Minute Clinic
Complaint 338037 Details

Minute Clinic is billing me for services that were previously paid for and when I questioned it, they tried to bully me with collections.
I visited a Minute Clinic in Brandon, Florida on October 3, 2012 to obtain an annual flu vaccination. As a retired member of the US military, I was informed that the company (Minute Clinic Diagnostic of Florida, PO Box 14000, Belfast, ME 04915-4033) would bill my insurance (Tri-Care) $31.99 for services and they did. They sent me the attached billing statement indicating that on October 12, 2012, Tricare reimbursed them $19.60 and $10.99 for a total of $30.59. Seems simple enough and everything happened as it should have.


Fast forward two years and in October 2014 I began receiving bills (at my parents home in Florida) from Minute Clinic indicating that there was an "insurance takeback" by Tricare in May 2014 and that I now owed Minute Clinic $31.99. I called the business number on the bill and expressed extreme skepticism that Tricare had the ability to "take back" monies paid two years earlier. The phone attendant was unable to explain the matter, but noted the bottom of the bill had a note "Tricare state you have other insurance that is primary. Please update." She suggested I call Tricare. And so I did.

Tricare told me there was no record Minute Clinic ever submitted a claim at all and counselled that I should ask Minute Clinic for the claim history and then dispute the bill via Tricare's grievance process. I then contacted again Minute Clinic and asked for the claim history (as suggested by Tricare). I was very abruptly told that I'd need to speak to a supervisor. I said I'd hold, but none was available. I left my number but received no call back. Last week my parents advised me that Minute Clinic sent a letter to their home indicating the matter was sent to collections. Efforts I have made to contact the business by phone at 866-389-2727 results in hours of hold and then ultimately I am disconnected.

I suspect that this business is engaged in unethical, unlawful and deceptive business practice and perhaps even engaged in willful and malicious fraud. They have attempted to bill me for a service that I have a receipt for. They indicate my insurance company paid and then "took back" their payment. This is the most preposterous thing I have ever heard. The idea that one business could simply take money from another without their knowledge and assent is simply ridiculous. They then asserted that my insurance company advised them I had another insurer as primary, which is 1) inaccurate and 2) untrue. Tricare has informed me that they NEVER received a claim from this company and/or on or about the date of service on the billing statement. When I challenged the company and asked for my claim history, which is my right as the insured, they refused to provide it, refused to communicate and then attempted to damage me personally by referring the matter to collections, while I was endeavoring to determine what precisely happened.