EasyPay Isn't Easy (for me)

[sengsational]

No physical card, so that could be a snag. But EasyPay is probably desperate enough to get your card number that they will let the patient or the medical staff just enter the card number online, or use the backup process for when the card reader doesn't work.

 

[ERD50]

I only know about Medicare Easy Pay which is a way of paying premiums by bank draft.

Yes, and I just signed up for that, because our birthdays are such that the annual increases straddle the quarterly payments, so there are changes for at least half the bills, and I have to watch and update my credit union bill pay to avoid a shortage.

TO THE PEOPLE POSTING PROBLEMS WITH "EASYPAY": Can you clarify this? It sounds like a different use of "EasyPay" (paying providers/services?) - is anyone having problems when they use EasyPay strictly for automatically paying their premiums?

-ERD50

 

[athena53]

TO THE PEOPLE POSTING PROBLEMS WITH "EASYPAY": Can you clarify this? It sounds like a different use of "EasyPay" (paying providers/services?) - is anyone having problems when they use EasyPay strictly for automatically paying their premiums?

-ERD50

I think that marketing term is used for multiple products. Well, it sounds so benevolent! I remember QVC used to offer "EasyPay" and it was just splitting the cost into 4 (I think) installments, posted to your credit cards in successive months.

What the OP described was something medical providers use to assure themselves in advance that they have a blank check to pay for whatever they charge you.

 

[mystang52]

I have no experience with "Easy Pay." But I had a parallel experience with my orthopedist when my insurer revised their payment, and my doctor owed me about $150 refund. It took a good 4 months, and quite a bit of "reminders" to them in that time, before i saw the check. I never prepaid anything after that experience.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, and I just signed up for that, because our birthdays are such that the annual increases straddle the quarterly payments, so there are changes for at least half the bills, and I have to watch and update my credit union bill pay to avoid a shortage.

TO THE PEOPLE POSTING PROBLEMS WITH "EASYPAY": Can you clarify this? It sounds like a different use of "EasyPay" (paying providers/services?) - is anyone having problems when they use EasyPay strictly for automatically paying their premiums?

-ERD50

This thread has nothing to do with the Medicare Easy Pay.

 

[ERD50]

I think that marketing term is used for multiple products. Well, it sounds so benevolent! I remember QVC used to offer "EasyPay" and it was just splitting the cost into 4 (I think) installments, posted to your credit cards in successive months.

What the OP described was something medical providers use to assure themselves in advance that they have a blank check to pay for whatever they charge you.

This thread has nothing to do with the Medicare Easy Pay.

Thank you both - one less thing for me to worry about!

-ERD50

 

[scrabbler1]

Update since yesterday morning:

The Operations VP's underling called a few hours later on a 3-way call with the office manager. Hs first told me that he can authorize a change in policy that the office manager can't do. He then told us the office manager will instruct her staff not to ask me for any prepayment and to indicate in my patient file that this is coming from the office manager. I mentioned to the VP underling that a record like this had been deleted (and that's possibly illegal), but was told they failed to see it and it hadn't been deleted. Seems a little too convenient, but either reason makes them look bad - two people failed to see the note, or someone deleted the note.

But my appointment is still on for Monday afternoon, so we'll see how it goes. I'll report back here in a few days.

 

[RetMD21]

I have no experience with "Easy Pay." But I had a parallel experience with my orthopedist when my insurer revised their payment, and my doctor owed me about $150 refund. It took a good 4 months, and quite a bit of "reminders" to them in that time, before i saw the check. I never prepaid anything after that experience.

The offices will confidently tell you how much you owe but they are often guessing from what I can tell. I let my MIL give an orthotist's office her credit card to cover the copay for a custom device when they demanded payment and the day of final fitting. We waited about 4 months for the refund. I think 120 days may be the maximum they can legally delay. I wish I had just offered them $100 cash. The old folks are mostly outmatched versus the medical billing industry.

 

[FindingForward]

Does anyone know if a patient has the legal right to require that a medical facility they used delete their credit card data on file once all services are paid in full?

I had to get an imaging test done. I paid required co-pay, but realized after that their strict policy is to keep every patient's credit or debit card on file indefinitely. They state that is a condition of using their services.

I don't intend to use them again and do NOT want them to have 24/7 access to my credit card until its expiration date.

Do I have the right to demand they delete it or can they just ignore me?

 

[Koolau]

Does anyone know if a patient has the legal right to require that a medical facility they used delete their credit card data on file once all services are paid in full?

I had to get an imaging test done. I paid required co-pay, but realized after that their strict policy is to keep every patient's credit or debit card on file indefinitely. They state that is a condition of using their services.

I don't intend to use them again and do NOT want them to have 24/7 access to my credit card until its expiration date.

Do I have the right to demand they delete it or can they just ignore me?

You could contact the CC company and ask for a new card (and number) because someone had attempted to use your card. Not a fun thing to do if you are using the card for any OTHER auto-pay payments. But it would mean the card number would no longer w*rk for the medical facility.

 

[sengsational]

Does anyone know if a patient has the legal right to require that a medical facility they used delete their credit card data on file once all services are paid in full?

I had to get an imaging test done. I paid required co-pay, but realized after that their strict policy is to keep every patient's credit or debit card on file indefinitely. They state that is a condition of using their services.

I don't intend to use them again and do NOT want them to have 24/7 access to my credit card until its expiration date.

Do I have the right to demand they delete it or can they just ignore me?

Just because you provided your card number once doesn't mean they necessarily have permission to use it again. There are cases where you agree in advance to let them charge your card in the future, and if that was part of something they made you agree to, then getting them to delete your card from their system would be worth pursuing. But if the agreement didn't give permission for future transactions, you could challenge any additional charges with your card issuer. Minting a single vendor card that you can pause puts you in the driver's seat.

 

[FindingForward]

You could contact the CC company and ask for a new card (and number) because someone had attempted to use your card. Not a fun thing to do if you are using the card for any OTHER auto-pay payments. But it would mean the card number would no longer w*rk for the medical facility.

Thanks. Requesting a new card number is exactly what I'm trying to avoid, as I already use it for so many routine expenses, including auto-pay setups.

It was totally my fault...i needed this procedure done that day and thought I was signing my agreement for them to charge my card for any remaining balance - not giving them free reign to keep the card active indefinitely.

(They buried that in the middle of all the fine print and the fine print was loooong.) A real sleaze move. Once my insurance pays in full for the procedure, I'm going to try and request that my acct - and card - be deleted.

 

[FindingForward]

Just because you provided your card number once doesn't mean they necessarily have permission to use it again. There are cases where you agree in advance to let them charge your card in the future, and if that was part of something they made you agree to, then getting them to delete your card from their system would be worth pursuing. But if the agreement didn't give permission for future transactions, you could challenge any additional charges with your card issuer. Minting a single vendor card that you can pause puts you in the driver's seat.

Yes - I accidentally agreed to that - totally my fault, as there was a full page of fine print in the stack of consent forms about payment, credit cards, etc - I totally missed the line about the requirement to keep the card on file permanently.

I AM going to aggressively pursue deletion, as they really have no business keeping an active payment method on file against the patient's will AFTER they've been paid in full and no other procedures are requested or scheduled.

 

[athena53]

Yes - I accidentally agreed to that - totally my fault, as there was a full page of fine print in the stack of consent forms about payment, credit cards, etc - I totally missed the line about the requirement to keep the card on file permanently.

I AM going to aggressively pursue deletion, as they really have no business keeping an active payment method on file against the patient's will AFTER they've been paid in full and no other procedures are requested or scheduled.

I would have missed that, too. You'd think they wouldn't want credit card info on past patients stored in their computers because of the risks involved in a data breach but I guess it's more important to them to be able to get paid anything they think they're owed. I'm going to keep an eye on that next time I sign a pile of forms.

 

[RetMD21]

I try not to pay until the EOB comes out but sometimes they pressure you. Maybe I'll start carrying a check just in case. I don't mail them anymore so I have plenty.

 

[FindingForward]

I try not to pay until the EOB comes out but sometimes they pressure you. Maybe I'll start carrying a check just in case. I don't mail them anymore so I have plenty.

I guess in some areas, you can wait, but I haven't been to a single provider in years that doesn't require the full copay paid upfront. Otherwise, no service. Really have no choice.

 

[teej1985]

I guess in some areas, you can wait, but I haven't been to a single provider in years that doesn't require the full copay paid upfront. Otherwise, no service. Really have no choice.

They don't take credit cards? I always wait to get billed, and if they don't take CC, I would have Bill Pay mail them a check rather than me need to mail them a check. I can't remember the last time I wrote a check.

 

[FindingForward]

They don't take credit cards? I always wait to get billed, and if they don't take CC, I would have Bill Pay mail them a check rather than me need to mail them a check. I can't remember the last time I wrote a check.

Oh yes, all take credit cards - but I just meant they charge your card for the full copay immediately before any services are rendered. You can't wait until the EOB to pay your copay - at least not at any medical provider I've used - and I've used quite a few in the area. Then you have to chase them down if there's any refund due you.

(Although honestly, they've been accurate 99% of the time in the copay responsibility: only my dentist overcharged me and it was brutal getting that refund they owed me! At least 8-10 followup calls over months of waiting.)

 

[scrabbler1]

Update since Friday afternoon.

I checked in and there wasn't a peep about prepaying. Great. But, the unrelated snag I encountered last week about the script, one which was supposedly resolved during my visit there last week, reappeared. Even though the office manager had included a clear note about how this snag was to be resolved, the tech still wasn't sure how to proceed. I made it clear to her what to do and the procedure went fine.

I spoke to the office manager afterward about this because I didn't like having to relitigate the ambiguity in the script, one which had been resolved near the end of last week's visit, just before the EasyPay issue arose.

Makes me wonder if I should use this place again for radiology services. Do I need all these administratibe headaches?

 

[swakyaby]

I guess in some areas, you can wait, but I haven't been to a single provider in years that doesn't require the full copay paid upfront. Otherwise, no service. Really have no choice.

I read the health insurance fine print (Blue Shield of California), and it said that while doctor’s office visit copay ($40 at the time) is expected to be paid at the time of visit, any remaining balance due can be paid after insurance is billed. So when the receptionist pressed me for full payment at time of service, I declined, saying I would pay the copay, but wait until the EOB before paying additional. The receptionist confessed she was told by the office manager to press patients for full payment so that collecting payments afterwards wasn’t so onerous. I shrugged and said I always pay my bills.

I called my health insurance customer service a few weeks later and asked if the service provider could cancel my appointment if I didn’t agree to pay the full amount at the time of the visit, beyond the required copay. She asked if the provider was in-network, and I confirmed they were. She then explained that the contract with an in-network provider is that they cannot insist the patient pay anything beyond the contract copay at the time of visit. And for lab services like Quest Diagnostics (another service provider that tried insisting on upfront payment at time of service), they cannot collect anything upfront at all, and they must wait until the claim is processed before billing the patient. But, if the provider is not in-network with your insurance, these rules don’t apply.

 

[RetMD21]

Update since Friday afternoon.

I checked in and there wasn't a peep about prepaying. Great. But, the unrelated snag I encountered last week about the script, one which was supposedly resolved during my visit there last week, reappeared. Even though the office manager had included a clear note about how this snag was to be resolved, the tech still wasn't sure how to proceed. I made it clear to her what to do and the procedure went fine.

I spoke to the office manager afterward about this because I didn't like having to relitigate the ambiguity in the script, one which had been resolved near the end of last week's visit, just before the EasyPay issue arose.

Makes me wonder if I should use this place again for radiology services. Do I need all these administratibe headaches?

It sounds like a headache. I know the local hospital has had to lower its standards for clerical employees. Maybe your imaging center is having similar issues. DW went to the big academic medical center recently. Although they say they want payment in advance nobody said anything and they sent an e-bill through after insurance.

 

[Koolau]

I feel blessed that neither "conglomerate" I go through for virtually all my medical care ever requires payment up front (though the little sign on most participating doctor's windows all say that there may be up front charges due at time of service.)


Occasionally, a bill comes due after six or more months, but I can deal with that. I assume there is some back and forth between the provider and MC/and/or supplement. Mostly, it's all in the background as far as I'm concerned. I am blessed, indeed.

 

[RetMD21]

..... The receptionist confessed she was told by the office manager to press patients for full payment so that collecting payments afterwards wasn’t so onerous. I shrugged and said I always pay my bills.

I have worked at offices who had that sort of policy. They would like full payment but they won't insist.

I worked a "deal" with my dentist. I won't pay with a card on the day of service but will send an echeck right away. He gets 100% vs 98% or whatever. Actually I just asked and he told the receptionist to leave me alone, lol.

 

[Koolau]

I have worked at offices who had that sort of policy. They would like full payment but they won't insist.

I worked a "deal" with my dentist. I won't pay with a card on the day of service but will send an echeck right away. He gets 100% vs 98% or whatever. Actually I just asked and he told the receptionist to leave me alone, lol.

My dentist takes cards, but offers a discount (3%??) for paying by check beyond some amount ($500??) So a crown or bridge is definitely by check. Routine stuff is by card (no discount offered.) No sign of "easy pay" anyplace though maybe it's available.

 

[FindingForward]

I read the health insurance fine print (Blue Shield of California), and it said that while doctor’s office visit copay ($40 at the time) is expected to be paid at the time of visit, any remaining balance due can be paid after insurance is billed. So when the receptionist pressed me for full payment at time of service, I declined, saying I would pay the copay, but wait until the EOB before paying additional. The receptionist confessed she was told by the office manager to press patients for full payment so that collecting payments afterwards wasn’t so onerous. I shrugged and said I always pay my bills.

I called my health insurance customer service a few weeks later and asked if the service provider could cancel my appointment if I didn’t agree to pay the full amount at the time of the visit, beyond the required copay. She asked if the provider was in-network, and I confirmed they were. She then explained that the contract with an in-network provider is that they cannot insist the patient pay anything beyond the contract copay at the time of visit. And for lab services like Quest Diagnostics (another service provider that tried insisting on upfront payment at time of service), they cannot collect anything upfront at all, and they must wait until the claim is processed before billing the patient. But, if the provider is not in-network with your insurance, these rules don’t apply.

Thank you for the above - good to know.