4/13/21 phone conversation with patient services

 around 3 pm spoke on the phone for the second time with 'Patient Services' representative, "Neil" at Legacy Health Good Samaritan. 

Asked about how to acquire a copy of recorded phone transcript from previous conversation (March 23rd, I believe) to which he told me that our conversations are not recorded for the protection of patient-privacy purposes. 

Asked if it is standard procedure to unknowingly usher patients that present with no acute distress into the emergency department with the only reasoning being that the requested department (Urgent Care) is not yet open for business. He quickly replied "yes" to this question but it seemed like he was trying to follow up that response with a "we cannot turn a patient away" approach.  I keep telling them that informing a patient of the hours of operation for different departments is not 'turning away a patient.' 

When the sole service that a patient is requesting (and is in no acute distress) is a routine vaccine, I am dumbfounded to think that it is standard to triage that person into an emergency room, bill it as a level 3/4 cpt service charge, request a physician to visit the patient just so they can tell the nurse that said patient is fine, and leave the patient sitting in the dark as to any of these decisions being made on their behalf.

He mentioned that perhaps if I had a different insurance plan or smaller deductible then we wouldn't be having this conversation. Neil, just like "Scott," the billing department supervisor that I spoke with on 4/8/21, kept referring to the fact that Neil had applied an unrequested $500 discount to my bill. Neil also mentioned the payment plans and debt forgiveness programs that are offered by Legacy Health.  I felt it odd that I was being constantly ushered towards financial assistance plans and offered discounts on a bill when I have never expressed even the slightest concern or mention regarding the individual or overall prices of services or materials. 

My plea is not about the pricing but they quite diligently only want to steer the conversation towards how 'we' can get this bill paid.  

I have been waiting for several phone conversations and several weeks for someone to tell me why I, the patient, am only person that isn't let privy of when there is a comparatively drastic increase in my personal financial liabilities when unnecessary services are being unknowingly issued. 

This is rediculous taht I have to continue to await a return call from one individual who has already given me the runaround regarding what is a simple fix for what I had initially deemed to be an honest mistake on their part. The fact that everyone I talk to expresses clear empathy for my scenario, even the Nurse Auditor, Sarah W., acknowledged that she "regrets that this wasn't communicated to me." I mean, right there, they acknowledge fault and I am left in the same place, pleading that they correct my bill.  

This sort of dodgy and misleading service and subsequent refusal to make it right would not be tolerated in the simple setting of the restaurant I am employed by. Suppose someone orders a 'well' vodka martini and the bar has run out of well vodka, if the bartender decides to continue making the drink but chooses a more expensive top-shelf vodka and never tells the customer of this change yet adds the higher priced booze to the final bill, guess who will be paying for that vodka in the end?