We went to Stanford Medical Center for consultation & opinion after having multiple surgeries elsewhere. Since our new insurance effective date is 04/01/2021, we scheduled the appointment for 04/06. Stanford medical center is not in our old insurance's network, so that's why we waited.
Fast forward to last week, we received a big bill. Unbeknown to us, before our appointment, the Dr ordered for a review of the previous surgery results. This review was done on 03/26. Since our new insurance wasn't effective, Stanford is billing us $600+ out of pocket; the full amount was over $1.3K but we're given a 50% discount for not having insurance.
I called the Billing department to explain that:
- we've been clear when scheduling the appointment that our insurance effective date is 04/01, and that's why we scheduled our appt for 04/06
- we were never told about any work that'd be performed before our appointment. If we were told, we'd tell them to do the work after our effective date.
I asked whether they can bill this service as part of the appointment date, so it'd be covered by insurance. They sent the charges for review, but concluded that it was coded and billed correctly. This was a miscommunication between the appointment team and the Dr's office, so I should not be charged out of pocket. What should be done next?
Submitted April 24, 2021 at 08:55PM by photowanderer https://ift.tt/3sQyGpc
