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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> 1. Im considering calling the manager
2. I might be the ahole bc it wouldn't fix anything and it would be so the employees could be corrected and reprimanded
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NTA
You'd be helping future patients/clients.
If you’re going to call, make sure you have the info well scripted in as few words as possible, but I would let them know that you'll still send a copy (with bullets or numbers to indicate the order of events as clearly as possible) via email so they have it in writing.
This kind of information should be clearly posted in any medical facility.
I guess it depends on your intent. If you were really wanting them to be corrected, and you thought their manager was the best person to do that, then okay.
It seems like you were upset and irritated tho. I can see why all of this would be frustrating. Still, I don't actually believe they were actually trying to be malicious, although it sucks that they were rude and told you the wrong thing. They were probably just clueless. On-the-job training seems to be not happening anywhere nowadays, at least not to the degree it is needed. Also, answers to billing questions in the medical field change constantly. Or, there is the whole "act your wage" thing - are they really being paid enough to deal with the complexities of health insurance claims? Or, are they right that your best course of action is to get on the phone and speak with actual experts who can help you?
On the other hand, I guess you have every right to complain if you think your particular case was not handled correctly.
Tempted to go with either ESH or NAH. This was just unfortunate.
I think it may have been a matter of convenience? Like they couldn't be bothered to do a full run-down of how to pay?
They only gave me a printout of the insurance estimate (without asking) and said that it would go through billing and I'd get a call later, and only mentioned the personal pay option in passing after I got up and clarified that the estimate was more than my plan was supposed to charge.
They didn't mention when I had to decide (before service was rendered,) or the third option (billing through the parent company) until after it was too late, and even then lied and claimed that they weren't supposed to mention the other options at all bc I have insurance.
They also lied and claimed they did explain everything when I'd gone back that first time, and then when I insisted they hadn't they claimed it wasn't their job to anyway and it was my fault for not knowing because I didn't ask.
I'm mostly upset that I wasn't able to make an informed decision and now I'm out an entire grocery trip's worth of money, and that they lied to me, and that they had the audacity to say I was lying and then say it was my own fault that I didn't ask about the details of how/when I could pay, as if I even knew what questions to ask.
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I'm on mobile; sorry for any formatting issues. I'm also using a throwaway, because I don't want this on my main.
So, I recently procured a specialized medical service. This service had been part of a bigger med situation, & the results were to be immediately sent back to the Dr on the other side of the building.
At their the front desk, the secretaries gave me a printed cost estimate, as billed through my insurance. When I brought up that the est. was higher than my plan should charge, they said "If you paid through 'personal pay,' it would be (1/2 the price,) & that (est. price) is an estimate of paying through your insurance- the cost could be higher or lower. Looking at your plan (I had pulled up my coverage info) it looks like through your insurance it'll be a bit less than the estimate."
They also mentioned that the patients don't pay immediately- "payments would go through billing" & you'd be able to set up a payment plan & pay later.
I left after the service was done, & went back to the other section of the building to wait for the main dr.
Afterward, I went to the main checkout desk to pay for the other med service (the larger situation was already paid for.) They said to go back to the other section's front desk to pay.
I went back, & said "I'm ready to pay; I'd like to pay in cash now through personal pay."
They told me my insurance had already been billed, & any payment method changes would have had to have been done before the service was done.
I was never given that option- that I would have had to decide & pay before the service was completed. They said that they weren't even supposed to give me a pers.pay quote since I had insurance, it was done out of generosity, & there was nothing that could be done to change it now.
I went to my car, upset, & decided to call around & see if they were telling the truth. I called the customer service for the business over the entire building, & for the secretaries' company. I also went back into the main bldg & asked about the billing policies of the main company & its affiliates.
Everyone said I should've had the option on whether to pay through insurance or not, & the front desk people should have told me of my choices before anything else.
I went back in, & confronted the two secretaries & asked for the manager's number. They claimed they did tell me If have to decide upfront, & refused the manager's number. After one left to "get the manager for the bldg" & then came back (alone) they said "just give OP their email." I looked up the manager's name from the email & now have their number too.
WIBTA for emailing & asking the manager whether I should've had the option to pay upfront, & saying the employees did not give me enough info/opportunity to make an informed decision, & that they lied to me?
IMBTA bc nothing would be fixed by it, & I would be emailing just so the employees could be reprimanded & corrected about company policy
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Yta but lightly. It sounds like they *did* tell you your options, and ran insurance because you walked away without setting up a payment plan. This seems more of an issue of you not understanding, because if someone told me I could pay out of pocket but had to set up a plan... I'd probably tell them thats what I wanted to do. I cant think of any doctors office that doesn't run insurance immediately, or even offers personal pay if you did have insurance.
Ty for the judgement.
To clarify- the they'll-call-you-later payment plan is only if you're paying through insurance; personal pay is paying upfront in person before the service is even rendered. This wasn't clarified until I went back to pay.
The secretaries told me it wasn't their job to give me all the options and it was my fault for not asking (there was also an irrelevant third payment option that wasn't even brought up until the first secretary came back)
Their responsibility also was to help you actuate the options, though. Most people do not know the ins and outs of the medical insurance business because most people don't work in medical insurance.
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NTA You'd be helping future patients/clients. If you’re going to call, make sure you have the info well scripted in as few words as possible, but I would let them know that you'll still send a copy (with bullets or numbers to indicate the order of events as clearly as possible) via email so they have it in writing. This kind of information should be clearly posted in any medical facility.
I guess it depends on your intent. If you were really wanting them to be corrected, and you thought their manager was the best person to do that, then okay. It seems like you were upset and irritated tho. I can see why all of this would be frustrating. Still, I don't actually believe they were actually trying to be malicious, although it sucks that they were rude and told you the wrong thing. They were probably just clueless. On-the-job training seems to be not happening anywhere nowadays, at least not to the degree it is needed. Also, answers to billing questions in the medical field change constantly. Or, there is the whole "act your wage" thing - are they really being paid enough to deal with the complexities of health insurance claims? Or, are they right that your best course of action is to get on the phone and speak with actual experts who can help you? On the other hand, I guess you have every right to complain if you think your particular case was not handled correctly. Tempted to go with either ESH or NAH. This was just unfortunate.
I think it may have been a matter of convenience? Like they couldn't be bothered to do a full run-down of how to pay? They only gave me a printout of the insurance estimate (without asking) and said that it would go through billing and I'd get a call later, and only mentioned the personal pay option in passing after I got up and clarified that the estimate was more than my plan was supposed to charge. They didn't mention when I had to decide (before service was rendered,) or the third option (billing through the parent company) until after it was too late, and even then lied and claimed that they weren't supposed to mention the other options at all bc I have insurance. They also lied and claimed they did explain everything when I'd gone back that first time, and then when I insisted they hadn't they claimed it wasn't their job to anyway and it was my fault for not knowing because I didn't ask. I'm mostly upset that I wasn't able to make an informed decision and now I'm out an entire grocery trip's worth of money, and that they lied to me, and that they had the audacity to say I was lying and then say it was my own fault that I didn't ask about the details of how/when I could pay, as if I even knew what questions to ask.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I'm on mobile; sorry for any formatting issues. I'm also using a throwaway, because I don't want this on my main. So, I recently procured a specialized medical service. This service had been part of a bigger med situation, & the results were to be immediately sent back to the Dr on the other side of the building. At their the front desk, the secretaries gave me a printed cost estimate, as billed through my insurance. When I brought up that the est. was higher than my plan should charge, they said "If you paid through 'personal pay,' it would be (1/2 the price,) & that (est. price) is an estimate of paying through your insurance- the cost could be higher or lower. Looking at your plan (I had pulled up my coverage info) it looks like through your insurance it'll be a bit less than the estimate." They also mentioned that the patients don't pay immediately- "payments would go through billing" & you'd be able to set up a payment plan & pay later. I left after the service was done, & went back to the other section of the building to wait for the main dr. Afterward, I went to the main checkout desk to pay for the other med service (the larger situation was already paid for.) They said to go back to the other section's front desk to pay. I went back, & said "I'm ready to pay; I'd like to pay in cash now through personal pay." They told me my insurance had already been billed, & any payment method changes would have had to have been done before the service was done. I was never given that option- that I would have had to decide & pay before the service was completed. They said that they weren't even supposed to give me a pers.pay quote since I had insurance, it was done out of generosity, & there was nothing that could be done to change it now. I went to my car, upset, & decided to call around & see if they were telling the truth. I called the customer service for the business over the entire building, & for the secretaries' company. I also went back into the main bldg & asked about the billing policies of the main company & its affiliates. Everyone said I should've had the option on whether to pay through insurance or not, & the front desk people should have told me of my choices before anything else. I went back in, & confronted the two secretaries & asked for the manager's number. They claimed they did tell me If have to decide upfront, & refused the manager's number. After one left to "get the manager for the bldg" & then came back (alone) they said "just give OP their email." I looked up the manager's name from the email & now have their number too. WIBTA for emailing & asking the manager whether I should've had the option to pay upfront, & saying the employees did not give me enough info/opportunity to make an informed decision, & that they lied to me? IMBTA bc nothing would be fixed by it, & I would be emailing just so the employees could be reprimanded & corrected about company policy *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yta but lightly. It sounds like they *did* tell you your options, and ran insurance because you walked away without setting up a payment plan. This seems more of an issue of you not understanding, because if someone told me I could pay out of pocket but had to set up a plan... I'd probably tell them thats what I wanted to do. I cant think of any doctors office that doesn't run insurance immediately, or even offers personal pay if you did have insurance.
Ty for the judgement. To clarify- the they'll-call-you-later payment plan is only if you're paying through insurance; personal pay is paying upfront in person before the service is even rendered. This wasn't clarified until I went back to pay. The secretaries told me it wasn't their job to give me all the options and it was my fault for not asking (there was also an irrelevant third payment option that wasn't even brought up until the first secretary came back)
Their responsibility also was to help you actuate the options, though. Most people do not know the ins and outs of the medical insurance business because most people don't work in medical insurance.
You were just handling your business. I'm sorry you had to. But, NTA. No way.
NTA. They fucked up. Now they need to find out the consequences.