Forefront Dermatology Questionable Practice
The Forefront Dermatology Questionable Practice is an investigation of one practice of Forefront Dermatology, S.C. or Forefront Dermatology, which is also marketed as Forefront Dermatology and Affiliated Practices and forefrontdermatology.com (hereinafter, FFD), which appears to be harmful if not fraudulent.
This text draft has been published in order to investigate the issue. This text draft doesn't intend in any way to accuse FFD in anything, but rather inform. On February 27th, 2021, FFD was notified and offered to provide their perspective on the issue. The investigators for CNM Cyber interpret that silence as acceptance of the truthfulness of Mr. Sh.'s data; this silence may be interpreted as acceptance of their fraud.
Contents
Visit discovery
Initial report
- In early October of 2020, Mr. Sh. realized his need in medical services of a dermatologist. The need was not urgent. Mr. Sh. had a Cigna insurance and looked for a medical service provider whose services would be covered by his insurance. Mr. Sh. executed the Google search for "dermatologist cigna" and the result returned Zocdoc.com's "Best Cigna Dermatologists" near him. He clicked and this online medical appointment booking service offered Mr. Sh. to book an appointment with Dr. Rhett Kent, MD in Arlington, VA. Mr. Sh. called the Dr. Rhett Kent, MD's office and they confirmed that they accept the Mr. Sh.'s Cigna insurance as in-network medical. Dr. Rhett Kent, MD is listed at the FFD website as their affiliated doctor.
- When Mr. Sh. arrived in the office, he presented his insurance card. The office of Dr. Rhett Kent, MD confirmed again that they accept Mr. Sh.'s insurance as in-network medical and his co-pay would be around 5% of the bill. That was why Mr. Sh. agreed on accepting Dr. Rhett Kent, MD's services.
- However, in late 2020, Mr. Sh. received the Cigna notification that they cannot cover their portion of the bill. Mr. Sh. called Cigna and they said that they no longer worked with that doctor, at least, on those procedures. Then, Mr. Sh. called the office of Dr. Rhett Kent, MD. There, Mr. Sh. was explained that they used to work with Cigna, but no longer work.
- Surprisingly, Mr. Sh. received a mailing not from Dr. Rhett Kent, MD's office, but from FFD. Later, they also sent their "past-due" notice. Mr. Sh. guesses that the Dr. Rhett Kent, MD's office and/or FFD, at least, misled him and attracted him to the services that Mr. Sh. wasn't willing to accept if he knew the payment details. Mr. Sh. agreed to pay his promised share, not the whole bill.
First notification of FFD
- On February 27th, the mailings were sent to both Dr. Rhett Kent, MD and FFD. Both were notified about the report and offered to take actions to clear the issue. As of April 22nd, 2021, none of them had responded, so texts on this page were moved from Talk pages to main pages of this wiki.
Agency discovery
Agency entrance
- In mid-March, Mr. Sh. received a mail from Americollect, inc. (hereinafter, Americollect). The mail indicated that Americollect is collecting the debt that Mr. Sh. allegedly owed to FFD. After about 3 days, Mr. Sh. received a phone call from someone acting for Americollect. Mr. Sh. explained that his alleged "debt" is disputed. The agent ensured Mr. Sh. that his information would be verified with FFD.
- However, on April 16th, Mr. Sh. received two emails and one attachment. All of them ignored Mr. Sh.'s information and requests; they insisted on payments for the services that Mr. Sh. had never requested.
What Americollect is
- According to its website, Linkedin profile, and Facebook page, as of April 25th, 2021, Americollect Inc. is a collection agency headquartered in Manitowoc, WI, and employing 201-500 people. The corporation records of the state of Wisconsin indicate that the corporation was established in 1964 as Manitowoc Collection Service, Inc. and in 1994 its name was changed to the current one.
Americollect's success
- It appears that Kenlyn Gretz drives the success of Americollect, Inc. According to the About us page of the official website,
In 1999, Kenlyn Gretz purchased Americollect after spending 11 years as the company’s Collection Manager. Since taking over the small, 12-employee agency, the Americollect team has grown to over 340 members that serve more than 120 hospitals and 7,000 physicians.
- On his Linkedin profile, as of April 25th, 2021, Mr. Gretz stated that,
Americollect works with health care systems nationwide and operates two divisions, one serving as a hospital's customer service team and the other as a health care collection agency.
- On September 6th, 2018, Matitowoc Streetwise published an article authored by Patti Zarling, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter. This article features the interview with Mr. Gretz and states,
But while most people might think of Americollect as a collections agency, its division, AmeriEBO, is a patient-customer service call center that works with about 16 hospitals nationwide and is quickly growing. Four years ago, it served just eight.
That division helps callers with questions about hospital financial services and makes up 30 percent of Americollect's business. Gretz said the company is growing and continues to take on new clients throughout the U.S.
"When you hear about Americollect, you think we are going to talk about overdue bills, but we do so much more than that," he said.
The company employs nearly 300 people, and Gretz expects the AmeriEBO division to continue to expand as hospitals and medical centers continue to look for ways to save costs.
"They look at things they maybe don't do really well, that they can hand off," Gretz said. "They are getting into the business of making phone calls, when they got into it to be in the business of health care. This is a nationwide trend that we expect will keep growing, not just for us and for our clients, but overall."
Client services
- According to the corporation records of the state of Wisconsin, Ameri EBO LLC was filled as a separate entity in 2013, with Kenlyn Todd Gretz as its principal agent and Americollect, Inc.'s address as its address. However, as Mr. Gretz stated, it looks like the customer service business operates as a division of Americollect Inc. rather than a separate company. At least, all of its key officers and staffers refer to themselves as employees of Americollect, Inc.
