Money hungry, evasive, crooks! I’m writing this review in regards to the office/billing staff employed at the Mercerville location of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery of Central NJ. I have 3 wisdom teeth – 1 upper, 2 lower. The upper tooth has cut through the gum line already, rendering it ineligible for medical insurance coverage. It must be covered through my Delta Dental insurance. The bottom 2 teeth, still being beneath the gums, are eligible to be covered through medical insurance I have Horizon BCBS insurance). I called OMSCNJ due to a recommendation from my dentist and colleague. When I called to make the appointment for my consultation, I was assured by the receptionist that both of my insurance plans were accepted there. Stupid me, I took their word. Upon arrival, I found it quite odd that the front desk employee was insistent upon taking both of my insurance plans (Delta & Horizon) and was rapidly assuring me that I would be covered.
My “consultation” was little more than a 3 second prodding in my mouth, followed by viewing the x-ray film that I TOOK WITH ME to the office! They never took any x-rays, and didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know, but this consult is mandatory for the procedure. After this brief ‘consultation,’ I went to another desk where an employee reviewed all of the pre-surgery procedures as well as billing with me. It was at this point that I realized I was being lied to (by a matter of omission) the entire time! Yes, they accepted Delta….but they only ‘accepted’ Horizon via out-of network, which would have left me with a $100 co-pay and 30% of the several thousand dollar bill on surgery day! Immediately, I declined to sign for my surgery. However, these crooks STILL billed my dental insurance for the $156 “consultation” which apparently is billed the same way as a regular dental exam/cleaning!!! This now means the following for me:
1. My afternoon was wasted at this unneeded ‘consultation’. I now need to find and in-network oral surgeon because I stupidly believed the receptionist over the phone when I made the appointment at Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery of Central NJ when she told me that my Horizon Insurance would be fine at this practice
2. Now, whenever I manage to get an appointment at a new surgeon, I will be responsible for paying whatever their consultation fee is out-of-pocket, since the “consultation” (which, again, was nothing more than looking at x-ray film that I BROUGHT with me and already knew all about) at Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery of Central NJ counts as one of my 2 yearly ‘exams’!!! (and I already had a cleaning earlier in the year, so I now have used up my 2!)
3. My dental insurance has a $1000 yearly cap, which goes REALLY quickly. I have already used half of it this year on a cleaning and 2 cavities. Now, the $156 ‘consultation fee’ at Dr. Bradley’s will put me at close to 65% of my cap… AND I STILL need to get my top wisdom tooth pulled this year, which gets billed to dental, which will DEFINITELY put me over my $1000 cap
My lesson is learned – never again trust medical office staff, and suck up the loooooong waiting times on Horizon BCBS customer service hotlines to confirm that offices are in network.
The Mercerville office of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery of Central NJ, however, should learn their lesson as well – they should be ashamed of the deceitful nature of their staff. While they never directly lied to me (after all, my medical insurance IS accepted there….just only a percentage of it), I consider their actions to be a lie of omission – they KNEW I was out of network when they took my info over the phone for the appointment, and they KNEW I was out of network when I handed over my insurance card at the front desk to be photocopied, and they WAITED until after the consult to tell me that I was out of network. Shame on you for being so deceitful and I will be CERTAIN to share my experience with anyone looking for an oral surgeon (and being a teacher, we rely VERY heavily on recommendation from colleagues, both for ourselves, and our kids…)
by meg nobo
xxx.xxx.68.37
May 13, 2015