice from anyone. I would like this removed from my credit report until I receive a bill that I can verify has been sent to insurance first, and have an opportunity to pay. I'd also like to point out that if you look at this companies reviews, this is not the first time this has happened. They have made a habit of sending people to collections without billing them.

  

  Business response

  02/10/2023

  Consumer Name: *****************************
  Medical Record Number: ********
  Date of Service: 04/18/2022
  Balance: $411.24
  Complaint ID: ********
  
  
  This communication is to serve as a formal response to complaint ID # ********, filed on 02/08/2023. After researching the consumers complaint,we determined that the claim was originally filed to the insurance carrier provided from our client and was denied stating that the consumer was not covered under that plan. PathGroup then sent 3 statements in efforts to collect the correct insurance carrier information on 5/16/2022, 6/13/2022 & 7/11/22 to the address provided by the client as well as which is on this complaint, however there was no response received from the consumer. In efforts to resolve the consumers complaint, we have reached out to the carrier listed and through those conversations determined that there may be a different location that this claim should have been submitted to and we have now submitted a claim to that updated location. Also, we have removed the account in question from our collection agency partner to allow an opportunity to adjudicate the claim through the consumers health insurance carrier. We have attempted to reach out to the consumer to inform them of the steps we have taken to resolve this issue as well as provide the itemized statement that they state they have requested but have not been successful in speaking with the consumer at the time of this response. 

  Customer response

  02/10/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  09/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I had my yearly physical exam on 02/02/22 and the Path Group did my analysis. A few months later I got a bill for $ 140.92 which it seemed out of proportion for the routine tests of a physical exam. I called ***** my insurance and they told me that the amount that I owe was $ 44,07. We called THREE TIMES to Path Group (the ***** Representative with me on the line) and three times they promised that they will fix the issue. Today I received a harassing FINAL NOTICE that will remit my account to a collection office if I do not pay the $ 140.92It amounts to bulling and harassment. I called again today demanding to see the correct bill, to stop the harassment and to inform them that I was filing this complaint with the Better Business Bureau.Path Group prove to be unable to sort their own issues and their attitude with the public is that of an irresponsible bully. This has to stop.

  

  Business response

  09/28/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/22) */ Consumer Name: *********** Date of Service: 2/11/2022 Medical Record Number: ******** Invoice Number: ******** Patient Balance: $44.08 Case# ******** This communication is to serve as formal response to case # ********, After researching the consumer's complaint, it was determined that the previous representatives who spoke with the consumer did not complete the proper review and follow policies of the department. As a result of this review, we have reviewed the Explanation of Benefits received and made the necessary adjustments to reflect a patient balance of $44.08. Furthermore, this was addressed with both representatives who spoke with the consumer. We have contacted the consumer to explain this. Consumer Response /* (2000, 7, 2022/09/26) */ Thank you. Yes it has ben solved to my satisfaction and fast. Path Group has a way to go to train their employees to avoid getting to this point.

• Initial Complaint

  09/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had my pap smear done at *** ******* ***** in Snellville G* on *ug 9th. *** doctor ordered the regular screening test that usually comes with my pap smear. This company ran additional tests that were not ordered by my Healthcare provider and now I am stuck with a bill for 420 dollars. I did not authorize the Gonorrhea screen nor the hpv 16 and 18 screen. On top of that, they up charged my insurance company higher prices which made my out of pocket cost way higher and I have proof of this. *** cash or out of pocket prices were way cheaper but because I have insurance they decided to double or even triple the costs. Had i known this, i would have just paod cash price for my labwork. I would like this company to adjust the billing and exclude the tests that I did not authorize as well as charge me the correct price for my lab work to include the discounted cash prices and not price gauge my insurance. This is FR*UDULENT BILLING. Below you will see an email from the company's billing coordinator ****** ******* (********@pathgroup.com) explaining how I was fraudulently billed, but I am still stuck with this 420 bill and it is not fair to me to be billed or charged incorrectly. In addition to that my name is incorrectly spelled, so how do i even know this is my bill. If this bill is not rectified and corrected and it goes to collections I can simply argue that it isn't my bill since my name is spelled wrong. I would also like the company not to send this bill to collections and work out a payment plan after it is adjusted properly.

  

  Business response

  09/21/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/09/15) */ Consumer Name: ****** ***** Date of Service: 8/9/2022 Medical Record Number: XXXXXXXX Invoice Number: XXXXXXXX Patient Balance: $420.98 Case# XXXXXXXX This communication is to serve as a formal response to BBB case # XXXXXXXX. After researching the consumer's complaint and contacting the ordering physician, it was determined that PathGroup processed the physician's orders as submitted and per the physician's office, they have a signed authorization from the consumer for all testing that was ordered. We also reviewed all charges submitted to the consumer's health insurance carrier and confirmed that all charges were within our contractual allowable agreement with the health insurance carrier for these tests. We have explained this to the consumer as well we have offered a discount on the remaining balance due to the fact that the consumer was not expecting that some of the charges would not be covered by her insurance carrier.

• Initial Complaint

  08/31/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I called this facility to pay my monthly payment for my path bill. The customer service rep took out the whole amount that over-drafted my account. Was told they could not refund me that day due to the rep using the old billing system to take my payment. A week later and still no one has called me. I have had to call them every day to get an update. All the while being a mother with overdraft fees and not having gas money for over a week. This is the worst place, I will make sure I never take my healthcare with them again.

  

  Business response

  09/14/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/08) */ Patient: ****** **** Date of Service: 12/8/2021 Medical Record Number: XXXXXXXX Invoice Number: XXXXXXXX Balance: $363.04 BBB Case Number: XXXXXXXX This communication is to serve as formal response to case number XXXXXXXX. After researching this complaint, it was determined that there was an error but the representative who initially processed the consumers credit card. Immediate efforts to void that transaction with the merchant were unsuccessful and the effects were that the consumer advised that this caused their bank account to be overdrawn. We have been in consistent contact with the consumer and have now refunded the charge back to the consumers card, which could take up to one week to be restored and we have asked the consumer to provide documentation of any overdraft fees as PathGroup will be willing to compensate the consumer. We do sincerely apologize for this issue and the strain it has caused the consumer and PathGroup will work with the consumer to resolve this situation. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/09/12) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) It took over a week to have the money refunded to my account. I had to call everyday to get updates, first it was them mailing a check, then check went to wrong address, and then they decided they could refund my debit card after they said they could not. I am a single mother with children and this hurt us for that almost two weeks of no money. Path group should credit my account what is due because I do not trust them to call and have my bill payed over the phone anymore. I cant have this happen again. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/09/13) */ We have reviewed the response from the consumer and on 9/2/2022 we contacted the consumer to advise her that we would need supporting documentation regarding the overdraft fees so our office could reimburse her and that we would work with the consumer on the remaining balance. We then attempted to contact the consumer on 9/7/2022 per our phone records however we received no answer and no voice mail was available, to advise the consumer that due to this issue, we would remove any financial responsibility in good faith and have adjusted the account the account. We also are sending a statement that indicates no outstanding balance. Once the consumer provides supporting documentation of outstanding overdraft fees, we will submit a request to reimburse the consumer for any fees incurred as a result of this transaction. Consumer Response /* (2000, 11, 2022/09/13) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

*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. ↩