Good Care, Bad Admin Practices
I am appreciative of the care I've received at UCHealth, but their appointment scheduling has some clear issues and their estimate/billing practices are deceptive. With this large of an organization, you just get a shoulder shrug if you voice a concern on either of these topics. Appointments - I've now had at least 2 appointments within the UCHealth system where I've shown up at the time/place communicated on the phone and been told I don't have an appointment. I was told I need to get the app so that can verify the appointment actually "took" in the system. I will do this in the future, but if this is such a common occurrence it seems something on the provider end is needed as well. Billing Issues - I've also now had 3-4 procedures in a row where I have checked the estimate provided by UCHealth before services and the actual bill is off wildly because on the estimate it was coded as preventative care and it actually gets billed as Diagonostic. When I ask, I get the reply "Unfortunately, the information provided is an estimate and not a guarantee of the final billing charges." But if the estimate is based on the referred service, are they estimating the wrong service or performing the wrong service? Each time if I had known the referral wasn't for my annual wellness service, I would have asked for the referral to be rewritten, but since the estimates are misleading me into thinking the referral is correct, I'm stuck with $1000s in unexpected out-of-pocket expenses. Alternatively, the referral is for my wellness service and the procedures are being billed inconsistent with the referral. Neither alternative is ok.
By Sara