Here's what I wrote (in my 2nd appeal) to Kaiser's grievance department... In my previous grievance I explained that I went to the vision center in December, 2014 at the Long Beach Kaiser and was horribly overcharged for an eye exam. I was aware that my insurance didn’t cover the eye exam, but when I asked what it would cost me, I was told $40. Not $40 as a deposit or as a down payment toward a later balance, but $40. I recently contacted the receptionist at the Long Beach eye center who, as she confirmed in her system, was the receptionist that checked me in that day and received my payment. I told her the situation and she told me that it’s typical for her to say, “this is a deposit and you will owe somewhere in the range of $136 to $215 for the balance.” I assure you she never did. As I said in my previous appeal, everyone and their brother knows that you can, without any insurance, get an eye exam at Walmart for $60 or less. I heard no price range information when I paid. In fact, the balance I received in the mail from Kaiser was $536, not somewhere between $136 and $215 as Crystal said she typically states. When I asked her why the balance was $536 and not somewhere from $136 to $215, she replied, “whatever the doctor does back there may result in higher costs” - higher costs that are, apparently, not explained to the member as they’re receiving services that will result in an increase! You can understand my frustration, I’m sure. I know you deal with a lot of bogus claims - people trying to screw the system. I am just trying not to get screwed. We are big advocates for Kaiser and hope to stay with you all for a long time to come. So please, please see the reasonableness of my grievance. I have spent so much time and energy trying to simply not get gouged with this. I don’t want damages; I just don’t want to be taken advantage of. I would like the balance of $536 to be dropped. I don’t say, “waived” because I shouldn’t owe it in the first place. If I could afford a good lawyer and had the time and money to follow this through, I would. I think I have a pretty solid case. However, I don’t have a lawyer or the time or money to do that. And so I’m appealing to your sense of justice. I have already appealed to Managed Health Care of Ca. They denied me as well. I talked to a lawyer who has dealt with a lot of insurance companies and he says it’s pretty typical for small money cases to be automatically denied because the big companies know that most people won’t follow it through. And now, I understand why. If you can help me out with this I would be very grateful. My wife and I both work to be able to have good insurance and enough for our family. We cannot afford this.