Atrium Health University City — Local services in Charlotte

More than serious price gauging and they don't even slightly care about your health! I was billed $80K for 16 rounds of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for sudden hearing loss. EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Each session was around $4000 for the clinic and $850 physicians fee, for 90 minutes of laying in a pressurized cabin. It's the same as scuba diving into 1.5 atmospheres. I have seen a physician ONCE in 16 sessions, and I had to wait for her to be done with another patient, meaning that while collecting $850, they were most likely seeing other patients, essentially getting double-paid for their time.

By my ENT, I was referred for 20 sessions, and due to an insurance mess-up, they stopped taking me in after the 16th. They told me they were appealing to the insurance company's decision. I talked to my insurance company multiple times as well. After my insurance company started to stop making me liable, and not paying Atrium either, I have received a letter from Atrium asking my permission (and signature) to appeal. WHAT??? For weeks, they were saying that they were appealing.

And since I have seen some improvements in my hearing, I found a stand-alone clinic where I could continue to receive more treatments. I paid around $400 (total) per session instead of around $5000. A simple price search in Google results in similar prices all over the country.

During my talks with their head physician at this location, she told me that my 'insurance company should not be ripping me off like that'... WHAT? You are charging 12 times the average price and the insurance company is ripping ME off?!?

As one can imagine, there have been weeks and months of talks, between me and the head doctor, me and insurance company, and insurance company and them... NOT ONCE, the 'doctor' asked me how my hearing was...

Finally, the insurance company agreed to the wrongdoing and decided to cover these 16 treatments. Not everything is processed yet, and I told Atrium that I have a few more bills coming and I was gonna start paying them, or start a payment plan when all is finalized, and they said OK, and moved the due dates a few times. The only reason I was doing that was to have a larger bill at the end because they don't give discounts for amounts smaller than $2500. Yes, thankfully, my final bill is going to be a few thousand dollars (which unfortunately would be the same if I went to the stand-alone clinic first and have my 20 treatments there and pay them out of pocket).

Anyways, while waiting for the last 2 claims to be officially processed by the insurance... I receive a debt collector bill for $57, for one of the first sessions.

I had not responded to their 'appeal permission letter', and I did deal with my insurance myself to get myself off the hook, which ended up getting Atrium paid a substantial amount of money along the way, and I am getting a debt collection letter for FIFTY-SEVEN dollars?!

Did I mention, no one ever asked me how my hearing was?

Stay away from Atrium. All my doctors are in Novant Health, and the ONLY reason I went to Atrium was that this needed to be started immediately to have a shot at getting my hearing back, and Novant was booked for weeks.

Here's a bonus research note for you all trying to decide between Novant and Atrium. Atrium might end up suing you for an unpaid bill and Novant will never do that (I can provide links to written statements on both of their websites).

Updates: The portion I am responsible for is moved to another account (so that I can have a payment plan) and the payments I am making can't be tied to services rendered, thus, I can get reimbursed by my HSA. I keep emailing the billing services and they keep reading the messages (yes, there is a 'has been read' indicator), but they don't respond. It's been well over a month.

My primary health care provider started showing prices for procedures/services they do. Just for fun, I browsed some. Here's a 'fun' fact. Brain surgery costs 53K without insurance at Novant. Me sitting in a pressurized box 16 times at Atrium: 80K. Shamelessness...

I have had THE WORST EXPERIENCE at this hospital this morning. Against my better judgement, I managed to drive myself to the Emergency ward of this facility - only to be ignored by medical professionals.

When I arrived at/around 4:10am, I was asked if I was there to speak with someone or to check myself in; I chose the former. I had been diagnosed on Saturday morning with Shingles at the Fast Ugent Care in Concord and was experiencing intense pain in behind my right eye. When I entered, there were only two (2) people (who appeared to be family members) seated in the Waiting Room conversing with an on-duty nurse. They left within 15 minutes of my arrival and I found myself to be the only person left in the entire room.

About 15 minutes later, the pain in my right eye became more intense and I asked the Security Personnel to let someone know that I felt that I was going to pass out. He informed the Admission staff and they called for someone to come out to the Waiting Room.

An intern called me back to a room about 5 minutes later to check my weight and vitals. I told her that I could not understand why my wait was so long. She informed me that signing in as "wanting to speak with someone," instead of admitting myself leads to longer wait time. WHO KNEW?? Why wasn't I informed about that when I checked in?

Around 4:35am, she instructed me to follow her to a room (#41?) where we walked past two (2) medical personnel whom were standing by the desk having casual conversations. Also, there was no one seen racing to get to rooms or in the hallways of either direction; it was extremely peaceful in the ward.

I entered the room, sat down and waited while the pain grew more intense. After about 15 more minutes, I arose and opened the door and saw a medical professional sitting in a chair alongside the wall and reading a computer screen. Again, the hallway was extremely silent. I picked up my bag, jacket and water bottle and proceeded to leave. It was then that I noticed a nurse sitting behind the main desk and told her of my experience, thus far. She apologized afterwhich I informed her that I would seek medical assistance elsewhere and that leaving under my current physical condition (blurred vision, intense pain and swelling in my right head and eye) puts me at risk because I will have to transport myself there. I also informed her that should anything happen to me that I would seek legal counsel against the hospital for negligence.

When leaving, I stopped my the Admissions Desk and informed the staff of my decision to leave and why. I was given a document to sign waiving my right to service. I refused to sign the form because my leaving was not because I refused service; the service that I was there to receive was not provided to me.

I called back to the hospital about 10 minutes later and asked to speak with an administrator on staff. Marion, a supervisor, responded to my call and I told her about my experience. How could I not be provided sufficient and efficient medical treatment when the EMERGENCY ward of Atrium Health University City Hospital when I was the "lone patient" sitting in that area? Her response was condesending and insensitive, as she reminded me that I left after "45 minutes" and refused medical care.

I provided her with the specifics of her staff standing around having casual conversations in the hallway while I sat in intense pain awaiting to be seen, I told her that I had documentation to support my accusations. It was then that I decided (and informed her) that I would return to this hospital for a better outcome but that I would continue with a documentation of this experience. She told me that videos and cameras were not allowed in the hospital - to which I responded that I could not be prevented from writing notes.

As I traveled back towards the hospital (about 5:10am), I changed my mind and decided to return home. Why would I allow myself to be mistreated a for second time? I immediately called the After-hours duty nurse for my PCP to seek his/her advice. ...

So never been to anything atrium but I couldn't take pain infection the situation that brought me to a hospital in 1st place. So it's like a 3rd world country. The disposition of checking in its like they used to dealing with junkies. So after all the dysfunction I told the security like how can I get to a novant hospital I'm dizzy as I fell etc so he say go across the street call 911 and tell them and they'll take you. He's cool so I ask if he'd watch out and make sure I made it so it took a bit but I did only to encounter the worst medics ever car 6 so they take me back to that dysfunction after I say take me novant because you not about to keep yelling at me yanking me don't touch me so we back at the worst hospital ever. dr mugli comes up I said don't touch me I asked ro go ro novant and by right clients choose providers so I want to go so she basically trying to pull that oh u can't leave unless I say bs and asking what yr it is like again a psych patient. Now if the medic wasn't trying play dr trying diagnose something when she had no name or history like its recorded so I won't go into that but I got proof. So I'm shocked at what I see and smell and after 7.5 hrs and smelling urine and feces I get up to breath called insurance telling them I didn't ask to be in this hospital as I'm in a hall by outside door near lab and it reaks of urine even the CT room dirty past my God have they not ever had an inspection so they got blood etc and I'm sitting looking for hrs at the same urine cups for testing sitting on counter in lab but nobody in there and enduring patient that keeps touching me and I'm a sport and trying not to die from the whole random touching as i hate ppl touching me but then they say oh well ultrasound couldn't find u so they bump u down how u can't find me I'm sitting same spot with all these ppl watching me and then dr comes out say it's definitely infected so she'll be back after ultrasound but I keep hearing same thing they couldn't find you again same spot and the urine poop smell just getting louder and louder so I say I need a break I'm on phone they say walk up that way so I do so registration who had hrs to say anything she needed try stop me I keep walking on my phone hall filled with anybody everybody and I'm going to get my air and my phone call it'll be fine like I can't believe how they open and it's definitely a difference in treatment only certain ethnicity are in the dirt filled urine smelled halls just FYI think about it. Now security walk up for what? So im getting mad cuz what is the issue? I basically got kidnapped and forced here on a lie from a ratchett wannabe dr medic and now I'm having a conversation telling the insurance everything I endured and they get big mad cuz they could hear me and not loud at all it's literally no privacy and I'm walking where they say I can go have my conversation and agin get air to breath. security was understanding after i say lil bit and apologize cuz i wasnt being eude just want to know what they call him for. So if u want meningitis tuberculosis hepatitis then please by all means come but at your own risk. Youll think youre in vietnam somewhere and from the nasty conditions literally and not just from floor bathrooms etc the staff dor most part same as them floors and bathroom and If u gave urine i wouldnt trust them results at all. They was still on counter when they discharged me and yes discharged me im making the whole experience public cuz im no liar and sending copies to proper authorities as all entities and license agencies should know and see these conditions and yes i got pics as well SO DO YOURSELF A SOLID FAVOR A DONT COME HERE NOT EVEN TO DIE!!!!! THERE IS 3 STAFF I ENDURED THAT ABOVE AND BEYOND BUT THE REST IS LIKE BEING DROPPED OFF IN A GHETTO OR SOMETHING AND YES I DID ASK FOR HEAD NURSE AND SHE LOOKED AT ME FROM AFAR...