Matthew Pastore

Review of Kirk Eye Center

The bedside manner and eye exam that I received fr...

The bedside manner and eye exam that I received from Dr. Bauer while at Kirk Eye Center was top notch. Unfortunately, the person taking my appointment and the billing department is the reason for this bad review. The long and short of it is to make absolutely sure that they take your insurance before going there.
When I made the appointment, I told the person taking the appointment that I have Eyemed eye insurance. The person taking my appointment asked me if it was Eyemed Access and I said no, it just says Eyemed. She proceeded to make an appointment for me. I was not informed that Kirk Eye Center does not take Eyemed insurance. When I got to the appointment the receptionist could not find my insurance in the system, and this is when I found out that they do not take Eyemed insurance, they only take Eyemed Access. Obviously, this information would have been good to know when my appointment was being made because I would have gone elsewhere.
She then told me that since they do not take Eyemed insurance I would have to pay a $50 fee now and they would bill my PPO for the remaining amount. She told me that whatever the PPO paid they would take as payment. In other words, if my PPO won t pay anything then I won t be sent a bill. I thought this was fair, but still a bit ridiculous since I would have been paying nothing with my insurance. About a month later I received a bill from Kirk Eye Center for another $120 on top of the $50 I already paid. Based on what I was told by the receptionist I thought this must be an error. I called the billing department multiple times and sent a letter to them to no avail. I was told every time I called that the matter would be looked into and I would receive a call back. I only got a return call from them after I sent the letter to the billing department. That call resulted in me pleading my case and once again being told that it would be looked into and I would get a call back. My last resort was to send a letter to Dr. Kirk explaining the situation. This only resulted I me receiving the bill yet again. I must have received this bill at least five times. I finally paid it to avoid dealing with a collection agency or whatever happens when bills are left unpaid.
I realize that $170 probably isn't a horrible charge for an eye exam from a ophthalmologist with the background that Dr. Bauer has, but you must understand I was expecting to pay nothing with my insurance that I already pay for. If you read this whole review just know to make absolutely sure that they take your insurance. If they do and you get paired with Dr. Bauer I am sure you will be happy with the treatment that you receive from him.