ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) — Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens has announced his office has reached a settlement with Family Dermatology PC after allegations the company violated the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act.
According to the state, Family Dermatology attempted to collect debts from consumers without confirming the validity of the debt or the accuracy of the billing statement. A number of consumers allegedly were billed for services for which they had already paid.
In other instances, consumers alleged the company failed to submit claims to insurance providers in a timely matter. Insurance providers would then deny the claim. In many cases, the consumers tried to contact Family Dermatology to question the bills but most were unable to get through to customer service.
“Consumers should be able to trust that their medical providers will bill them fairly for services rendered,” Olens said. “If a company does not have adequate billing and customer service capabilities in place, it should not penalize consumers.”
As part of the settlement, Family Dermatology denied any wrongdoing but agreed to an assurance of voluntary compliance. Under this compliance agreement, the company will pay restitution for consumers victimized by its alleged actions.