A few months ago, I took my daughter to Phoenix Children's Urgent Care on a Sunday. She was coughing, etc, and since she was susceptible to infections, I thought I'd take her and get a headstart in case she needed antibiotics. When I checked her in, I was told that since I had Aetna insurance, they were out of network and she asked if I wanted to still have my daughter seen. I was surprised that PCMG was out of network because my daughter had been there a few times previously and I don't recall ever being told that it was out of network. At any rate, I decided to stay because I had driven 15 miles and didn't want to drag my daughter all over town looking for a place that was in network. So we stayed. My daughter was examined by the doctor. He checked all the basic areas: eyes, ears, nose, throat, and lungs. She said she had a sore throat, and it was red, so he did a Strep test, which came back negative. As far as I knew, that's all he did.
I later received a bill from Phoenix Children's Medical Group for $928.80. I was shocked when I saw the charge. There was no explanation of the charges, and I thought surely it must be a mistake. I called and PCMG and they told me that was indeed the correct amount and that Aetna had applied the amount to my deductible since it was out of network. I then called Aetna and told them the story and that I thought it couldn't be right. Aetna called PCMG, with me on the line. The Aetna representative asked for the medical records to be checked for accuracy. PCMG again said that the records were correct and the billing was correct. I didn't know what to do, so I told them I couldn't afford to pay that bill all at once, so they suggested a payment plan and sent me out the paperwork for that. After I hung up with PCMG, I thought that maybe I should request an itemized bill, so I called them back and asked for that, which they sent. When I received that, I expected to see a long list of items, but all I saw was 2 items – the first was the charge for the office visit and the second was the charge for the Strep test. I was appalled when I saw that I was being charged $984 for the office visit, and $48 for the Strep test. Aetna apparently did pay a portion of these charges - $98.40 for the office visit and $4.80 for the Strep test.
Now, I've been to lots of doctors, and I've never had to pay $900+ for an office visit. I'd like to know how PCMG justifies charging this exorbitant amount. If I had known that PCMG wasn't in my insurance network prior to taking my daughter there, I surely wouldn't have gone there, I would have gone to the urgent care 2 miles from my house and paid $100 for an office visit.
I do not plan to pay this bill and I will be securing an attorney to discuss this matter. I also plan to contact the media and let them know how PCMG is cheating consumers and insurance companies.
Phoenix Children's Medical Group Reviews
A few months ago, I took my daughter to Phoenix Children's Urgent Care on a Sunday. She was coughing, etc, and since she was susceptible to infections, I thought I'd take her and get a headstart in case she needed antibiotics. When I checked her in, I was told that since I had Aetna insurance, they were out of network and she asked if I wanted to still have my daughter seen. I was surprised that PCMG was out of network because my daughter had been there a few times previously and I don't recall ever being told that it was out of network. At any rate, I decided to stay because I had driven 15 miles and didn't want to drag my daughter all over town looking for a place that was in network. So we stayed. My daughter was examined by the doctor. He checked all the basic areas: eyes, ears, nose, throat, and lungs. She said she had a sore throat, and it was red, so he did a Strep test, which came back negative. As far as I knew, that's all he did.
I later received a bill from Phoenix Children's Medical Group for $928.80. I was shocked when I saw the charge. There was no explanation of the charges, and I thought surely it must be a mistake. I called and PCMG and they told me that was indeed the correct amount and that Aetna had applied the amount to my deductible since it was out of network. I then called Aetna and told them the story and that I thought it couldn't be right. Aetna called PCMG, with me on the line. The Aetna representative asked for the medical records to be checked for accuracy. PCMG again said that the records were correct and the billing was correct. I didn't know what to do, so I told them I couldn't afford to pay that bill all at once, so they suggested a payment plan and sent me out the paperwork for that. After I hung up with PCMG, I thought that maybe I should request an itemized bill, so I called them back and asked for that, which they sent. When I received that, I expected to see a long list of items, but all I saw was 2 items – the first was the charge for the office visit and the second was the charge for the Strep test. I was appalled when I saw that I was being charged $984 for the office visit, and $48 for the Strep test. Aetna apparently did pay a portion of these charges - $98.40 for the office visit and $4.80 for the Strep test.
Now, I've been to lots of doctors, and I've never had to pay $900+ for an office visit. I'd like to know how PCMG justifies charging this exorbitant amount. If I had known that PCMG wasn't in my insurance network prior to taking my daughter there, I surely wouldn't have gone there, I would have gone to the urgent care 2 miles from my house and paid $100 for an office visit.
I do not plan to pay this bill and I will be securing an attorney to discuss this matter. I also plan to contact the media and let them know how PCMG is cheating consumers and insurance companies.
Anybody know a good lawyer??