darkrib400
Junior Member
Hi, I'm from PA and searching for an answer to my question.
In March I was 21 having back problems. I was still under my parents insurance through their work and told them that I wanted to go to a Chiropractor. They picked out out that was a preferred provider and made an appointment. I went to him three times in March and paid the $15 co-pay each time. In between those three appointments and after the last one I got called several times by the secretary telling me that my appointment had been canceled. The Doctor's father was dying so it was understandable. About five appointments got canceled and my back was starting to hurt more and more so I told my dad that I wanted to go to another Chiropractor. Another reason for this urgency was that my insurance would expire at the end of April (due to me turning 22 at the end of March and the insurance covering me for an extra 30 days) so we wanted to get me treated while I was still covered and the co-pays were still cheap. The doctor and at least one of his secretaries was aware of this fact.
Afterward, my dad called the first Doctor up, left a message, and canceled my appointment and stating that all further appointments would be canceled. I got an appointment with another Chiropractor the next day. We informed him that our health plan only allowed 12 visits and we already used three, but he said that we could just pay the $15 co-pay after our insurance wouldn't pay anymore and it wouldn't be a problem. He did hold true to his word, only charging me $15 for the visits until I got different health insurance.
In late August, we started getting statements from the insurance from the first Chiropractor, then we got a few more in September. A few weeks ago I got a letter saying that my insurance visits for spinal manipulation have been exhausted and that I owed them $240, but as a courtesy the doctor agreed to only charge me $156.
Basically what happened was, they submitted the bills to the insurance way late and the second Chiropractor that I visited used up all 12 visits on the plan, when I thought that he would have only used up the nine that I thought were remaining. My dad went into their office the other day to try to resolve this but he said that the secretaries weren't being helpful and claimed that they had one year to submit the bills to the insurance. That may be true; however, the only reason that I went to this Doctor is because he is a preferred provider and I would only have to pay the co-pay. I would have never went to him otherwise. Considering that had his secretaries submitted the bills when I had my treatment (or even when I canceled all future visits), and I only went there because I only expected a co-pay, am I still liable for this bill? Would I have a shot in small claims court?
I know you could argue that I would have had to pay the other doctor anyway, but he only charged me the $15 co-pay after my visits expired so that argument doesn't work. Thanks for any help in advance.
In March I was 21 having back problems. I was still under my parents insurance through their work and told them that I wanted to go to a Chiropractor. They picked out out that was a preferred provider and made an appointment. I went to him three times in March and paid the $15 co-pay each time. In between those three appointments and after the last one I got called several times by the secretary telling me that my appointment had been canceled. The Doctor's father was dying so it was understandable. About five appointments got canceled and my back was starting to hurt more and more so I told my dad that I wanted to go to another Chiropractor. Another reason for this urgency was that my insurance would expire at the end of April (due to me turning 22 at the end of March and the insurance covering me for an extra 30 days) so we wanted to get me treated while I was still covered and the co-pays were still cheap. The doctor and at least one of his secretaries was aware of this fact.
Afterward, my dad called the first Doctor up, left a message, and canceled my appointment and stating that all further appointments would be canceled. I got an appointment with another Chiropractor the next day. We informed him that our health plan only allowed 12 visits and we already used three, but he said that we could just pay the $15 co-pay after our insurance wouldn't pay anymore and it wouldn't be a problem. He did hold true to his word, only charging me $15 for the visits until I got different health insurance.
In late August, we started getting statements from the insurance from the first Chiropractor, then we got a few more in September. A few weeks ago I got a letter saying that my insurance visits for spinal manipulation have been exhausted and that I owed them $240, but as a courtesy the doctor agreed to only charge me $156.
Basically what happened was, they submitted the bills to the insurance way late and the second Chiropractor that I visited used up all 12 visits on the plan, when I thought that he would have only used up the nine that I thought were remaining. My dad went into their office the other day to try to resolve this but he said that the secretaries weren't being helpful and claimed that they had one year to submit the bills to the insurance. That may be true; however, the only reason that I went to this Doctor is because he is a preferred provider and I would only have to pay the co-pay. I would have never went to him otherwise. Considering that had his secretaries submitted the bills when I had my treatment (or even when I canceled all future visits), and I only went there because I only expected a co-pay, am I still liable for this bill? Would I have a shot in small claims court?
I know you could argue that I would have had to pay the other doctor anyway, but he only charged me the $15 co-pay after my visits expired so that argument doesn't work. Thanks for any help in advance.
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