Clifton Oral & Maxillofacial: Gorab Glenn DDS

Dear Joanna Siddiqui,

We are sorry that your experience in our office was not as you anticipated it would end. For 30 years we have been assisting people with their dental needs and part of that consists of helping them understand their insurance coverage. As part of our service we try to determine an estimate of what your insurance coverage will be and what your copay will be. Your insurance coverage is an agreement between your employer and the insurance company. We have no say as to what they will or will not cover. As well we cannot get any exact information as to what they will cover until after they process the claim. If you recall this was explained to you, you were also given a form explaining this and you signed the form understanding this at that time.
All insurance companies determine what the coverage will be after the procedure is done and the claim submitted. The fact that your company reimbursed you less than you desired is beyond our control. That is their policy and we have no control over that. The copay you were responsible for was that difference. It is illegal for us to write off a copay as this is insurance fraud and we will not be put into that position because you were unhappy with what your insurance company paid.

You were informed of this, you were sent 3 statements requesting the balance and refused to pay the amount you owed for the services that were provided to you. As a result you were, with warning, sent to our collection agency for your non-response. They informed us that they attempted to collect the balance due our office and you refused. Your lack of response left them no option but to seek payment through wage garnishment.

We are truly sorry that you did not get the reimbursement you wished from your insurance company. I suggest that for any claims in the future you call your insurance company to get their explanation of their policy. We have no control over that.

I do note that in your review of our office you made no mention of the surgical care you received in our office. I reviewed your chart, discussed the case with Dr Marsh and the surgery that Dr Marsh provided. From all indication, it appears that you had a successful outcome and no complications. Providing high quality care in a friendly and compassionate environment is what we strive to do at Clifton Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. And this is also what the rest of the reviews by other patients suggest that we do. We are glad that you had a successful surgical result but regret your misunderstanding of how your insurance works.

Honestly, this office is very dishonest with their billing. When I went into their office for services to remove my wisdom teeth, they contacted my insurance who told them how much I was responsible for. The total amount was $153. I asked them to make sure I wouldn't be held responsible for anything else because financially I can't afford it. They called and confirmed with my insurance while I waited that I wouldn't be held responsible for anything else. Only, later they then turned around and said I owed much more. After receiving a bill, I contacted the office manager Marlina (who doesn't recollect any conversations I had with her), who spoke to Dr. Gorab. Based on what had transpired I was told I wasn't responsible for the balance. Only to find out now, it went to collections and a judgement on my credit report to wage garnishment. All of this without my knowledge. I have reported this office to the NJ State Board of Dentistry. This office is extremely dishonest. When I told Marlina that I would report them to the State Board of Dentistry, she responded with okay I don't know where that would get you. Their lawyers, David Watner and Joe Luna are very unprofessional and also collected money in 2012 and in 2014 they still have never reported to the credit bureaus that they collected their funds: from a $401 bill, they garnished $851 of my wages.