My letter to the Medical Mafia

Dear Touchstone Imaging,

I would like to ask you a question. Let's say you go to Walmart and purchase an item
and you're told that item will cost $292.60 (including tax).
So you agree to purchase that item and you pay that amount for it. Deal done, right?

But then six weeks later, you get a letter in the mail from Walmart. And that letter
says you now have to pay an additional $799.90 for the purchase of that item and that
amount is "Due Now".
And remember, that is AFTER the agreed purchase price was $292.60.

How would you react to that? Would you then pay that additional amount? Or would
you think Walmart had lost it's mind?

Well that's what you've done to me. On 4/21 I visited your business to get a CT Scan.
You took my Blue Cross insurance card and ran it and determined my co-pay would be in
the amount of $292.60. Since that's an amount I could afford to pay I then wrote
you a check for that amount and agreed to purchase the service you were offering.

And now here it is six weeks later, and you mail me a statement saying I have to pay
an additional $799.90.
If I had known at the time you were going to charge me a total of $1092.50 for this service,
I would have politely refused it. Why? Because I cannot afford to pay $1092.50.
I was able to pay the agreed price of $292.60. But not $1092.50.

This isn't how it works in the real world. At least not in the one I've always lived in.
So I guess we're just going to have to see what an Escambia Summary Claims Court Judge has
to say about it. And additionally, since I'm sure you're proud of how you do business,
we'll also see how the public feels about it. I participate in an internet message forum. After I finish this letter, I'm going to start posting about your business practices so the Pensacola public can decide if they're ethical
or not.


Sincerely,

xxxxxx xxx

Bob, did you get an explanation of benefits (EOB) from Blue Cross on this bill?

Linda wrote:

Bob, did you get an explanation of benefits (EOB) from Blue Cross on this bill?  

I did get something from Blue Cross in the mail too, Linda. I've got to leave shortly but when I return later today I'll scan it and put it in a post here so you can see it. I welcome any help you can give me with this.

Please do. I'd be glad to take a look.

Hi Linda,

These are all the documents I received.  Thanks for trying to help me.

https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/812uzg2jr/image.jpg

https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/l04o2gnaf/image.jpg

[url= https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/uw5r23t2f/image.jpg]https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/uw5r23t2f/image.jpg[/url]

https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/4dn3tducn/image.jpg

[url= https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/n78wqdskn/image.jpg] https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/n78wqdskn/image.jpg[/url]

[url= https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/wt2h6ojqf/image.jpg] https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/wt2h6ojqf/image.jpg[/url]

That fourth image states that a claim was denied pending a previous charge. Do you know what that is? Bcbs still states that you owe no further charges... that is probably due to contacted pricing and negotiated (agreed to) reimbursement. Sounds like they're trying to soak you. Most people probably just pay... like most people don't fulfill rebates.

Hi Pkr Bum,

I just talked with my Blue Cross agent (who's a friend) and he's gonna see me tomorrow and try to help me straighten this out.

And you're correct, most people just roll over and pay whatever they're told to pay.
I'm a little different. There's not enough bill collectors and credit reporting agencies in this world to ever make me pay a dime more for this than the price I agreed to.

Clear as mud, Bob. Do talk to a BC agent. Is it possible they are charging the deductible?

Linda wrote:

Clear as mud, Bob.  Do talk to a BC agent.  Is it possible they are charging the deductible?  

My insurance agent suggested that maybe Sacred Heart Oncology dropped the ball and did not supply a "pre-authorization" for the procedure to the imaging outfit.
I just went to the Sacred Heart Oncology Dept to determine if this was the case. They pulled the "pre-authorization" off their computer and printed a copy of it for me. So that's not the explanation.

I'll bring up a possible "deduction" with my agent when I see him tomorrow. But I had a 20 minute phone call with him earlier and he gave no indication that this could be due to meeting a deductible. He's as confused by it as I am.

Good luck.

Linda wrote:

Good luck.

Thanks

The stress that billing/insurance adds to a patient's care should be refunded to the patient's account in the amount of 25% of the balance requested.

Linda wrote:

The stress that billing/insurance adds to a patient's care should be refunded to the patient's account in the amount of 25% of the balance requested.  

I've now lost all my hair from being stressed out over this. And I had only a little bit left to lose. lol

Your building your case for the judge. Loss of hair = price of wig + pain and suffering

[quote="BobW"][/quote


Whackem Bob

I just noticed another clue.  This document has the outfit being called "Imaging Center of Pensacola".

{edit] can't get this upload link to work

And this one has the same outfit being called "Touchstone Imaging".

https://2img.net/h/s5.postimg.cc/l04o2gnaf/image.jpg

This could be the same scenario as my experience with that health insurance company.   The one where 2 years ago I was paying $4500/year in premiums.  And then when Sacred Heart charged me $20,000 for a lousy biopsy,  that insurance company paid about $2000 of it.  
When I bought that policy it was calling itself "Mega Health and Life".  But it changed it's name several times since then.  Had to.  Once it got known for screwing people it had to transform into a different name.

It's possibly a billing company for "Imaging Center of Pensacola."

I worked for a company in Huntsville, AL that billed services for several doctors. The patient would receive billing from "MD Solutions" and it included the information from the doctor. I always thought it was terribly confusing, especially to older patients.

Is it possible one of the bills was for the x:rays and the other later one was for the radiologist to read them?? I know they came in different bills from different places some times when family members had things done at SH, NWF, or BH.. ie; the tech works for the hospital but the radiologist (DR) that looked at the x:rays works for somebody else who the hospital uses to do things and NOT be on the hospitals pay role, insurance, retirement, and other things..