Skagit Regional Clinics Cascade Skagit Health Alliance ADDITIONAL CHARGES TO ORIGINALLY AGREED UPON CHARGE Arlington, Washington

In May of 2012 I was adviced by my doctor to seek out the opinion of a cardiologist to help support my disability claim. At this time I was unemployed, had no health insurance and could only pay for such advice out of pocket. I called the Skagit Health Clinic [in the Smokey point area] to find out what it would cost to have their cardiologist give me his professional opinion about my case. The clinic quoted me $131.00, which I thought was pretty high for just what would be a 15 to 20 minute visit, but I decided to go ahead with this transaction.

The consultation with the doctor ended up a waste of time and money for me. He told me that he could not honestly look at my past medical records and render any kind of a legal statement that could be used in court. I thanked him for his time and went on my way.

Fast forward to January 2013 and I recieve a bill from the Skagit Clinic for an additional $52.!!

To top it off, this is the first time that I have received ANY additional billing from them and they have the bill already marked as being over 120 days past due..!!

I immediately called them and they told me that the amount I paid them back in May of 2012 was just an ESTIMATE. I told them that the fee I originally agreed to pay is what I was told that this consultation would cost.....period. There was no discussion about any future charges or "estimates".

The lady I spoke with today could only hide behind the typical, "Well, this is our policy" mantra, so here I am at RipOff Report to let as many folks know as I can about, "Their Policy".