Silverman Spine and Injury Center Fraudulent Billing Practices Santa Fe New Mexico

Silverman Spine and Injury Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico is engaged in fraudulent billing practices.

Almost a year after ending my care by Dr. Silverman, and understanding that my bill was paid in full (I have excellent health insurance and paid my copays in full at the time of each visit), Dr. Silverman's office started sending me letters claiming that I owed them additional money.

I requested a copy of my bill, and Dr. Silverman's office responded with a multi-page printout that my husband and I both reviewed with great care, and which made absolutely no sense. We are both well-educated professional people with a credit rating of over 800 each, so it was not a matter of not understanding what she sent.  The problem was that it simply made no sense.  Dr. Silverman's bookkeeping is atrocious.  

They had made a very large error on a previous bill when I was still in their care.  They gave me a bill for $600, which again was several pages long, and didn't seem quite right and which I was prepared to pay, and then they advised me that they'd made an error and I only owed them approximately $200.  This does not give me a lot of confidence in their bookkeeping abilities.  Dr. Silverman told me she's had several accountants, and that maintaining the books is problematic.  

I'll say ...

I have received numerous bills from Dr. Silverman over the last couple of years since I stopped going to see them.  I advised her billing person that they couldn't just keep sending me bills whenever they felt like it and that their claim that I owe them more money is incorrect.  At one point I told her billing person that I'd be willing to pay the several hundred dollars just to get them off my back if they would simply note on the bill that by paying the amount the bill was now paid in full.  They have not included that verbage on any subsequent "reminders" I have received from them.  This leads me to believe that Dr. Silverman's office would simply like to maintain an "open door", so she can continue sending me bills.  This is fraud.

Just recently, I received a "courtesy call" from Dr. Silverman's bookkeeper, who ended the call with me by yelling "Just pay your bills!" 

While going to Silverman Spine Center, I was always a little concerned about the fact that Dr. Silverman sold many healthcare and pain relief items for twice what they could be purchased for on Amazon.com.  I do wonder how she justifies gouging some of the less savvy and less suspecting and most likely elderly folks who might walk through her door and purchase these items from her for no less than just plain old robbery prices.  I was also kind of uncomfortable with how much time she spent encouraging me to give her a positive review on the "social media review" website she tried to direct me to each visit, which I never did.  I suspect that the social media reviews you can find about Silverman Spine Center via a simple Google search are the result of this hard sell to brand new patients.  Dr. Silverman also advised me that she'd spent some time talking to social media experts to help manage some of the poor reviews she'd received online.

While I gained some momentary relief from Silverman Spine's chiropractic services, Dr. Silverman often pointed out to me that I had to make an investment in myself by scheduling multiple appointments and making a long term commitment to my "care" in order to manage the pain.  People who are in a lot of physical pain are probably more suspectible to this line of marketing than others.  I'll be more careful next time.

Consider the source when reading this review.  I'm a professional, well-educated, mature, and responsible person who pays the bills in full and on time.  My ridiculously high credit score is a testament to that.  And, of course, I did mention this to the billing person at Silverman Spine when I received my her "courtesy call".  

Bottom Line: Buyer Beware.