Should I pay this bill?

In My Humble Opinion
21

There seems to be a trend where customers think that if they’ve been inconvenienced in any way, that they should get free stuff. I’m not saying the OP is thinking this, but I do see it a lot.

22

I’m a little concerned that your shellfish allergy didn’t come up earlier - hell, every time I visit my dentist I’ve got to update the form saying what foods & meds I’m allergic to (none & penicillin for the record). I thought that was just standard for any medical practice.

23

Question: do you know if the “regular” price for the procedure you eventually had done is, in fact, $40? Could it be $80 and they knocked it down to $40 pre-emptively in recognition of the hassle their error caused you? (although you’d think they would have mentioned it, were this the case…)

Barring this, I’d look at it this way:

  1. The CNY admin should have asked you about shellfish allergies when making the appointment
  2. The CNY admin flaked out on the arrangement of the hospital appointment.
  3. The doctor himself did all he could to “make things right” from a purely medical perspective

Basically, the CNY admin is a moron or a flake (or perpetually stoned); the CNY medical staff is OK; ultimately, you paid for what you got; you did not receive any sort of consideration for the hassle the CNY administration staff put you through (although the doctor re-arranging his schedule to accomodate you rather than re--re-scheduling may count for something.)

In this situation I would contact CNY, ask to speak with the Office Manager, explain the situation calmly and ask (not demand!) what they think they should do in consideration of the time lost and aggrevation they caused you.
Then pay whatever the ask for.

My reason for doing similar things on the past is not to save a few $$. It is to keep the service provider on their toes, so that they are more careful with others (and possibly with me!) in the future.

24

I’m pretty sure they would have marked it if it was discounted. It’s actually $330 but my insurance pays for the majority of it, but it’s detailed on this bill exactly what my insurance pays and what I pay.

And on the one hand what you say is true. On the other hand, I feel like if $40 means I am quit of them for good, so be it.