I had an ultrasound in June at Memorial Herrman back in July. I had to pay for the US at check-in, $300+. The charge showed up in my cc as from MH. Everyone I interacted with at MH (check-in desk, US tech) presented themselves as MH employees. The US was ordered by and forwarded to my endocrinologist.

Yesterday I get a text message addressed to me by name from Synergy Radiology Associates saying I have a bill due and to follow the link to pay it. I click the link and it takes me to a website where I either have to scan a code or put in a number from a bill that was supposedly sent to me.

I don't have a bill.

I go to the company website, and sure enough, they have a "location" at the MH clinic I went to.

Then I read the Google reviews. There are literally hundreds of reviews from people saying they paid for a service, never received a follow-up bill, and had some mystery balance sent to collections. Many of them said a collections notice was the first notice they received.

A few said they did receive a bill, but the payment website and/or the codes on the bill didn't work.

Many said the bill that went to collections was for $15-$30.

Some have called the Synergy billing department and literally spent hours on the phone trying to correct the issue with no success. Others said they call only to be disconnected before they speak to anyone.

I have impeccable credit. I don't want this to ruin mine. I plan on calling MH and my insurance company (I'm on an HDHP with an HSA). I'm not paying anyone without a documented bill. And I'm ticked that MH is doing business with a contractor that is so shady.

Based on the reviews, I'm not expecting either phone call to resolve anything.

Has anyone had this happen to them? Any tips on how to resolve it?

I thought that unpaid bills under $50 didn't impact your credit, but maybe that's an urban legend.

Maybe so, but at this point, I don't know what I owe. Only that this company will send you to collections even for a small amount.

I did pull up my EOB from my insurance company. There are two claims associated with this test: one from MH and one from a place called Singleton. I have a suspicion that's the charge Synergy texted me about, but the names should match, otherwise, how is anyone supposed to sort this all out.

Look into the no suprises act that went into effect 1/1/2022. They are not supppsed to balance bill for services performed by a provider you were not informed about that is out-of-network if you were at an in-network facility.

Part of this is a result of hospitals not being allowed to employ physicians in the state of Texas.

As a result, you received a facilities fee (from Memorial Herman) and a physician fee (from Synergy Radiology Associates) for the ultrasound.

A quick google search identifies a phone number and email address for Synergy Radiology Associates, but I suspect their billings department is poorly run (not an excuse for them, though).

Good luck with getting this resolved.

Yep. That's the problem. Billing doesn't answer the phone, according to all of the Google reviews. And if they do happen to answer, several hours on the phone doesn't resolve anything. Hundreds of bad reviews.

Came into work this morning and saw my Health Advocates key chain card, so I called that number and am opening a claim with them. Hopefully they can obtain a bill. I forgot we had that service, and this is the first time I've had to use it.

My EOB from that visit indicates I might owe $49.02, but I know from experience those estimates aren't always correct.

I just got nailed with the same issue. Did you get your resolved?

Collier94 said:

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I just got nailed with the same issue. Did you get your resolved?

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So, within a couple of days of kicking it to our health advocates, I got a paper bill in the mail. Don't know if it was a coincidence or not. The amount matched the EOB, so I mailed a check via my bank. It was only $40-something, so I figured it was legit. Never did complain to the hospital that is doing business with this shady company.

I ended up calling and getting through and the charge seemed legit. Crazy policy of texting a bill and not emailing or mailing. Anyway ok we go. Hopefully to a good football season!!! Gig Em

Call insurance and tell them to handle it. They serve at the pleasure of company benefits coordinator, and they will advocate for you. Little known secret: most of the time, the insurance company is your biggest advocate when it comes to billing disputes. Remember: doctors didn't go into medicine because they were good at business.