In April I needed to have a simple ultrasound done on my kidneys. My PPO insurance company provides us with a book listing doctors and facilities that are contracted to what they can charge for their services. On or around March 19th I called the Los Alamitos Imaging Center, which is listed in the book. I asked if they accepted my insurance as payment in full and the answer was YES. I asked to make an appointment for a Renal Ultrasound and was told to hold. I was transferred to another person who proceeded to make my appointment, the whole time I was under the impression I was dealing with the Los Alamitos Imaging Center.
They gave me a date, time, and address of where to go for the ultrasound. I had the proceedure done on March 26th and on August 28th received a bill from Tenet Total Care for the amount of $667.82. I called Tenet to find out why they were billing me. They said that my insurance only covered $355.18 of the $1123.00 charge. I called my insurance provider and they said that Tenet was not contracted with them.
Now I'm really confused so I call the Los Alamitos Imaging Center to find out how I ended up having my proceedure done at Tenet Total Care (which happens to be about 500 yards away). They said they do not do Renal Ultrasounds and that they transfer calls to Tenet. Now I am stuck with the bill. I feel that this a complete rip off and I would not be surprised if there is some sort of kick back going on with these two facilities. Be careful when dealing with either one of these companies.
0 comments