Union Square Eye Care

WORST BILLING IMAGINABLE! The doctor was fine, but then they sent me a bill above my co-​pay, which I dutifully paid. Next visit, I was told I only owed my co-​pay. Turns out they submitted to my insurance incorrectly. That was January. Now it’s June. Their billing vendor is a nightmare. Half the time they don’t take your call; they take messages that they never return. It’s constant follow up, talking to one unconcerned person after another. The insurance carrier finally paid the excess, but they refuse to give me the refund due me, saying they now have to call the office and verify it all. I’d rather take these few minutes to warn others than call these dead beats again. DO NOT GO HERE! My next call will be to the Attorney Generals office about their withholding of my funds…

Just seeing the response to my earlier review. I’m not sure what is meant by the statement that I asked to not be contacted by customer service. To me, this implies that I am complaining behind the backs of Union Square Eye Care instead of attempting to resolve the issue with customer service and billing. In fact, I spent hours on the phone with both, and, after resolving the issue, am complaining that I ever had an issue in the first place.

My doctor is amazing, kind, and patient and has been nothing but great. This place needs more positive light shined on them because they deserve it

I’ve been going to USEC for about 6 years, I think. I had an appointment this past week and they’ve actually improved wait times drastically. I always allow 2 hours in my schedule which is kind of absurd for an eye appt. I was in and out in 1 hour this week and it felt miraculous. There were seats available in the waiting room (last year it was so overbooked several of us were standing) though I do wish they would tell people to not use cell phones! Sad that they would need to, alas. Yes, the girls at the desk are more interested in socializing with each other and can get loud, that hasn’t changed, but everyone I encountered has at least been pleasant.
There seems to be some turnover amongst doctors. I’ve seen 3 in the time I’ve been going there. Original one left, the next one left, and the one I saw this week was condescending and not my favorite. Hopefully he will be gone by next year when I go back! I keep coming back because I need to see an ophthalmologist and not just an optometrist and, honestly, I’m too lazy to try to find a new one who takes my insurance. If the quality of drs or service was poor I would switch. So yay for settling for the most basic level of acceptable quality of care!
FYI: Their glasses dept. is a joke in terms of prices. I hope no one is stupid enough to get their glasses there unless their insurance is covering them completely. I pay out of pocket and have found a pretty cheap way to get frames/​lenses done. For lenses alone they quoted me over $ 200 — I can get the same thing for $ 100 elsewhere in the city by providing my own frames. This means I can get a complete pair of glasses that are better than Warby Parker quality for about $ 250 (depending on the cost of frames, of course).

the only reason I go here, is because I see a doc who is a specialist in my condition. He is fantastic and shares knowledge with me.
The front desk staff bicker and roll their eyes at each other, and do mean girl snickering to this one girl at the desk. I feel terrible for her. the wait time is bad, but I fix that by being the first person. the payment/​co pay stuff seems to be better, but at first, it was annoying to have to pay up front, get grilled that my insurance was not correct. Now someone checks 2 days before I go, and calls me if there might be a billing issue; that helps.

I had a terrible experience here. Someone called me the morning of my appointment letting me know my doctor had a family emergency and wouldn’t be in. However, they assured me that they could still see me at my appointment time, just with a different doctor. Wrong. I waited an hour and a half and when the doctor finally did see me, I got a weak «sorry.» Another person on here also made a great point — you are seen by several different people before you actually get the doctor. Seems unnecessary and is misleading, as you think you’re about to be seen, but ultimately have to wait 45 minutes in between one person and the next. I will not be coming back here.

I had a great experience with Dr Schneiderman and his staff. I was in urgent need of seeing an eye doctor fast. I was able to get an appt. on Friday, ⁴⁄₈ due to an allergic reaction on my eye and face. Dr. Schneiderman and his helpful technician who screened me (cannot recall her name but she was fabulous) made me feel at ease and in great hands. The Unilocal reviews almost scared me off but I took a chance as I did not have an eye doctor. I would highly recommend. Big thanks to everyone who helped me on Friday!

Glad to see my experience echoed by other patients – terrible front desk /​reception staff (especially you, April, who can’t answer questions to save your life and Annette, who failed to remedy the situation). I gave feedback to the actual office manager the day of my appointment because my experience was so bad even then (they had failed to run my updated insurance information despite my requests that they do so in advance, and put incorrect billing information throughout my paperwork). Due to all of these factors and more, I am suggesting that you avoid this place.
I am a dyed-​in-​the-​wool patient with a well-​managed chronic illness requiring me to obtain a medical eye exam every year. I decide to give USEC a shot because it was listed as a provider my insurance plan works with, and I call to confirm that the visit was to be coded as preventive care (the visit type my insurance requires).
That’s when I come into contact with the lovely April on the phone. April says, «YEAH IT’S MEDICAL IT’S NOT LIKE LENSCRAFTERS.» That’s not what I was asking. I know it’s a medical exam and as my insurance only covers particular codes, I asked her if she could please verify how it will be coded. She, being unable to answer this question and super rude after only being on the phone with me for maybe 10 seconds, says «YEAH WHATEVER, LET ME LIKE ASK MY SUPERVISOR.» Then she forgets to turn the sound off when I’m on hold, so I hear her bitching about how she’s been asked a question and saying «doo, doo, doo, whatever b*tch, I’m not asking anybody, doo doo doo.» I’ve never been to a Lenscrafters in my life. I go to medical offices for medical exams when it comes to vision, out of medical necessity annually. I like my visits to be professional. I do not understand how this woman is employed, unless perhaps her employer fears her being litigious and absolutely crazy.
I honestly thought to give them the benefit of the doubt, and I was busy that week so kept my appointment. Maybe April behaves like a huge turd to patients, but maybe she was having a terrible day. Nope, nope, nope. Maybe management cares about this? Wrong again, but nice try! USEC is beyond help.
More fun facts, now that I’m on a roll, guys:
1. They do not have magazines in the main waiting room for patients who have not yet had their eyes dilated. But in the inner waiting room, for patients who have had their eyes dilated and can’t read for up to 5 hours? That’s where the magazines are.
2. It’s lovely to know they are not a Lenscrafters; thanks to the front desk staff for the unnecessary clarification. Yet somehow the tattered 8×11 printout about how you NOW OFFER COSMETIC FILLERS (yay?) next to the check-​in desk does not instill confidence in your patient coming in for a medical visit.
3. Finally, quite importantly: I was NEVER TOLD MY RESULTS, except that I’m «okay, for now.»

I had the best visit. I was seen on time and everything was explained to me thoroughly. They told me the appointment would take about an hour long and it really did only take an hour. I read all the other reviews about the dilation and other billing issues but I have not had any problems yet. If you want a thorough examination your eyes need to be dilated. If you want to thorough and detailed examination this is the place to go.

I give it three stars only because the doctor was very professional and helpful.
I do not recommend this place unless you have plenty of time to hang around. They seem to create all these different layers of people before you get to see your doctor, which was utterly useless.
To start, my appointment was at 9 am. I arrived on time. At 9:20 a very nice and welcoming man does this primary questionnaire. It takes less than 5 minutes. Only at 9:55 I see the actual Doctor, which takes about 5 minutes or less.
So why was I there on time when it took almost an hour to see my doctor? Disrespectful to say the least.
Take care of your scheduling!!! Feels like I’m just a ticket number to get your reimbursement. There is something like 20 people who are not doctors to pre screen you and 4 actual doctors.
Go to a smaller office where your time would be considered.

My husband and I went here for four years, but no more.
Both of us would go annually, pay our co-​pay up front, and then proceed to get billed for our co-​pay. I was tired of having to have this argument, year after year; their practice is to spit bill after bill out to you; perhaps they get people to pay twice just to get rid of that nuisance.
The care was fairly good, but the annual is a 2-​hour proposition, and they use dilation, which they swear they can «normalize» with drops, but they don’t seem to do well. Be prepared to stumble your way to wherever you’re going next, and to be unable to read for at least two hours following. And bring those sunglasses!
We moved on to a wonderful ophthalmologist elsewhere, and when I tried to get a copy of our records, we were told we needed to fax a permission form to USEC first to release them. At the bottom of the form, it says to be prepared to pay «a minimum of $ 25 to provide records.» Really? I’ve been able to recover my records from other medical practices with no charge prior. Our new ophthalmologist said, «Eh – don’t bother then!»
My sentiments exactly.

I’ve read some reviews here, some of which are unfair. For example, many doctors ask for copay upfront. It saves the patients time, as they are waiting to see the doctor anyway– why not take care of it then, instead of after the exam? Also, it is the experience of many doctors that patients leave the office w/​o paying, and then it’s very hard for the doctor to get paid by sending a bill over and over.
Also, it is very common in ophthalmologists office to see one or two technicians before seeing the eye doctor. Eye doctors who accept insurance cannot afford the time to do the preliminary work, as reimbursements are pretty low considering the doctors overhead and the sophisticated equipment that easily costs $ tens of thousands each.
Lastly, the medical eye exam is different than a routine exam for glasses or contacts. That’s why many insurance plans offer vision riders or vision plans to cover routine eye care– regular insurance won’t cover it. If you go for a routine exam, there’s a decent chance part or all of it wont be covered by your medical insurance.

Don’t go — Long wait, unprofessional, no compassion from the front desk staff. Also, paying the co-​pay before you are meet w/​the doctor is ridiculous.
Avoid at all cost, unless you are desperate.

How many busineses start out «very good» and keep improving? I am consistently amazed by the staff and services at Union Square Eye. This group of professionals provided excellent, rapid healthcare from my first day there– THEN IT GOT BETTER. They are consistently improving all aspects of a business that is great to begin with. On one recent occasion, the Mrs. portion, of the husband and wife who are the owners, was happily handling patients. She did not introduce herself as anything other than a tream member, in the trenches, hammering away at superior customer care. They never waste anyone’s time, either.

I went to get my eyes checked for a normal medical eye exam for eyeglasses and contacts. But then was sent a Bill for $ 50 then another for $ 300. I have been unable to resolve the issue. Dr. Nyugen was super nice and friendly, but I am unsure what is going on with the billing issues.
Update…
I called and was able to get it adjusted they had a computer error that caused the bill.

Thirty minutes of eye exam, four months of billing headaches.
I was happy to get a quick eye checkup via ZocDoc. My one complaint about the service itself was that the optometrist didn’t clearly tell me that she’d dilated my eyes. I only noticed when I walked outside and was blinded by the sunlight. I lost most of the rest of the workday as a result.
I received a bill in the mail a month or two later for $ 300. I came in to the office to ask about it but was told that the «biller had been fired» and that I should come back in another week. At that point I was told that there’d been a mistake. They’d billed me through Anthem, rather than United Health Care. The bill would most likely be $ 0. I figured this was the end of it.
I just received another bill, this time for $ 159. It seems that UHC does not, in fact, cover optometrist appointments. The absurd thing is that I have UHC Vision insurance, which covers an annual eye checkup with a $ 10 copay. But they won’t bill my vision insurance.
An optometrist who doesn’t take vision insurance! I wish I’d read the Unilocal reviews first.

The office is spacious and modern. Dr. Nyugen as well as the woman who did my dilating tests were very professional, knowledgeable, and courteous.
I have a minor tick which is the desk receptionist Shanice. The first time I called, she gave me the wrong information and had an attitude. The third time I called, she gave me an attitude as well.

Dear Union Square Eye Care (C/​o «Damage Control Dan»):
I have been a patient of yours since 2010 and the quality of the experience at your practice has most certainly plummeted over the last couple of years. When you first opened, i enjoyed the convenience of a Union Square practice, the elegance of a modern space and the efficiency of a well run business.
If you do a Unilocal search of other Ophthalmologists in the area, not a single one has as many dissatisfied clients as do you.
To be fair, I appreciate Dan responding to the negative reviews, the billing practices do not seem unethical, and my sense has always been that the people on the phones and front desk have been kind and courteous; HOWEVER, today i waited for 45 minutes before i walked to the front desk and had them cancel the co-​pay charge that was charged AHEAD of the visit. (The receptionist was clearly embarrassed as it seemed a regular occurrence.)
Dan and Co.: your clients are telling you that your service is unacceptable and that this is no way to run a business.
1) you are booking more people than you can handle;
2) your poorly ventilated waiting room is packed with frustrated patients and feels like an ER waiting room;
3) your bathrooms do not seem to get cleaned regularly;
4) your charging clients the co-​pay ahead of the visit seems to me like a shady practice; one employed by car-​dealerships to make you feel like you already paid and trapped.
It saddens me to see any business fail because of short term thinking and poor customer care.
I wish you the best of luck before you irreparably damage your business.

I agree with all of the other reviewers. I looked this place up on ZocDoc and the doctor I saw had good reviews (Dr. Nguyen). However, I should have looked at their reviews on this page. I have been sent a bill for $ 800, and a bill for $ 500. All for a standard optometric check-​up and fitted for new contacts. That is outrageous.
They said NOTHING of the fact that they bill medically instead of through vision insurance until I asked about the outrageous bills. I even called my insurance after receiving a bill from a doctor’s name I did not recognize, located in Detroit, with no mention of Union Square Eye Care. There is some strange billing practices that doesn’t feel right. To-​date, I have called their billing department twice, and left vm twice. I have yet to receive a call back. I will be sending a registered letter to them very soon, and if not answered, a follow up to the Better Business Bureau. I liked my doctor but I will never go back to USEC again.

I suppose I should have looked at their Unilocal page before going.
Do not come here. They charge all visits as «medical» as opposed to the routine exam covered by your insurance. I left with a simple contact/​glasses prescription for $ 300.
I’ve called 3 times with no response to get assistance on my claim, and prescription with not a single returned phone call.
It’s a shame because the doctor herself, Suzanne was nice to work with, but you can’t trick people by having them sign a «clause» saying the exam is medical and then not return their phone calls.