Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Cleveland Clinic Foundation's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Cleveland Clinic Foundation

  9500 Euclid Ave Cleveland, OH 44195-0001

  
• 

  Cleveland Clinic Foundation

  16761 Southpark Ctr Strongsville, OH 44136-9302

  
• 

  Cleveland Clinic Foundation

  26900 Cedar Rd Beachwood, OH 44122-1191

  
• 

  Cleveland Clinic Foundation

  5001 Rockside Rd Independence, OH 44131-2172

  
• 

  Cleveland Clinic Foundation

  9500 Euclid Ave H 18 Cleveland, OH 44195-0001

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/10/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This was a non transparent and unacceptable charge from Cleveland Clinic. I have never been charged, at any time, from any provider, $67.00 for a question. I was asked if I still smoke. I stated" Yes. I will be trying to quit after my 2nd hand surgery in October 22. He asked if I ever tried ********* ***. I stated I am fine at the moment. This question, has caused me months of frustration, phone calls and never receiving a correspondence. The "coders" were supposed to correct this by Dr. *******'s request. Screenshots are in the uploaded document along with timeline)This has still not happened. I now have $12.32 in COLLECTION????? This is ridiculous! The money is not the issue here, the issue is that Cleveland Clinic should not be charging patients WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE. I should not have to pay for something that was not advised a head of time that I would be charged! Who does this?? This is not transparency, this is insurance fraud. No one told me" Hey, if we ask this question, which we ask every single time, that NOW we are going to charge you. I did not ask for this"question to be asked". So again, now I have a "collection" bill, with a ridiculous amount, that Cleveland Clinic did not even try to correct. I currently have an 800 credit score (you may check) and have never had a collection bill because I pay my Legitimate bills. Please help me get this corrected. This is unfair practice to myself and to all patients, and insurance companies that are being unfairly overcharged.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/15/2022

  
  
  Dear Ms. ******
  *****,
  
  This letter is
  in response to the billing complaint filed by Ms. ******** ****** to the Ohio
  Better Business Bureau on 8/10/2022.
  
  A thorough
  investigation has been completed on Ms. ******’s account. Per my review, it was
  determined that the physician medical records were updated for the visit date
  of service 2/04/2022. However, the medical notations update was not placed in
  the proper format for the billing coders to review and update. The decision has
  been made to offer a onetime courtesy adjustment to the current account. This
  action brings the liability for Ms. ****** to zero balance for this particular
  date of service.  The collection status
  has been removed from the account, and will have no negative bearing on Ms.
  ******’s credit report.
  
  Thank you for
  allowing me the opportunity to address Ms. ******’s concerns. If I can be of
  any further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ***** ********
  
  Best regards,
  Tina ** ******
  Financial
  Ombudsman
  Revenue Cycle
  Management, CCHS

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/19/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  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. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******** ******
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/05/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 6/17/22 I had my annual preventative maintenance physical with Dr. ***** *******’s office at Cleveland Clinic. During the normal, annual preventative service, I was not informed my billing was for anything but that service and as I checked out, they told me my service was fully covered by insurance and I did not owe anything. I received a bill 3 weeks later for an office visit instead of my annual preventative service (this is a medical coding error). I have spent the past few weeks attempting to get in touch with the office to correct it, however they keep passing me around to various team members, each stating they will correct the error (as they agree it has been miss-coded) and none of them following through on their commitments. I equate this to going into a doctors appointment to check your blood pressure and then to be billed for cancer treatment - you can’t just bill people incorrectly because your administration is inept and expect to be paid. I demand that they reverse the billing to my insurance, and then resubmit the billing as an annual preventative maintenance physical, or that they cancel the billing altogether because of their ineptitude. They are purposefully giving me the runaround so they can send me additional bills and threaten me, and I will not tolerate this type of abusive business practice.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2022

  
  
  Dear Ms. *****,
  
  This letter is
  in response to the billing complaint filed by Ms. ******* ***** to the Ohio Better
  Business Bureau on August 5 2022 regarding the coding of a visit at Cleveland
  Clinic on 06/17/2022.
  
  A thorough
  investigation has been completed on Ms. ******* *****’s account. As part of the
  investigation, the account was sent to our coding department where an audit on
  the charges was performed. It was determined that the coding is correct for the
  06/17/2022 date of service and cannot be changed.
  
  Based on the
  medical documentation, the visit was scheduled as a routine wellness exam. She
  had seen the doctor who performed the wellness exam but the doctor also
  examined multiple health complaints that Ms. ******* ***** had. Cleveland
  Clinic billed her **** ***** **** ****** insurance for the wellness exam in the
  amount of $336.00 and also for an office visit
  that addressed her health complaints for $277.00. Per the explanation of
  benefits from **** ***** **** ******, for the office visit charge, Ms. *******
  ***** owes a deductible amount of $152.94. However for the wellness exam, this
  charge is still pending with her insurance.
  
  Thank you for
  allowing us the opportunity to address your concerns. If I can be of any
  further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ************.
  
  Respectfully,
  
  
  
  Kendall ******
  Financial
  Ombudsman
  Revenue Cycle
  Management, CCHS
  
  
  Need help paying your medical
  bills? Call 866.621.6385 or go to www.ccf.org/financialassistance for information on our financial assistance policy.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/11/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  
  
  

  The business is not following their own business practices and improperly billed, and now the corporate area is attempting to cover it up by providing an attempted bait and switch style explanation. 

  If you ask them, Cleveland Clinic's **** ***** Office location defines an annual, preventative wellness exam as a visit including seeing the doctor, going over concerns over your health with the doctor, and the doctor ordering lab work for those concerns.  This is exactly the services received.  It is an unreasonable expectation that when the doctor asks you "what are your concerns" that you should then be expected to tell them, "I am not allowed to tell me my concerns because that is not the same service as I requested," when in fact, that is the whole entire point of a preventative maintenance visit. 

  Again, this was originally an improper billing, and it needs to be reversed and billed as an annual preventative maintenance.  I will also file a formal appeal under the ERISA act and take them to court if we have to go further, because the services rendered are not the services billed.  I have a reasonable right to ask questions during a wellness visit and to say otherwise is a bait and switch style practice and borderline fraud.

  Please have Cleveland Clinic reverse these charges.

   

  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** ************
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/29/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Wellness exam office visit 06/04/2022. Wife had an office visit, wellness exam at the Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest facility. Wellness exams are covered 100% by our insurance, or so we thought. Prior to the visit we were contacted by the clinic business office, and told we needed to prepay a percentage of the office visit. we agreed and paid the $269.00 fee, assured that we would be reimbursed in the end. Turns out my wife was unable to see her doctor on the office visit day, only see the nurse practitioner. Weeks later we received 2 seperate bills from cleveland clinic, one for the wellness exam and one for $115.00. When I called the billing department at the clinic I was told it was a facility charge? By facility, you mean room charge i asked? Agent asked if my wife was weighed, blood pressure checked etc..? I said yes. Agent said the clinic is now billing patients for the use of the equipment? Turns out I was billed for equipment usage, things usually covered in the wellness exam charges in the past. This is crazy. Just another way to collect more money.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/08/2022

  Dear Ms.
  *****,
  
  This letter is in response to the billing complaint filed by,
  Michael ***** on behalf of his wife, ***** ***** to the Ohio Better Business
  Bureau on 7/29/2022. This complaint was
  received in the Financial Ombudsman office for review on behalf of the
  Cleveland Clinic.
  
  I would
  first like to offer my sincere apology for any frustration this may have caused
  Mrs. *****. I have undertaken a full review of the concerns mentioned and I am
  satisfied that all issues raised have been researched and addressed
  appropriately
  
  The root
  cause of the complaint is to have the out-of-network pre-payment refunded.
  Unfortunately, their request to refund is denied based on my
  review/explanation, which is documented below.
  
  Mrs. *****’s insurance does not have a contract with the
  Cleveland Clinic and therefore she may be billed for all services except in
  certain circumstances like an emergency visit. Because we are not contracted
  with Allied Health these charges cannot be billed directly to them. Per our policy, the Cleveland Clinic sends
  the claim forms directly to the patient’s address and it is the patient’s
  responsibility to submit the forms for reimbursement to their insurance
  carrier.
  
  To further explain the facility charge, Cleveland Clinic made
  the decision several years ago to designate all of our outpatient areas on main
  campus and throughout our Family Health Centers as hospital outpatient
  departments. This decision simplifies our billing processes and helps to cover
  the costs of maintaining the Clinic's hospital and outpatient sites. This
  conversion started consistently on February 9th 2009.
  
  Mrs. *****’s bill will now include two separate charges: one
  for the healthcare provider fee and one for a “facility fee” to partially
  defray the costs of providing non-physician staff, equipment, supplies, etc.
  Our goal is to be upfront with our patients and what their costs may be when
  they receive their care from us.
  
  The total
  charges for the professional services on the date in question are $538 and Mrs.
  *****’s insurance paid $105.25 towards this claim leaving $432.75 as patient
  liability. We have not received any payment to date towards the
  hospital/technical claim. If Mrs. ***** has already submitted the
  hospital/technical claim to her insurance, please allow additional time for us
  to receive it.
  
  Thank you
  for allowing us the opportunity to address Mrs. ***** concerns. If we can be of
  any further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at
  ************.
  
  Respectfully,
  Ruth ****** 
  Financial
  Ombudsman 
  Revenue
  Cycle Management
  
  Cc: *****
  *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/18/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am 57 years old and had never had a screening (routine) colonoscopy. My general practitioner ordered one. I had one scheduled with Dr. *****. The "prep" didn't work so I had to reschedule. I went to his office to discuss the failed "prep" and he gave me a different medication, which worked. So I had the routine colonoscopy, which found nothing unusual and I don't have to have another one for 10 years. Somewhere along the way (I suspect Dr. *****'s office), someone recorded the colonoscopy as "diagnostic" (result of a problem) rather than a routine screening. As a result, my insurance only paid a portion of the bill, whereas if the procedure had been coded correctly, my insurance company would have paid the entire amount. I have contacted billing and was notified that they could not change the coding. I contacted Dr. *****'s office, and they said that it should have been billed as a routine screening. They tried to process the change and refile with my insurance company, but I received notification from Cleveland Clinic that the request was denied. I contacted Dr. ***** again, and he said that he has now billed it correctly and there is nothing more that his office can do. This was a routine screening. The fact that it was billed incorrectly and Cleveland Clinic will not change the billing code, is the fault of Cleveland Clinic. I will not pay this bill $680 since I do not owe it. Cleveland Clinic either needs to rebill my insurance company correctly to get paid or write this amount off as an error on their part. I do not want this to affect my credit score, which it should not since I do not owe this amount.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/28/2022

  
  Dear Ms. ******
  *****,
  
  This letter is
  in response to the billing complaint filed by Ms. ******* ********
  to the Ohio
  Better Business Bureau on 7/18/2022.
  
  A thorough
  investigation has been completed on Ms. ********’s account. Per my review, it
  was determined that the physician medical records were updated for the visit
  date of service 2/11/2022. However, the medical notations update was not placed
  in the proper format for the billing coders to review and update.
  
  As of 7/26/2022
  the claims have been updated, and resubmitted to Ms. ********’s insurance provider.
  The reprocessing timeframe is 30-45 days, at which time a new explanation of
  benefits (EOB) will be sent to Cleveland Clinic and Ms. ********.  The collection status has been removed from
  the accounts and will have no negative bearing on Ms. ********’s credit report.
  
  Thank you for
  allowing me the opportunity to address Ms. ********’s concerns. If I can be of
  any further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ***** ********
  
  Best regards,
  
  Tina ** ******
  Financial
  Ombudsman
  Revenue Cycle
  Management, CCHS
  
  Cc: *******
  ********