Children's Hospital of Michigan — Local services in Detroit

GO TO U OF M MOTTS! Worst experience here. Anyone who said the Detroit staff was awesome and the environment was child friendly is lying and probably associated with the hospital. It was old and felt unsanitary in comparison to other Children's Hospitals. My real complaint and horror story all has to do with Dr. Eric Jones. Dr. Eric Jones saw my son at 5.5. weeks of age and at that time after spending less than 3 minutes examining him, determined that he should be placed in pavlik harness for hip dysplasia. No prior testing or ultra sounds or x-rays were conducted to ensure a proper diagnosis. I should of trusted my gut when the resident who was working under Dr. Jones that day said he didn't feel anything in his hip and said we should go home without any issues. As first time parents, we put our faith in the doctor who we had hoped would have our childs best interest at heart. Dr. Jones's brace specialist just so happened to be in the office the day we took our son in and he and Dr. Jones placed him in the harness the day of our first visit and instructed us to keep it on our son in it for 6 weeks, but he could be taken out for diaper changes and baths. On 11/28 we had our 6 week follow up appoint with Dr. Jones. We first went in for an ultra sound, then immediately saw Dr. Jones and was informed that his hip was completely dislocated. He stated he would of never of told us to to remove the brace, that the brace should of been placed underneath his clothes and he should of been wearing 24/7. Then said the brace he was placed in was actually the WRONG brace and that we needed to purchase a new brace and keep him in it for an additional two weeks. He said in two weeks if his hip wasn't in the proper place we would have no other choice other than surgery. How can a doctor, who literally put our son physically in the pavlik harness himself, put the marks on the straps so we know where to adjust it when we take him in/out for baths NOT remember that he placed him in the brace in the first place? Let alone, give us the WRONG one and tell us we need to purchase a new one immediately. Dr. Jones was argumentative with us and denied doing anything wrong at all. We immediately took our son to his pediatrician to feel for any hip dislocation as we are very concerned at this point. Our Pediatrician who has been monitoring our son since birth said the hip click he had was virtually gone and not showing any physical signs of the issues he was having at birth. He recommended we get a second opinion. So here we are today on 12/14 after receiving our second opinion at U of M Motts. We are relieved to hear that our son in fact DOES NOT have any hip issues, that his hip is completely in socket and isn't showing any abnormal signs. I also brought a copy of the Ultra Sound Dr. Jones office had conducted and the notes from the doctor's office and U of M told us the images on the disc were so distorted that they were unsure based on what they saw how they would of even come to the diagnosis that they did. We were also told that it would be virtually impossible without any medical treatment in the last two weeks for our sons hips measurements to go from 35 degrees to 65 degrees (normal measurements). Lastly we were told by U of M that they wouldn't even suggest surgery on a baby 3 months old due to the fact their bones are so still so soft that there are other non invasive methods of treatment prior to surgery even being considered. So if you have ever seen Dr. Jones or have an appointment scheduled, do your research or get a 2nd or 3rd opinion. This man is a joke, I truly believe he is only out for money and insurance grabs. It's sick to think that this man wanted to perform surgery on my perfectly healthy son for no reason at all and I feel sickened to think this man has put his grimy medical hands on other people's children and possibly misdiagnosed them as he did my own son. I highly advise against ever using this man as a doctor and you can bet that we will be filing a formal complaint against this criminal they...

This review is for billing only. (Our surgeons have been great). We were asked to pay the remainder of our co-insurance upfront, which we did. The hospital never processed it, and we were responsible for paying a portion of our co-insurance again in order to receive our son’s helmet (which he needed right away). The hospital proceeded to send us two more bills, both of which should have been completely covered. For one of those bills, insurance said they were waiting for information from the hospital, which they never received. I’ve called the insurance company, as well as the hospital numerous times. My insurance company has always been helpful, providing answers and even calling the hospital once while I was on the line. Every time I call the hospital, I get the run-around, saying I need to talk to someone else…but NO ONE knows who I need to contact. I’ve talked to so many people at the hospital/billing, even giving physical copies of statements/bills to them, but I’ve gotten nowhere. So, we still have not received our refund, AND I just received a letter in the mail that they sent a bill to a debt collecting agency. (This was the same bill that our insurance company was waiting to receive information from the hospital, and said I owed nothing until then. I had also called the hospital/billing about this a couple of months ago, talking to numerous people, but apparently nothing has been resolved.)

This whole situation has been stressful because this hospital seems so incompetent and disorganized when it comes to billing. No one has given me answers. They’ll gladly take your money, but are in no hurry to return it. After reading through other reviews, it appears I am not the only one this has happened to. Just be aware that you may also go through this stressful run-around and may never see your money again.

Update (6/23/22, 3 months after first review):

Neither situation has been resolved. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve spent countless hours on the phone with my insurance company and multiple departments at the hospital trying to get this fixed. My insurance company has yet again been incredibly helpful, calling the hospital on my behalf numerous times. The hospital has done nothing. Everyone agrees I don’t owe anything, but not one person has fixed it. In fact, I was told the situation was being “escalated” and the manager of plastic surgery contacted me. Since that time, over four weeks ago, she has not reached out to me. I followed up with her, and her only reply was asking for a phone number I had already given her via email two weeks prior (which also conveys to me she has made no attempt to even look into anything). I was at the hospital a week ago and asked for an update, and they said they’d have her contact me. After everything I’ve dealt with, it’s not surprising that she never did. I sent another follow-up email, and got no reply. This hospital is a joke. I thought it was just billing, but now I think every department is full of incompetent people who can’t fix their mistakes. There is no communication or follow-through. For the sake of your own sanity and wallet, avoid this hospital unless you want to go through something similar. The surgeons have been great, as well as the nurses when we had to stay… but the nightmare it’s been trying to get any issue resolved is not worth it. And we still haven’t received our refund.

Update (8/30/22, two months after last review):

Still have not received our refund (it’s been over a year!) After I posted my last review, the plastic surgery department did finally get back to me and said I shouldn’t be getting any bills and if so, I’m not responsible for them. Since that time, I have received no further updates. My son has follow-up tests, and the hospital is once again asking for money up front. I understand it’s a new year, how deductibles work, and that patients are responsible for payment; however, seems a bit ridiculous to ask us for money when they, in...

This review is only for this hospital billing department. My daughter went through heart procedure in June 2021. She spend overnight at the hospital. Hospital charged my deductible money (large amount close to $7k) up front. Now after all bills are taken care of, hospital owes me about $950. I paid $7k upfront. I should have taken payment plan. I made a mistake. We are taking our daughter to this hospital since she was born. She has been through numerous procedures here but we never had this experience. So I have 100% trust in this institution. We are also yearly donor to this hospital. I have been on phone with them for last two months and I am getting run around. I can never talk to anyone from the Children's Hospital of Michigan. I always talk to a billing team who tells me that they will start the refund process and will take 30 days (Yes. 30 days to return my money and 0 days when they have to take money). Then after 15 days, I get response that refund has denied. They tell me there is some claim going on with my insurance (BCBSM). I call my insurance and they confirm that there are no open claims with Children's Hospital of Michigan. I am not sure if I will ever get my money back but just letting other people know that do not pay large amount upfront. There is no system in this (now privately own hospital) institution to get your refund. Very disappointed with my experience. It seems like the management is not honest anymore. They are not looking out for patients and their families.

10/1/21 - After I wrote this review, I called the billing department. They again told me that there is open claim going on between hospital and Insurance. When I ask to share the details of the open claim with insurance, they say it will take 5-6 days. I ask just email me to save time. I will handle the claim with my insurance. They again put me on hold for very long time. I plan to document all my conversation here until I get my refund. Children's hospital told me that there is open claim about $49k with my insurance. Until that is resolved, I cannot get my refund. So after finishing my call, I called my insurance and asked them about this open claim. They confirm there is no such open claim with Children's hospital of Michigan. Insurance agent put me on hold and then called Children's billing office to confirm what claim is open. Insurance agent talked to person named Rex from hospital. He said there there are some issues where hospital needs to fix in their billing. Until that is resolved, I will not get my refund. Will follow up with hospital on 11/1/21.

10/6/21 - I was reading other people review and Mr. Steve Herron has exactly same experience as mine. I hope he received his refund. I received phone call the hospital billing that I will receive my refund in one week. I believe me writing Google review and also calling Billing department (outsourced billing department) more than 10 times is getting the word done. It is not my responsibility to ask my own money. While billing to insurance, hospital is responsible to tell the insurance that patient has paid the deductible upfront. I called billing department more than 10 times and my insurance company about 5 times to resolve the matter. I should not be thanking the hospital OR billing department for giving my refund back (if I get it in a week). It is their duty to do that. I cannot imagine what must be going on to patients/parents who does not have health coverage OR who cannot afford to pay the out of...