Very disorganized and bordering on unprofessional. I had a small growth on my eyelid I wanted to have checked out and it took six months to get my initial consultation and another couple months after to get it removed during an office visit. I was told it was a “very simple procedure with no downtime, just a small scab”, that it could be done “super quick during an office visit” and was assured over and over that it was “not a big deal at all”. I called the week before my appointment for the growth removal and talked to the eligibility team about how much this would cost me because I had a bad feeling this was not going to be “no big deal” like the doctor insisted. The eligibility team assured me that I would only be paying for an office visit and that was a $25 co-pay. My appointment rolls around and it was way more invasive than I was prepared for and had to take the rest of the day off because I was so taken off guard by how much the removal hurt and my eyelid hurt well after with a giant scab on it. The final results looked fine, so I didn’t think anything of it… until I saw in my medical insurance portal (while looking at something completely different) that I owed $314 to Pacific Eye Institute. I tried called their billing department several times and left a voicemail. Then I get a bill from labcorp saying they can’t find my insurance and I owe $180 for a biopsy on the growth removal (that I didn’t even ask for). So I had to contact labcorp and give them the CORRCT insurance information because Pacific Eye Institute did not bother giving the correct information to them the first time and I figured that would fix it (member ID numbers and insurance billing addresses were very mixed up and very wrong). At this point it had been several months since the removal and I still have not been able to get a person to answer the phone at the billing department. Since I still had not received a bill from Pacific Eye Institute or an updated bill from Labcorp I figured it must have been resolved. Then I get a my very first actual bill from Pacific Eye Institute (5 months post removal) for the $314 saying it’s my final warning and it’s going to get sent to collections. I call and leave voicemails and when I finally (finally!) get ahold of someone she was immediately short and rude with me and was not at all understanding what I was saying about the written statement I have from them saying it would only be a $25 office visit and basically told me that this is my fault for having insurance with a deductible… Deductible or not, I asked what would be charged to my insurance prior to the actual appointment and I was assured it was just an office visit and a $25 co-pay. I have never had an experience with surprise billing because I always double check with the billing departments to run my insurance with all the planned charges and every other place has seen whether or not I “hit my deductible” and what I would have to pay. I can’t help but feel this was done in bad faith and I can’t believe health care providers are allowed to bait and switch patients like this. Truly horrible customer service experience and I would never recommend this place to anyone.
