Chloe Stevens
Latest Reviews
My husband was referred to a GE for colonoscopy by his primary care physician due to his family history even though he is below age 40. When I called Mt. Sinai to schedule his appointment I asked if the office visit will be covered by insurance (not the procedure, the office visit). I gave them my husband's name, DOB, insurance info, and the reason for making the appointment as they asked me to tell them before they can do anything including answering my question. Then I was told yes it will be covered after I gave all those information. So I scheduled him to see Dr.Itzkowitz at this hospital. And the visit took place.
After the visit we got two bills: one from the doctor's office and one from the hospital totaling OVER $500. Initially I was told the hospital put in the wrong coding for the insurance, but that wasn't it. It took me about 20 phone calls between 4 different Mt. Sinai numbers and to the insurance to figure out that what went wrong is the person who scheduled the visit gave me the wrong information.
So I let both the doctor's office and the hospital billing know this was due to the wrong info I was given by the hospital staff- why would anybody schedule a visit that would cost over $500 for a short office visit if they knew, when they can go see another doctor just as good for $60 co-pay and nothing else?
The doctor's office kept repeating the coding is correct and not even responding to me and my husband repeatedly telling them that us given the wrong info when I called to schedule the appointment is the issue we have. And get this, the hospital billing is saying the doctor's office and the hospital are two different businesses and the doctor's office has no responsibility to inform us about the separate hospital bill which is over $300 and has no authority to say I don't have to pay the hospital bill. When I asked whose responsibility it is to tell patients they also have to deal with additional hospital fee when patients ask about the cost of the office visit, the answer I got from the hospital billing was 'I don't know whose responsibility it is but it's not the doctor's office or the hospital billing's responsibility.' Whaaaaaat?
I also had colonoscopy scheduled with the same doctor at this place (I am fully covered due to my age) and because this left a very bad taste in our mouths we messaged the doctor asking to cancel both our colonoscopy appointments (they habitually don't return your calls so my husband messaged the doctor directly). The next day I called the hospital to make sure our appointments are canceled, and guess what? The call did not go through. I called many times and different departments and the phone doesn't even ring. I asked my husband to call to test same thing. But when the call was made from two different phone numbers the hospital does not have on record, both times the call went through. So I had to use someone else's number to cancel the colonoscopy appointments for us which BTW was not canceled as requested.
I am trying to find out if it's legal for hospitals to deny phone calls from their patients. To conveniently block our phone calls when they know we want to cancel our procedure appointments sound illegal to me. And I recorded my call not going through but someone else's call going through.
There are similar complaints about all the hospitals in NYC, but Mt. Sinai is particularly bad. I wish I read all the reviews for Mt. Sinai before making the appointment, especially reviews written by former employees who went to the hospital thinking it was as good as it used to be a long time ago only to find out how bad the hospital had become.
This is a city full of medical talents. Do not go to Mt. Sinai based on their old reputation. Beware that seeing a doctor, even a good one, at a hospital means there's hospital charge in addition and Mt. Sinai will do anything and everything to make you pay even for the costs that you didn't even know about.
After the visit we got two bills: one from the doctor's office and one from the hospital totaling OVER $500. Initially I was told the hospital put in the wrong coding for the insurance, but that wasn't it. It took me about 20 phone calls between 4 different Mt. Sinai numbers and to the insurance to figure out that what went wrong is the person who scheduled the visit gave me the wrong information.
So I let both the doctor's office and the hospital billing know this was due to the wrong info I was given by the hospital staff- why would anybody schedule a visit that would cost over $500 for a short office visit if they knew, when they can go see another doctor just as good for $60 co-pay and nothing else?
The doctor's office kept repeating the coding is correct and not even responding to me and my husband repeatedly telling them that us given the wrong info when I called to schedule the appointment is the issue we have. And get this, the hospital billing is saying the doctor's office and the hospital are two different businesses and the doctor's office has no responsibility to inform us about the separate hospital bill which is over $300 and has no authority to say I don't have to pay the hospital bill. When I asked whose responsibility it is to tell patients they also have to deal with additional hospital fee when patients ask about the cost of the office visit, the answer I got from the hospital billing was 'I don't know whose responsibility it is but it's not the doctor's office or the hospital billing's responsibility.' Whaaaaaat?
I also had colonoscopy scheduled with the same doctor at this place (I am fully covered due to my age) and because this left a very bad taste in our mouths we messaged the doctor asking to cancel both our colonoscopy appointments (they habitually don't return your calls so my husband messaged the doctor directly). The next day I called the hospital to make sure our appointments are canceled, and guess what? The call did not go through. I called many times and different departments and the phone doesn't even ring. I asked my husband to call to test same thing. But when the call was made from two different phone numbers the hospital does not have on record, both times the call went through. So I had to use someone else's number to cancel the colonoscopy appointments for us which BTW was not canceled as requested.
I am trying to find out if it's legal for hospitals to deny phone calls from their patients. To conveniently block our phone calls when they know we want to cancel our procedure appointments sound illegal to me. And I recorded my call not going through but someone else's call going through.
There are similar complaints about all the hospitals in NYC, but Mt. Sinai is particularly bad. I wish I read all the reviews for Mt. Sinai before making the appointment, especially reviews written by former employees who went to the hospital thinking it was as good as it used to be a long time ago only to find out how bad the hospital had become.
This is a city full of medical talents. Do not go to Mt. Sinai based on their old reputation. Beware that seeing a doctor, even a good one, at a hospital means there's hospital charge in addition and Mt. Sinai will do anything and everything to make you pay even for the costs that you didn't even know about.