I went to Midwest Orthopedics to be evaluated for...

I went to Midwest Orthopedics to be evaluated for a fractured wrist requiring surgery. Their reputation for excellence is well known. However, if you choose to have care here, you should be aware that this is a center that is business forward and provider forward, and further, my experience was that my surgery was something that needed to be performed at their convenience versus mine. My surgeon Dr. Cohen is excellent- he provided great care and I'm glad he was my surgeon. However, the day before the the surgery, I received calls from Dr. Cohen's business office and the Gold Coast surgery center demanding that I pay for my surgery before the surgery even occurred. I have a good job and health insurance, but they said it was Midwest policy to have payment upfront, even if it put me in a financial bind. Dr. Cohen's business office told me, less than 24 hours away from my surgery date, that they would cancel my surgery if I didn't pay them the entire $2000 deposit for his professional fee. At least the Gold Coast surgery center offered a payment plan for the facility fee. Still, It felt like extortion. I am not sure why they wouldn't just bill my insurance and then I could pay whatever was left over, but they said that oer their policy, they had to demand payment and said that they would cancel the surgery without it.
If I had known about their business practices, I would have shopped around for another surgeon. I would say you should only choose care here if you can absorb their upfront costs. For me it totalled $4500 that they wanted me to pay or else they would deny me care- please keep in mind I had insurance, but they wanted this payment before billing my insurance. It literally adds insult to injury.