PSA: Do NOT go to the MFMs at St. Mark's Hospital

The insurance thing...we have an answer. I can't remember if I'd yet remembered that I saw Maternal Fetal Services of St. Mark's Hospital for my NT scan. But I did, and they were in network.

In October, Maternal Fetal Services of St. Mark's Hospital was bought out by Obstetrixs, a daughter company of Pediatrix. Maternal Fetal Services just fucking assumed that all their insurance contracts would stay the same. They never informed any of their patients of this sell-out.

Instead, they lost all their contracts with Aetna and Cigna. They knew this in December, once they began billing patients again. They decided not to tell their patients because they didn't want to lose them. Honest to God, this is what the office manager of Maternal Fetal Services (now Obstetrix of St. Mark's Hospital) told me during our meeting yesterday. All bills were supposed to go on hold. Mine somehow slipped through the cracks, which explains why they had the audacity to state that I did not have a bill from them.

As far as I can tell, Pediatrix and Obstetrix headquarters and billing office have no idea any of this happened. Which is why THEY had the nerve to tell me that knowing my benefits was my responsibility, when their newly purchased little group didn't even know their own damn insurance contracts and didn't inform anyone of any changes. It also explains why, when their billing manager called me yesterday, she had no fucking idea what was going on. Seriously, none.
My OB has the CEO of St. Mark's on this. A bunch of other higher-ups are on it as well. I still have nothing in writing, but I have been promised that I, along with all Aetna and Cigna clients, will not be charged for out-of-network. That Maternal Fetal Services will pay the difference themselves.

But you know what? I'm still irate. I think their business practices are revolting. This isn't a McDonald's, here. This is a group of high risk OBs. They are responsible for the care of women and their unborn babies, and all of the women or unborn babies have been referred to them because non-specialized OBs think they need even more care than they can provide.

You do not fuck around with high risk gestating mothers and their unborn babies.

Remember the "software change" that was partly responsible for them telling me Atticus was severely abnormal and needed to be born at 26 weeks at the latest? Well, that change was done as part of this take-over. And they have stated to me numerous times that, although I got the worst of it, I was not the only woman given incorrect medical information during that time-frame. And that they had intended for on-going patients to stay on the old system and only have new patients on the new system.

Well, they didn't.

And they didn't think that that might be the problem when they saw abnormal numbers.

And they didn't double-check any measurements or anything.

They just looked at the computer and said, "steroids and delivery".

These people cannot diagnose. They cannot bill patients for the services they (inadequately) provide.

They should not, in my opinion, be allowed to continue to provide care, much less in a major hospital in Salt Lake City.

I am someone who inherently likes and trusts doctors, nurses, and other health care providers. Maternal Fetal Services of St. Mark's Hospital, now Obstetrix, has shown me that extremely shady, greedy business practices do indeed impact the medical care one receives.

I think any high-risk patient in Salt Lake should go to the U of U or IMC instead. For their own peace of mind, and for the safety of them and their child(ren).