Craig Blackwell, MD

I had two ophthalmologists when I lived in Santa Cruz. You will never find a nicer, more patient one than Dr. Blackwell, who spends a whole lot of time with each patient. This is something that is extremely hard to find nowadays, if one is used to the factory setup at most MD offices. I think this is more like what a doctor visit should be. I also loved the staff at his office, who were very helpful. The receptionist was a laugh riot, but I’m not sure if she is still there.

Dr. Blackwell is a nice, informative, & friendly doctor– with slightly bad breath. However, his staff needs better training.
I’ve been going here for 2 years now and everytime there is a problem with Billing. I have MES, but it seems the office billing me wrong. Last year, I kept getting a bill for +$ 200 because they billed Blue Shield not, MES. I talked to several receptionists and everytime they said they would fix it– they didn’t. They just waited for me to call then blamed other people.
This year, they said that I was not covered by my Insurance, but I know I get an exam every year (why else would I have insurance for???) So I called MES directly and they said the office billed me several months prior to me even visiting the office!
That’s not all. I received a bill for $ 45 for the contacts exam, understandable because I paid that last year. But then I was not eligible for glasses, which didn’t make sense. So again I had to do my own investigation and turns out they billed my insurance for the contacts exam & tried to bill me too! They tried to DOUBLE BILL me and her excuse was — «that bill wasn’t supposed to go out».
OH, don’t go next door to purchase anything too!
Sure, I was a little difficult because I want a certain style of frames– big, nerdy glasses. But they kindly explained that because my vision was so bad, I would not be able to get them. That’s fine. They helped me as much as they could and ordered me a couple of pairs that would fit face. So, I went on vacation and almost 2 weeks later I came back to try them on. They LOST my order. Not only did they lose the 2 frames, they LOST my information, my billing info, my Rx. Well, I’m fine with it. Mistakes Happen.
They order me a new order & so I came in to try it on again. This time they said my insurance said I wasn’t eligible I would have to pay $ 500 for out of pocket fees — that didn’t make sense. Since, I have NEVER purchased glasses or contacts from anyone using my insurance. Hence, the information above. The doctor’s office billed me for my contact lenses– so I wasn’t eligible for Contacts?!? Well, It took them 3 weeks to find that out! They could have said that to me exactly one month ago– and this problem would have NEVER happened. If they did their JOB right the first time, like they said they did, they would have seen the office bill me.
I hope you people actually read this because this is the WORST place I have ever been to. I think Costco is way better than you people.

Highly recommended! Dr. Blackwell is highly skilled, will take time to answer all of your questions, and is a most pleasant individual. His website has lots of excellent educational materials as well. He also keeps up with the ongoing research opn eye problems, and I find what’s going on quite fascinating. I have been a patient for 3 years and would not switch to anyone else for any reason.