I have been a life time patient with this practice. Specifically for the last 10 years with Dr. Roper. My son recently went to Dr.
Roper with complaints of sore gums. He was informed he needed to have all 4 wisdom teeth out. They set up an appointment for over a month later (which they said was the soonest they could do the surgery). The day before my son's surgery appointment, I received a phone call from Dr. Roper's office confirming the appointment. Then asked what I planned to pay them at the appointment. My estimated patient responsibility was $676. I said I planned to pay $200 at the appointment and the remainder to be paid off prior to 90 days. They replied they wanted $300. I said I couldn't do that and Dr. Roper's office immediately cancelled my son's surgery appointment for the following morning. They let me know there was no room for negotiation. I would like to point out I do not owe this office any money and again I have been a long time patient as well as my husband and 4 children. If I were a new patient or owed them money for prior services, I could understand them not wanting to work with me, but that simply is not the case. I reviewed the Treatment plan they provided stating my estimated Patient Portion ($676) as well as my Estimated Insurance portion ($651). The last paragraph on this form states:
This is not to be considered a guarantee of payment, and any remaining balance after you carrier has processed the claim is the sole responsibility of the patient. All outstanding balances over 90 days are subject to a service charge of 1 1/2% per month, or 18% annually. I then stated if that is how they treated their patients, I would like to pick up my medical records and I would find another dentist. They said, sure, you can come pick up your records. I said I find it hard to believe you would want to lose long time patients over $100. They could have cared less!!!
I tried to appeal to the Practice Administrator, which he promptly replied: I will look into this ASAP. Sorry this has occurred. You are right we do not want to lose long time patients. I will be back in touch asap. The practice admin then sent me another email stating: Dr. Roper said he would respond to you and I hope everything works out. Followed by an email from Dr. Roper which states:
It is with sadness that I read of your desire to seek treatment elsewhere. Over the years, unfortunately, we have had to develop a more stringent collection protocol. It has never been our policy to put our patients in a financial hardship, and over extending credit is a very quick for people to get in over their heads. I hope that you can understand where our decisions have come from and that this is not personal.
Again, I am sorry about your decision.
Sincerely,
Erik Rope
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