Dr. Aditha Ponaka Reddy

Provider upcoded a routine exam as a medical visit. As a routine exam had NOT been coded as such when I saw a different doctor previously at Cincinnati Eye Institute, to avoid any mistakes with Dr. Reddy, I called billing and spoke to a patient representative to confirm my visit was routine. Despite this, upon check-in, I was asked to pay a copay, indicating CEI did not recognize the visit as fully covered by my insurance. After receiving an incorrect bill for a copay, I discovered the doctor had erroneously coded my routine exam as a medical visit. Despite repeatedly contacting CEI over 3 months, they refused to correct it. The doctor put a diagnosis in the office note. But she did so w/o conducting exams, tests, or asking further Qs during the last minute of my visit when she asked for any remaining Qs, and I responded with a simple, insignificant one. CEI utilized this dubious diagnosis to justify upcoding, saying: other patients would be happy to get a diagnosis. It shows CEI… didn't intend to code a routine as it should have, but instead as a medical visit.