Howard S. Rosenbaum MD

Dr. Rosenbaum charged me $ 220.00 for a missed appointment fee. I tried calling the contact listed on the bill twice but no response. I was not given reminders for this appointment which I did not make with him. The fee is obviously ridiculously high for a first time no-​show. It doesn’t make a patient want to continue their relationship.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Rosenbaum for 3 years. He did forgive fees for a missed appointment with me, other than that I cannot speak to the negotiating fees commented on previously. He is good at diagnosis and managing medication for my PTSD. I see a therapist to talk things out. I like Dr. Rosenbaum and find him to be professional, straight forward and honest. His style isn’t for everyone but I don’t think it means he’s doing harm. My experience has been good. I might have given him 5 stars but I don’t like driving over to Beaverton from SE Portland.

I was referred to Dr. R by a colleague of his. When I called to make the appointment I explained that I had lost my job and had limited funds. I told him I didn’t know his hourly charge, and did not want to incur a large debt I couldn’t afford to pay. I asked if he would see me on a sliding scale until I got a new job. He said lets talk about whats going on and what you’re looking for first.
At the first session I started by making sure he understood that I had lost my job, had limited funds, and did not want to incur a large debt I couldn’t afford to pay. I asked his hourly fee. He didn’t tell me. I asked if he would see me on a sliding scale until I got a new job. He didn’t answer, but instead said, lets talk about what’s going on before we talk about money. After that he didn’t talk at all. I assumed he was trained as a psychoanalyst. So I told him what was going on with me.
He wanted me to come back for a second session. I did, but again I started our session by saying that I was anxious about keeping appointments with him without any agreement about the cost. He said, let’s keep exploring what was going on with me before we talk about money. Again he remained silent, and I talked.
He wanted me to make a third appointment. Things went the same as previous one; I said I was nervous about building a debt, again asked how much he charged, if he would consider a sliding scale fee, what he was charging me for the session we were having. He again said let’s talk about what you are looking for before we talk about money. Again he was silent for the hour.
After the end of the fourth session I told him I didn’t feel I could return without an agreement about money. He still wouldn’t talk about this legitimate, concrete concern with me. I don’t understand it at all. I didn’t return.
A few weeks later I got a bill from him for his full fee for each session. My worst fear had been realized. I did everything I could to avoid this problem, and here it was.
I felt completely ripped off. Had he been straight with me on the initial phone call that he doesn’t see people for a sliding scale fee I wouldn’t have met with him in the first place. I was up front from the beginning about my situation, he knew money was tight; if he didn’t intend to see me for a reduced fee he knew there was no future in our meetings. All he did was run up debt. This felt dishonest to me.
I was tempted to pay him half his fee, which was still too much for me without a job, but I was afraid he would send me to debt collection, so I paid his whole bill, on my emergency credit card. (Which took several months plus interest to pay down.)
Dr, Rosenbaum defied the basic Hippocratic doctrine: «First Do No Harm!»