Consumer complaint received 2023-03-21
Product: Debt collection — Medical debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: Associated Credit Services, Inc. (MA)

I have health insurance through my job and have added my husband to it as well. We've had the same health insurance for years and don't even go to physicals or dental appointments, mainly because we're young and relatively healthy, but also because we're afraid of unexpected unknown expensive costs associated with very basic things. 

My husband found us an in-network doctor last year around XX/XX/XXXX. As part of the process we needed to go for a new patient appointment to the facility in XXXX, MA, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I understood that the appointment was a new patient appointment, similar to a physical. My husband went to the appointment first without me, mine was scheduled for a later date without him. While at the new patient appointment I was weighed and my breathing was listened to, outside of that I was just asked general questions about my self and my medical history and if I had any concerns or issues that should be noted. This is all that was done. Later on we get a bill for {$260.00} for only my visit, not my husband 's. I reached out to them asking why we were being charged, they said it was because my husband 's visit was labeled as preventative so it was covered but mine was labeled as diagnostic. The doctor who asked me questions about myself, concerns, and medical history, who did the same thing to my husband, took my answers as diagnostic even though he didn't diagnose anything or inform me that if I answered honestly I would be charged, but took my husband 's answers as preventative because my husband answered that he didn't have concerns. I sent XXXX an email when I noticed the bill, before it was sent to debt collectors, asking why. 
Here 's my email : " Good evening, I've received an email that our bill will go to Collections soon unless we pay however we are being billed incorrectly. My husband and I went to our first appointment that was essentially a physical, there was nothing extra or special that was done at these visits. According to our insurance the visit is being billed as diagnostic instead of preventative. I've read the notes for the appointment, other than answering the doctor 's questions about how I've been doing no other services were provided. I went in with the understanding that this was a preventative visit covered under the insurance and feel blindsided by this bill. I also don't understand why my husband 's visit was correctly logged as preventative while mine is categorized as diagnostic. 

We would also like to know what process to take to stop this bill from going to collections while we sort out what the issue is. '' Their response back before they stopped replying and completely ignored me then proceeded to send my bill to debt collections anyway was : " [ My last name retracted ], my name is XXXX and I'm with XXXX XXXX. You recently contacted us regarding your XX/XX/XXXX date of service, account [ account number retracted ]. This appointment was made as a new patient visit to establish care and the doctor 's note indicate that is what services were performed, a taking of medical history, obtaining a list of current medications and current medical issues. Physicals are not done on a new patient visit. Please provide your husband 's name and date of birth if he would like his visit reviewed as well. '' And my final response to them, that they never responded to : " Hi XXXX, What's the difference between the new account and a physical? Can you send a list of what would have made these two things different? 
Is there a reason why these new account requests aren't done through a Form or other electronic means if all they are are just providing information and health history? 
What flags this as diagnostic if that's all it is as well? I'm being charged nearly {$300.00} just get my weight taken and respiration listened to? 
How is this a diagnosis? And why do you sometimes place these visits under Preventative vs Diagnostic while not offering anything different? 
If the difference comes with answering the questions the doctor asks and asking more questions I wouldn't have answered nor asked if I'd been told up front that this would have lead to a {$300.00} charge. '' This was the final exchange, they never responded back, and apparently sent my bill to debt collections anyway. This seems to be a very shady process, incorrectly billing and then no longer answering. I can only assume that they knew they were in the wrong and assumed it wouldn't be worth it to fight a {$260.00} bill.