Billing

First of all, I apologize to anyone who works in a doctors office, if I sound super critical, but these people just drive me BONKERS!!

So today, I got a call from the billing dept. at the OB's office. I've talked about these fine folks here before. Apparently yesterday, they made me sign something that said I'm going to start paying them XXX amount each month.. to pay for ???? for unexplained, unbilled costs. I said I'd rather not sign it, she said well you can sign & just say your not paying it, so I said fine. Well the billing dept. thinks otherwise, so she called to "explain" it better.. I said well explain away, but I'm at work right now. What I was told yesterday by the receptionist was NOTHING, but sign it.

So she tries to convince me that paying them upfront, before they bill the insurance, that it will be better for me in the long run. I said, well why don't you bill the insurance & I'll pay my copays as I have been, and whatever is left I will pay at the end of the month. She tells me they don't bill the insurance til the end of the pregnancy and then I will get a massive bill. I said well I differ & that I have been paying them fairly so far.. & then it dawned on me, if you aren't billing me til the end of the pregnancy, what I have I been paying you for the last 3 months. She says.. oh well you just found out you were pregnant Aug 15.. I said.. NO.. I found out in June.. I've been in for 3 office visits, & 1 ultrasound.. ( billed as a OB pregnancy ultrasound no less) she says.. no we didn't know you were pregnant til Aug 15.  So I told her again that I was at work & didn't have time to discuss further.. & she wanted to continue I said I'll call you back.( yeah right, like that's going to happen NOT!)

So I called my baby nurse care coordinator at my insurance company.. she tells me when they office declares me "pregnant" ( my office Aug 15) & start billing it as global maternity coverage, I don't get to take advantage of any of the maternity coverage ( no copays, no copays on ultrasounds) Which so far, I've had to pay 100% of these. She tells me that their is no set time that they are required to start billing as Global Maternity. So I fell these billing ladies just completely took advantage of me. Add this to the fact, that they keep transferring billing to the hospital for certain billable services( labs) and it is all screwed up & they take no responsibility, don't apologize, & don't help fix it. I literally spent 2 hours earlier in the week, going back & forth with her & the hospital billing dept. To which I have no resolve yet & she doesn't feel that she did anything wrong/incorrect , to which she tells me wait for your bill to come & see if it's fixed.  First, myself being a business owner & Second working in customer service, I can't fathom telling a client/customer/person wait & see. ( unless we're talking about the rain) I mean for real, you either fixed the issue or you didn't, but don't leave me in the lurch.
I've wrote the practice manager a while back, but never heard back, which tells me their behavior is acceptable, but I don't really want to waste time telling the doctor again, that I wish he was in an office with like minded staff.  The other 6 doctors in the practice are much much more liberal & the staff, from what I gather are more concerned with which "pill" prescriber is bringing lunch in today & what freebies they are giving them.

Sorry all over the place here.. but just very frustrated today.