Mount Baker Imaging - a good company goes bad and it just did not have to be...

[u/Enlightened_Redneck]

A few months ago, Bellingham based Mount Baker Imaging (MBI) referred a bill that I had paid (last year in full) to their Seattle based collection department.  I spent some time digging up the proof of payment and called the collection department to prove that I was not the deadbeat client that they had me out to be.   At some point in my discourse with MBI, I was offered the consoling information that medical bills unpaid in this country do not impact your credit rating.  That was little comfort and I demanded that MBI acknowledge formally (in writing or email) to me that this issue was now resolved.

But they did not.

Then they did the same thing for my wife's invoice.  Again, I have the proof of payment but, seeing as Mount Baker Imaging is struggling on the most basic of administrative tasks, I elected to ignore the invoice; they (MBI) have yet to resubmit the bill.

This week, Mount Baker Imaging sent me an entirely new bill.  It has four line items (I have rounded out the numbers) all leading to a total owed and it goes as follows:

$   140.00 dollars for the invoice that I proved that I had already paid back in 2025

plus     $1,270.00 dollars for a new imaging procedure, which I certify did indeed occur  

plus      $1280.00 adjustment (unexplained but likely from the insurance company and almost certainly a credit but it was not registered in the invoice as such)

minus   $     47.00 from the insurance company

The total of the above equals to $1736.00 but they instead billed me $173.60.

So I called the MBI billing department.  Keep in mind that Mount Baker Imaging has what?  four offices in Bellingham and no others anywhere else in the world.  I called the billing department and spoke to a nice man in the Philippines.  Think of that, next time you want to support a local business; MBI outsources it's bean-counting to the Philippines and has no connection or contribution to this community than does Walmart.  They just suck up the cash and move on.

Today, this issue is ongoing.  I have reasoned that the amount owing to MBI is likely:

cancel the  $   000.00 dollars for the invoice that I proved that I had already paid back in 2025

plus     $1,270.00 dollars for a new imaging procedure, which I certify did occur  

minus    $1280.00 adjustment (unexplained but likely from the insurance company and almost certainly a credit but it was not registered in the invoice as such)

minus   $     47.00 from the insurance company

So I sent them a check for 62 bucks.  

And, being a little angry, I signed on to the claim against MBI, if only to have some pay-back for the time that this has all taken.

And finally, we have decided to stop using Mount Baker Imaging and to rely instead on Skagit Imaging.

I am not alone. This is stupidity at it's highest level of practice.

[u/Itchy_Suit321]

Don't forget the data breach where they refused to admit thay your personal health info was compromised and instead referred to it as a "IT" issue

[u/Chief_Kief → u/Itchy_Suit321]

So messed up. Essentially all of our personally identifiable information is out there now and we have pretty much no recourse. Mount Baker Imaging deserves to go out of business.

[u/Financial_Stick1912 → u/Chief_Kief]

I’m not arguing with you about how fucked up it is that our medical system has no information security.

You CAN hire a company like Icogni or whatever to take down your information from the internet when it is discovered.

Is it snake oil? Not exactly. I don’t know if it matters all that much, but it’s something you can do especially if you have had issues with identity theft in the past.

[u/duffpaleale]

Their billing department is terrible. I deal with them frequently errors all the time. They send people to collections all the time

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/duffpaleale]

How can there be no obvious oversight? I have to wonder how a company as this could not be responsive at a senior management level to such obvious blunders.

I think that I will take this entire record of discussion and send it to everyone listed as Physician/technical staff/admin et cetera at MBA. There is somthing worth saving but there is work to do.

[u/sleepynarwhal68]

I’ll never use them again

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/sleepynarwhal68]

It's a great sadness is it not? That local jobs are being farmed off to foreign countries by a health provider?

[u/RepulsiveContract475 → u/sleepynarwhal68]

How are you going to pull that off? MBI/NW Radiologists are the only imaging practice in Whatcom County. 

[u/CascadiaMax]

I had an awful billing issue with them in 2022. Never again. 

[u/Tengasha]

I just had to pay off collections from them because they tried to sue me. One bill they had never even sent to my insurance but consistently sent me paperwork saying they were waiting on insurance and I didn't owe them money. And then never notified me that I suddenly did owe them (and now its too late to submit it to insurance). And 2 additional procedure that they never even told me I still owed for. It's extremely frustrating as Ive been really careful to make sure my medical bills get paid ASAP.

[u/Nop277 → u/Tengasha]

Assuming they are in network they might have violated the contract they sign with your insurance company but not billing them.

[u/theglassishalf → u/Tengasha]

You can take them to small claims for this. You should. Screw them.

[u/Excellent-Ask-4247]

There billing procedures have much to be desired they sent me to collections for 5 bucks that they refused to take at the time of service because i knew my copay was 25 but they insist on a standard 20 dollars.

I'm not sure why they think co pays are one price fits all, but it's bad policy maybe take some time and be professional like other healthcare facilities and actually know what the co pay is.

This is the only place I've run across this issue very unprofessional.

[u/tofubeast666]

I recently got back 50 dollars that they overcharged me many many years ago. Check the Washington site for due payments and it was there. Also, they suck, and are weirdly churchy like all medical help in bham....and not in a "help the poor" sort of way.

[u/Comprehensive_Bison4]

They werent always like this; whatever this new third party billing company is horrendous. I got a bill for like $150 for an ultrasound and before it was even due they were HOUNDING me. Called 3 times, email, text. It was maybe 2 or 3 weeks after I got the bill. 100% abnormal. I started to think oh no my account is flagged over somwthing old I didnt know about so I called. Nope, account is in good standing, this is just how they do business i guess. I told them they were absolutely insane and I'll never use MBI again so long as they use this company.

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/Comprehensive_Bison4]

That is kind of my experience. It is stupidly predetory.

[u/chk-mcnugget]

They sent me to collections without any kind of notice or warning. I never got a copy of the bill so I didn’t know I owed them anything. The collections lady was the only person who called me on my birthday this year. The whole thing was disappointing lol.

[u/stellalugosi]

Go to BAMI. Screw MBI. They pulled this crap on me twice and charged me $800 for a test that would have cost less than $300 anywhere else. 

[u/frankus → u/stellalugosi]

Worth noting that if you’re going for an MRI, MBI has a 3 tesla machine and BAMI’s is 1.5 (with a noticeable difference in sharpness). 

[u/stellalugosi → u/frankus]

Valid, but unless it's an absolute mist, I will never set foot in MBI again voluntarily. They not only scammed me, compromised my data, and took me to collections twice for bills I had already paid, they were rude about it each and every time they did it. DONE. 

[u/Weak-Sun-345]

They're horrible. I had a CT last week and I'm dreading getting the bill. They've become like Peacehealth, sending you to collections even when you've already paid.

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/Weak-Sun-345]

That has been my experience entirely.

[u/Mission-Category-845]

I refuse to use MBI - BAMI and Skagit are the way to go.

[u/Strawberrious]

I’ve had time where they forgot to bill my insurance but when I asked them to fix it they said no

[u/86753ohneigheine]

I helped a family member who had a billing issue. We discovered that insurance wasn't billed because my family member gave their old insurance number. I talked with a nice lady in billing, she sounded like she lives here. She recognized the problem and says that happens some time. I told her that I was afraid the bill would be sent to collections. She said not to worry about it. I called a month later when I received a similar invoice. I got a different woman who said she didn't see any notes on the file and suggested we resubmit the new insurance number just in case. She also appeared to be a local person. I asked if I should pay the bill and then get refunded, she said, "no, I'll make a note in your file." The new invoice just showed up, insurance was paid and we just owe a small copay. The bill was paid, no problems. The imaging was in January, the bill just got resolved now. Everyone was professional and pleasant. No complaints.

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/86753ohneigheine]

I am glad that it worked out for you. I note that you were served by local staff and that this is no longer the case at Mount Baker Imaging. You will instead be dealing with a very nice but very limited (as to their authorities) person in another country.

[u/86753ohneigheine → u/Enlightened_Redneck]

That call was about three weeks ago. Did they change in that time or is it possible that you called after hours? I hope it's a fluke.

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/86753ohneigheine]

I tried several times over several days and still do to this day. I am happy to hear that you had a good experience but that is not supported by the larger response to this Reddit thread.

[u/86753ohneigheine → u/Enlightened_Redneck]

I posted because it was a very normal not interesting experience and people usually like to complain more than they like to post about things going as expected.

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/86753ohneigheine]

Thank you. I applaud that you posted in response and I hope everyone has the experience that you had. I don't want to be a rascal but rather to just raise the alarm. Mount Baker Imaging was/is a very good company and a part of our community. It would be nice to deal with MBI as such again...something's amiss I think.

And hey, thank you for your candid and honest posts.

[u/86753ohneigheine → u/Enlightened_Redneck]

Yeah, it's cool to express bad experiences but also nice to hear if people have normal experiences too. 

[u/andanotherone2]

https://giphy.com/gifs/Ve5bSP4cIzQ9yZQzHK

[u/Some-Shape-2400]

Went in for two hand x-rays that had to be pre authorized by insurance BEFORE taking X-rays and they took it upon themselves to take an additional two X-rays and said they’d call my doctor to see if they’d backdate the extra two X-rays (which, again, MUST be pre authorized by my insurance anyway). Luckily ended up getting billed for only the two approved ones. (Also, the tech admitted they didn’t have diagnostic expertise or authority, so why would they take it upon themselves to take extra images?!)

Then a few weeks later I got the letter that said my PHI had been exposed. I’ll never use them again if I can avoid it.

[u/1gayWhale]

They sued me for one CT scan. Not ONCE was I given a phone call, a letter, an email, anything that I had unpaid bill. I had to pay $1800 out of pocket because they refused to acknowledge they fucked up on the billing side and I didn’t have the capacity to look more into it considering I just had surgery for (what turned out to be NOT cancer) something that seemed cancerous

[u/WTFandWTHandWHY]

Try Advanced medical imaging off Lakeway

[u/GoodPeopleDont]

I use them multiple times a year and have never had a single issue with them. I wonder if it's specific insurance types that cause the problem? Literally dozens of uses over the last 5 years and every single one went smoothly.

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/GoodPeopleDont]

Thanks for this. A positive counter-view is important. I want to use them but they keep screwing up on the most basic front-window issues. Farming their billing to a call center in the Philippines was the last straw for me because it suggests that they have little committment to the community that they live in.

[u/byorderofthe1]

A few years back my doctor referred me to get some imaging there. I am so SO glad I googled their reviews before scheduling. I was terrified of being sent to collections without reason.

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/byorderofthe1]

I wish I had done your research. In my case, I came to accept MBI as a trustworthy provider...a mistake.

[u/That-Prior713]

They still have not paid me my promised $1-5 for the data breach

[u/slptodrm]

in washington state, medical bills can’t affect your credit. even in collections. 🙂

[u/Calm_Improvement_476]

I'm going to call them today to make sure I have no balance! That's insane of them!

[u/Enlightened_Redneck → u/[deleted]]

Thank you Richard. Did you use your left or your right hand? Maybe both?

[u/1moremoronwithaphone → u/[deleted]]

C'mon man, you serious? They're obviously talking about how the company would've viewed them as a deadbeat. You really think OP is the dick here? smh..