ComplaintsforSumma Health System

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This complaint has to do with three medical charges for the same exact procedure since July 6th of last year. Once I got my own insurance in June of 2023 I went to my appointment and asked if they new my insurance had changed. I gave them my insurance card and they never had me sign a good faith estimate nor did they tell me the pricing would be any different than it has been. Even if they were to say they had me sign one, I was prescribed medicine that would leave me legally unable to sign with consent. I received the first bill of $786 which I signed up for a payment plan for, was surprised by the amount but knew my insurance wasn't as great as my previous plan through my Father. The second bill I got on Oct 5th 2023, was the same and was pending insurance for a couple of months. I brought this up to the staff and my insurance to no resolve. I mentioned the situation to two unaffiliated medical providers I see and they mentioned that I should have gotten a good faith estimate as soon as my insurance changed. I brought this up and it was ignored. I then received a bill for my most recent procedure and it was rated at $1,946. I immediately contacted my providers office at Summa Urology on ** **** ****** ***** ** and they said they would look into it. The bills from July and February were taken off. I figured that was the resolution since again I've never signed a good faith estimate at this office. I then noticed they were both back on my bill and it was all the same as before. I've been attempting to reach an Ombudsman in order to help me resolve this but I have had no luck. I've canceled all future appointments with this office because I don't feel as though I'm being treated fairly or with any amount of concern in regards to billing. My provider Dr. Casey has been amazing and so has his assistant that helped with the procedures. My summa account is under Forest ******** my legal name is **** ******** birthdate ******** for verification purposes

  

  Business response

  03/15/2024

  I have filed a formal complaint with the Practice Manager and Director of the Urology office. In addition, I have alerted our billing administrators to the issue. 

  Thank you,

  Sheri Eichorn

  Customer response

  03/24/2024

   I am rejecting this response because: I have yet to hear anything from summa, whom I and the complaints director for Summa (the woman who has responded to BBB complaint) have filed against. The bill from Summa has now increased even more with the incorrect charge of 1900 dollars still pending insurance. 
  
  
  

  

  Business response

  03/25/2024

  We have reviewed the complaint and we appreciate the opportunity to investigate what happened. We are sorry that he is unhappy with his experience. Often times insurance can be confusing for patients. It is the responsibility of the patient to know their insurance coverage for various procedures. A prior authorization is only for general coverage by the insurance company and does not determine the patient’s responsibility – that is determined by the patient’s specific health insurance plan and their deductible, co-payment and co-insurance amounts.  Good faith estimates required under the No Surprises Act are not required for patients who are using insurance towards a procedure but can be requested.  *************************************** The patient had not requested an estimate. Again, we are sorry he is unhappy with his experience but upon review, all charges and patient’s responsibility are accurate. 

  

  Business response

  04/01/2024

  Originally submitted to BBB on 3/25/2024:

  We have reviewed the complaint and we appreciate the opportunity to investigate what happened. We are sorry that he is unhappy with his experience. Often times insurance can be confusing for patients. It is the responsibility of the patient to know their insurance coverage for various procedures. A prior authorization is only for general coverage by the insurance company and does not determine the patient’s responsibility – that is determined by the patient’s specific health insurance plan and their deductible, co-payment and co-insurance amounts.  Good faith estimates required under the No Surprises Act are not required for patients who are using insurance towards a procedure but can be requested.  *************************************** The patient had not requested an estimate. Again, we are sorry he is unhappy with his experience but upon review, all charges and patient’s responsibility are accurate. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  i have been calling about this since October 2023. We accidentally paid a prepayment on July 28 of $51.91 for our dad's medical visit. Summa split that payment and applied it to 2 separate bills. We got one of the bills rectified with a credit of **** returned to us. The other amount $28.94 was applied to a 9/5/23 visit. The *** states we only owed $3.54 thus Summa owes us $25.40 back. I keep being told that this has been submitted to higher *** and to give it a few weeks more. Unfortunately also, anyone who tries to call my phone from Summa cant seem to get through to me. Thus why I keep calling them for resolution. I JUST called and left all the info again with the billing department. This has to be my 20th call about this issue. It's obvious to me when you see the *** and the bill from 9/5 where the refund is to go. Why it takes months for this refund but hours for the other refund is beyond me. I am angry and frustrated by the Summa billing system. Note my father lives in **** but the zipcode you asked for is ******* as thats where I live and thats the zip code on his bills

  

  Business response

  01/16/2024

  We have called the patient and left several messages to discuss the issue but have not received a return call. We will update our response if you responds. 

  

  Business response

  01/16/2024

  We have spoken to the patient and have now resolved the issue. 

  Customer response

  01/17/2024

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  They responded quickly and the issue was rectified quickly!   Appreciate the help BBB!!

• Initial Complaint

  07/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My father ***** ********** (now deceased) was in Summa Barberton 9/20/22 to 9/24/22. We were erronously billed by Summa Health for $1556 - a charge that our insurance compandy and EOB clearly state is in error. I first called and was told we owed mothing. I got a second bill months later in March and called again and was told they would send the concern to a manager. I have also called and left a message for a manager. I have filled out their on line form. Now, almost months later, I have yet to hear back from anyone. In the meantime they sent the bill to collections - and I am having to gather the EOB and other information to provide it to that agency as well. I simply cannot understand why no one at Summa Health will return my call and address the issue. They have clearly made a billing error. Our insurance company - United Health - has said they would be happy to take a call for Summa and explain their error. I would be happy to take a call or email and explain their error but I literally cannot get anyone at Summa to respond in any way. As you can imagine on top of my father's death in October in a Summa hospital, and all that involves, having this unsettled issue hanging over the family is causing a great deal of stress.

  

  Business response

  07/24/2023

  We will reach out to our billing department and have this looked into then provide another response. Thank you. 

  

  Business response

  08/01/2023

  I have reviewed account and adjusted the balance to zero.  

  I do apologize for the inconvenience.  

  Sincerely,

  **** *******

  System Director, Patient Billing

• Initial Complaint

  07/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been trying to resolve my medical bill for well over 8 months now and I am going around in circle with the constant threat of collections. Months and month of phones calls and I am not getting anywhere. We have Medical Mutual as out primary insurance and Standard Life as our secondary insurance. We have an issue that Summa is not sending 80% of our bills to our secondary insurance company. Some have been successfully sent though. Last month I even got my insurance to have a conference call with the billing department and I was assured it was all resolved. This month a bill again and sent to collections. I just want to pay ASAP, but the bill needs to be sent through my secondary insurance first and calculated correctly Email is the best way to contact me Guarantor No. ******

  

  Business response

  07/25/2023

  Hello,   

  I want to thank Ms. ******* for bringing this issue to my attention.   

  The problem we were having with adding the 2ndy insurance is that when we attempted to verify the coverage electronically Standard Life did not provide a response.

  We should have verified coverage manually by calling Standard life. My apologies for this error.  Your 2ndy has been added.

  You were also approved for 85% charity discount per Summa Health's financial assistance policy.  The adjustments have been applied.

  Thank you,

  **** *******

  Summa Health System

  Director, Patient Billing. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩