I am an insurance broker who learned of Dr. Steinberger's office through one of my clients who is a patient of this doctor. I've been working in the insurance industry for nearly 8 years, and I have never had an experience where a doctor and his office staff were so rude and unkind.
I enrolled my client on a Medicare Advantage PPO plan. I verified with the insurance that Dr. Steinberger is currently in-network on this PPO plan. When my client went in to receive services, she was told that she was on an HMO plan and therefore, was not covered. My client showed her insurance cards that clearly stated she was on a PPO. To further demonstrate proof of her coverage, I sent the client a document from my broker portal showing that she was enrolled on a PPO, that the plan was active, and that she had a $0 copay for her eye exam with this doctor since he is an in-network provider.
It seemed to me that there was a discrepancy in their eligibility system, so at the request of my client, I called the doctor's office directly. I am a solutions-oriented person, and having worked in insurance for many years, I understand that errors happen. But the woman I spoke to named Stephanie was incredibly condescending. With my experience and expertise of insurance plans, I was taken aback by how convinced she was that I was completely wrong. She tried to tell me that the client's PPO plan was her secondary insurance, when that's not how Medicare Advantage plans work. She sent me a document of their system showing that the client was enrolled on an HMO plan. The document also showed that her plan had a $240 deductible, when her PPO plan has no deductibles at all.
Rather than entertain the possibility of a discrepancy in their system for this particular patient, she gaslit me and the patient to make us believe that we were wrong. If I were the doctor's office, I would have called the eligibility system to see if there was, in fact, an error with this patient's insurance information. She then put the doctor on the phone who was also short with me. But what surprised me the most, and that I have never experienced before, was at the end of our call, he told me to tell my client "not to call" their office with insurance questions and that it was "[my] job" to "figure it out." Of course it's my job to assist clients with their insurance, but a doctor should never tell patients they can't call the office with questions regarding THEIR healthcare. That's unconscionable to me.
I contacted the insurance department's member services and a representative verified the client's PPO coverage. The representative I spoke with attempted to speak with the office, but after the conversation he told me that he believed that the office was "not interested" in hearing "any explanation" or proof he tried to give them. If they spoke to professionals in this manner, I can only imagine how they treat patients who don't have the resources or vocabulary to navigate their insurance on their own. I'm not one to write reviews, but I felt this was necessary so other patients are aware of what service they can expect from this office.
