ComplaintsforSwedish Health Services
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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
04/03/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
My son broke his arm and we went to Swedish in *******. After asking if they take Regence, they said yes and x-rayed and splinted him. I got a bill for 100% of the charges. My insurance said they should have writtein off some and taken in network billing but then they said the provider that he saw was not in network. after calling them and asking to talk about my bill and i was happy to pay some but should not have to pay 100% they said they would talk to a supervisor and get back to me. I then said please don't send me to collections which she said she would make sure it didn't happen. Today I got a collection notice and Swedish will not do anything about it! they said i owe the whole thing and to basically pound sand. now, not only do i have to pay the whole thing but they also are dinging my credit! they don't care about people and make money hand over fist and just flat out lied to me multiple times and say they don't have to help me! they should be held responsible!Business response
04/12/2024
Dear BBB,
Thank you for this communication. A Providence Health and Services/Swedish Health Services representative spoke with the account guarantor early today April 12,2024. Our representative did confirm that the patient's insurance is out of network. As a resolution to this concern, we have returned the account from the agency and have applied an adjustment to the account in question as a gesture of good will.
The account guarantor has agreed to pay the remaining balance and we believe this issue is now resolved.
We apologize for any inconvenience to the guarantor in their resolution of this matter.
Please let us know if you need anything else.
Sincerely,
*********************
Customer Experience Manager
Providence Health and Services/Swedish Health Services
Initial Complaint
01/11/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
13 visits to ************************ MD, a pain specialist at Swedish Hospital ******* mis-coded the visits as independent acupuncture vendor instead of a MD office visit. The cost difference was substantial as the ******** Advantage PPO coverage with *************** is responsible for an MD service but not for an independent (non-MD) acupuncturist.We have contacted ***** and Swedish about the billing and coding error a month ago so they are aware of the billing error but apparently have not made any adjustment. We are getting overdue payment notices requesting we call them. We have left messages as they do not answer the phone. The recording says leave a number and they will call back - we do but they never call. There is no email address to send docs or requests.***********************, ***************************' husband is handling this issue for her. Please respond to *********************** regarding this issueBusiness response
01/19/2024
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for this communication. A Providence/Swedish Health Services representative spoke to our patient's spouse on 1/18/2024. During the call, our representative outlined steps we have taken to resolve this billing issue for our patient.
Billing for the accounts in question have been placed on hold pending review. Our patient's spouse has direct contact information to reach our representative if they should have any questions in the interim.
We apologize for any inconvenience to our patient in their resolution of this concern.
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Sincerely,
*********************
Customer Experience Manager
Providence Health and Services/Swedish Health Services
Customer response
01/20/2024
Complaint: 21127823
I am rejecting this response because: I did have a conversation with *** at Swedish Business Office. She said they would evaluate all the past year charges with others including the DR. and the insurance company then get back to me with an answer to the complaint. She promised to contact me weekly regarding any adjustment decisions. When she gets back to me with a response with detail and resolution regarding the over payments I will update. Until then this remains an open claim.
Sincerely,
************************* / ***********************Initial Complaint
12/28/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
Every time I have an appointment I'm waiting 45 min or longer to be seen. Front desk very rudeInitial Complaint
12/26/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
Swedish urgent care in downtown ******* had informed me that the visit in ******* was complimentary but then billed my **** card $209. This was highly illegal fraud on Swedish part no written contract and I reported to WA board in 2022 as well. Representative had told me via email and phone that will refund the $209 error billing in 2022 however I never received the check.Initial Complaint
12/03/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
I have a yearly health check appointment on 11/2/2023. This complaint is not for the service but the billing. The front desk gives a form to sign that I cannot discuss any new symptom or I will be charged before the visit. However, the issue of the form is to regulate the patent, not the doctor. During the visit, doctor asks many questions so I answered but I didn't ask a single question regarding my underlining issues since I fully understand what I signed. I am no medical expert to know which part I answered will be charged or not and therefore, it is a surprised charged when I see the bill. I believed I am not the only one encounter such issue since I recognized the change of the form over time. Instead of regulating the patient, why not regulate doctor to state when the charge starts. It will be a clean cut between doctor and patient agreement and I don't need to worry about what questions I should answer to not.Business response
12/15/2023
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for this communication. A Providence Health and Services/Swedish Medical Group Representative spoke to our patient by phone earlier today. We discussed with our patient their concerns for the date of service in question. Our Representative provided some information that helped to clarify the coding of this date of service and for future visits of this nature. As a courtesy, our representative has made an adjustment to our patients account and our patient indicated their satisfaction with this resolution.
We thank our patient for their feedback and apologize for any inconvenience in their resolution of this matter.
Please let us know if you need anything else.
Sincerely,
*********************
Customer Experience Manager
********** Health and Services
Customer response
12/17/2023
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.
Sincerely,
********************Initial Complaint
12/03/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
I visited Swedish ******** for an annual mammogram in September 28, 2023 and because it was a yearly exam and covered by insurance, i made sure to speak with both the receptionist and the one who took the procedure to really code it correctly because I have read quite a few complaints about Swedish not coding correctly and have wrongly charged their customers. As expected, they coded the procedure wrong, I got a bill from both Swedish and Radia. ***** refuses to pay for it because the code is incorrect and did not indicate that it was a yearly check-up. I called their billing specialist and I was told that the account is put on hold and on review. The representative told me that because there were other parameters performed, it should be coded differently and not a yearly exam which is why i got charged. How am I to know that? Since i am the one paying, its Swedish responsibility to tell their customer "by the way, you are here for yearly mammo but because of additional findings,you would have to pay for this procedure." The procedure itself is already very traumatic and being charged wrongly iis too much of a burden. I have been calling one every two weeks and Swedish is completely unsympathetic of their clients, in fact, when I called for the fourth time, i was told "hold process" takes 60 days and if not resplved, the bill would go to collections. According to them, there is no way to expedite the process, meaning I would just wait until the bill will go to collections and deal with it myself. I would be willing to pay if it was something that was done correctly and I was informed 100% what the stakes were. Had I known, and been informed about the whole procedure not being considered a yearly mammogram that is covered by my insurance, I would have gone somewhere else. This is complete misinformation and forcing the customer to pay due to a mistake that was made. I feel like customers dont have any choice and would just have to pay because theres nothing they could do.Customer response
12/04/2023
This morning I received the letter from Swedish stating that if the overdue account is not paid, it will go to collections. I did not want to jeopardize my credit because of the mistake made by Swedish so I temporarily arranged a payment plan so my account will not be flagged. I hope that this will not mean that Swedish will just forget about the issue and will not review my claim. I really feel like I am being singled out and this is completely unacceptable. Their hold process takes 60 days, they send accounts to collections 60 days from overdue notice, after the hold process, they would need to contact my insurance company and the process will take longer than 60 days, so basically they are forcing customers to pay by sending them to collections without having any choice.Business response
12/05/2023
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for this communication. A Representative from ********** Health and Services/Swedish Health Services spoke to our patient by phone recently. Our Representative did let our patient know the services were correctly coded. However, we do apologize she was given some incorrect information. As a resolution, we have made a courtesy adjustment to the account which was satisfactory to our patient and has resolved this concern.
Please let us know if you need anything else.
Sincerely,
*********************
Providence Health and Services
Customer Experience Manager
Customer response
12/05/2023
Better Business Bureau:A representative from Swedish contacted me and explained the whole situation in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
DDInitial Complaint
08/10/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Answered
My family has been using Swedish health services for our healthcare but have had a really bad experience with their billing department. My wife had a visit on April 4th 2023 for which our ** pay was ****** and then another on June 2nd with a ** pay of ******. I sent payment for both bills via my HSA provider and these checks were cashed by Swedish on May 16 and June 30th respectively. I have **ntinued to receive past due notices from Swedish and have **ntacted them twice via their call center to resolve the issue. They have refused to help, claiming that they have multiple departments, and that the payments must have gone to a department they don't talk to, and it would be too difficult to resolve and are still demanding payment. Their supervisor was also very **ndescending and rude to the point that i had to hang up and file a fraudulent debit claim against Swedish via my HSA provider. I would like Swedish to either accept the payment they have already debited from my ac**unt or return those funds so that I don't have to double pay.Business response
08/15/2023
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for this notification. A Swedish Health Services representative spoke with the complainant on August 15th 2023 to discuss this concern.
During the conversation, it was agreed that our patient would continue their dispute with their HSA company. We will place the Swedish accounts in question on hold, pending the outcome of that dispute. Our representative will follow up with the complainant once the dispute is resolved to resume billing for these accounts.
We are very sorry that our patient's calls to our office were less than satisfactory and we apologize for any inconvenience in their resolution this matter.
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Sincerely,
*********************
Customer Experience Manager
Providence Health and Services/Swedish Health Services.
Initial Complaint
07/25/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I was in the hospital on July 17,2023 till July 19,2023 while there they performed safety check on personal property for having a legal vape pen in the process of the search my wallet came up missing even though I said I didn't want them to evade my space they threaten to put me out of hospital so I had to comply while I was passed out and when I awoke I had a nurse guarding my personal belongings than security came I was in the hospital for my heart and was in fear for my health not even knowing how my vape pen was even found since it was in my things I believe they went through my stuff without my permission while I lost my wallet all I'd and the cash that was in there which I don't understand I know my wallet was there for I used credit card when I checked in and for whatever reason they threw away a pack of cigarettes for no reason I believe they stepped over the lineBusiness response
07/31/2023
The patient is referring to the Swedish Medical Center in the *******, ** area; however, this complaint has been placed under the Swedish Medical Center in the ****** ******** area (*********, **). We are not affiliated. Please correct this error. Thank you very much.Business response
08/11/2023
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for this communication. A Swedish Hospital Nursing Manager spoke with our patient to discuss this concern. Our representative did let our patient know that ii is unlikely that the item will be found.
Swedish Health Services apologizes to our patient for this issue and any inconvenience in their resolution of this concern.
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Sincerely,
*********************
Customer Experience Manager
Providence Health and Services
Initial Complaint
07/24/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
2 nurses( one is a head nurse and one is a floor nurse) ******** and **** were very rude to me and trying to stress me out even more than I already am! They have no bedside manner and they slam my door when they walk out. They change the rules everytime they come ******** and Im ready to either be transferred or go home! I cant take the stress from these two nurses and this is the second time theyve come ******** together and changed all the rules and raise their voice at me and all my scheduled meds are late when they are ********! 07/24/2023Business response
07/25/2023
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for this notification. This patient feedback has been forward to the Swedish Medical Center Nursing leadership for follow up. We thank our patient for their feedback.
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Sincerely,
*********************
Customer Experience Manager
Providence Health and Services/Swedish Health Services
Initial Complaint
06/13/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
On or about December 10th, I recieved a check from Swedish Health Services in the amount of approximately $2200.00. Other than the check which was written to me, there was no other information contained within the envelope. Unfortunately I am just learning about the checks existance because I was out of state for the entire month. My check has been stolen and cashed by an unknown person. I was told by someone that I know that the person who cashed the check told them about it or otherwise I never would have found out about it. I am curious about why I was sent the check in the first place and how they could send such amounts to people in an unexplained manner, leaving us to become victims. I could use that money right now for a myriad of things and for them to send it like they did, it only shows that they still don't care about their patients. I cannot begin to express my level of disappointment in their lack of care and the reality is that these hopsital and medical offices are just one more example of big business making their billions on the poor and the throwing them out once we have nothing left Swedish used to be know as the top hospitals in the region. They went from one special hospital in ******* to hospital and medical offices serving all over the **** Wishing they would have remained a small hospital so that I could find out what exactly my check was for? No one I have spoken to within the company can seem to tell me what this was for and if I can get the fraud investigated so that I can get the money that is rightfully mine.Regards,********************* ****Business response
06/23/2023
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for this communication. We have reviewed our patient's account and have determined that the refund check, issued in December 2022, has not been cashed. We have void that check and are in process of re-issuing a new refund check to our patient. We have reached out to our patient to update on this status.
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Sincerely,
*********************
Customer Experience Manager
Providence Health and Services
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Customer Complaints Summary
31 total complaints in the last 3 years.
15 complaints closed in the last 12 months.