Note: I used my Cigna app to find this place, so I knew it was in-network. Also, I'm going to copy-paste our first email interaction for context.
"Hello! I recently moved to Greenville and am looking for a primary care doctor. I haven't had one for many years. My insurance plan with Cigna covers all the basic preventative care, like vaccinations, wellness exams, screenings, etc. Could I book an appointment to get set up, or is your focus on emergency visits, and it would be more appropriate to get set up with a regular doctor's office? Let me know, thank you!"
They responded:
"Absolutely. Walk in any time for primary care. No appointment needed. We have many primary care patients.
thx
db"
Cool. I went to the location a couple days later and they said that actually I DO need an appointment for a primary care visit. So, they scheduled me for a week later, Friday 10 AM. A week goes by, I get there Friday morning, and the place is closed. There were several unhappy veterans in the parking lot who came from out of town for some VA testing. One gentleman came all the way from Knoxville, TN for a 9:30 AM appointment. None of us were notified of office closure. There's a note on the door from the previous day, Feb 20th, saying they were closing early (4 PM) because of an incoming light flurry. But, the forecast said the next day, day of my appointment, was going to be sunny. It's a beautiful day out, and even the directly-adjacent dental office is open. I took these pictures at 10:40 AM. Observe the weather. This practice might be awesome, but it's a little lacking in the communication department so far. A notification of office closure for everyone would have been nice. I may update the review in the future.
UPDATE: I got a new appointment scheduled, arrived 10 minutes early again, and was seen in 15-20 minutes. After giving info to 2 nurses and getting my blood pressure checked, a third friendly nurse came in and said, "Just for transparency, we're an urgent care facility. We do primary care stuff, but that's not really our purpose." (I knew it! See my email. I asked this and was told to come anyway.) I said I understand. When a fourth nurse comes back to start some tests, she gives me a breakdown of the cost. What should be free is going to cost just over $250. I reiterate that it should be free. They ask if I need to call someone, and I ask for a few minutes to verify. I pull my Cigna app up which details my coverage and confirm that my visit should indeed be free. 45 minutes go by, a couple nurses come in to ask questions, and I tell them "I'm looking at my plan right now, there's no deductible for preventative care. It's 100% covered." Finally, the billing person comes in and explains the issue. They're an urgent care facility, so even if you're just doing preventative care, it's billed as an urgent care visit. I'm frustrated at this point, but I say, "Okay, I'll just go to a traditional doctor's office (like I asked about 3 weeks ago!)." She says "Okay, sorry about the misunderstanding. You're still responsible for the cost of the office visit, which is $205." What? You didn't do anything, other than take my blood pressure and look in my ears! I make my case and ask if she can waive the cost. To their credit, they do waive the cost and she says she'll talk to her managers about better communication. If I hadn't pushed back, they would have charged me.
Overall, a very frustrating experience. When I first asked, "Would a normal doctor's office be more appropriate for primary care," they should have said "YES," instead of just trying to get my business. Or, when I booked my first appointment and told them my insurance was covering everything, they could have checked, because they had all my info. That said, I'm adding a star because EVERYONE I interacted with was professional and courteous and understanding. So again, I'm sure this is an awesome clinic for emergency stuff, but they need better communication.