Help required - hospital bill

Ross

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Hi folks,
My girlfriend and I took a trip to NYC in December, thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and even got engaged in Central Park! Unfortunately, something else happenned in central park where I slipped and managed to dislocate my left shoulder. The staff contacted an ambulance for me and they took me to Lennox Hill hospital. I underwent x-rays, was given drugs and eventually they located my shoulder and I was discharged 12hrs later. I went to the reception and gave them my credit card in order to pay the bill, there was a problem with the card swiping machine so the receptionist wrote down the details from my card and said they would send me a receipt in the post - by this time I had been awake and drugged for 24hrs and was in no mood to argue.
I didnt hear anything from them and assumed it had gone though OK but this morning I received a bill from a collection agency stating I had not paid the bill (which has now doubled as well!!!) and they were chasing me for it.
The queries I have are - as I left my card details with the hospital, surely the onus is on them to take payment? Why would the bill have increased from $700 to over $1500? What steps could I take to try & get this sorted out?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, its hard from over this side of the pond to speak to someone.

Regards

Ross
 

Beretta1526

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It sounds like they have prematurely sent it to collection. Typically, when bills go to collection, they wind up incurring all sorts of bogus charges. I would contact the hospital's billing department directly to 1) settle the actual bill amount and 2) get them to call off their sharks.

Find out if there's a way to contact their billing dept. via e-mail.
 

Bushman

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I also agree with These guys, but also you need to know that all of the charges may have not been posted to your account when you left. $1500 is about the "going" rate for a simple shoulder reduction under sedation. Also don't be suprised if you get hit with another bill from a radiologist for reading the pre and post reduction films. Sometimes if the hospital contracts seperatly for emergency room physicians you will get a separate bill there too, but that is usually NOT the case.
 

Ross

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Thanks folks, I've emailed them asking someone from the billing department to contact me. I'm sure when I was discharged, the total bill was about $700 - I am insured so it will not be me paying the bills fortunately.
 

Bravo25

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Request an itemized statement, and review it carefully. Unfortunately the medical business tends to lend itself (quite frequently I might add)to billing errors, and outright overcharges. On this side of the pond we call it insurance fraud. The hospitals call it clerical errors, but only if they get caught.
 

Xrunner

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[ QUOTE ]
Beretta1526 said:
Find out if there's a way to contact their billing dept. via e-mail.

[/ QUOTE ]

In regards to the e-mail part, while this may be quickest, I would recommend an actual letter. In my experience letters just tend to work better for situations like this. Perhaps a phone call and letter, or a combination of e-mail and letters? Also, be sure to save copies of correspondences with dates and information about anyone you talk to (name, department, day of call, etc.) Good luck

-Mike
 

Icebreak

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[ QUOTE ]
Bravo25 said:
Request an itemized statement, and review it carefully. Unfortunately the medical business tends to lend itself (quite frequently I might add)to billing errors, and outright overcharges. On this side of the pond we call it insurance fraud. The hospitals call it clerical errors, but only if they get caught.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. Almost an industry in and of itself, wearing people out with "mistakes". My favorite is when you finally have to get tough with them, they zero your bill, send you a statement that says you owe nothing, then send you another bill three or four months later.

Get that statement like Bravo25 said. Create a file. You seriously have to watch medical billing in the US very closely.
 

JackBlades

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[ QUOTE ]
Ross said:
Hi folks,
My girlfriend and I took a trip to NYC in December, thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and even got engaged in Central Park! Unfortunately, something else happenned in central park where I slipped and managed to dislocate my left shoulder.
Ross

[/ QUOTE ]

Quite surprised nobody caught this.
In Central Park??
You couldn't wait for the honeymoon? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 

GJW

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The ambulance bill is almost never part of the discharge bill.
That charge usually comes later.
 

js

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Ross,

This really sucks! I'm sorry you had to deal with it. Very good suggestions posted above, I think, but also, might not be a bad idea to contact your insurance company and get them in the loop. Then get yourself OUT of the loop. Let the two sharks fight it out, and then some bills will fall to you, but at least your insurance co. is doing some of the leg work. This should not have gone to collection without the hospital notifying you. This may even be a legal right. Not sure. Anyway, good luck.
 

daloosh

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Hi Ross,

Most important thing here is to create an easily followed paper trail. As xrunner notes, email and phone calls are can be ignored and denied (tho I believe companies need to keep emails for three years now for litigation purposes). Letters to Lenox Hill, and to your insurance company, and make sure everything is signed and dated clearly.

In the U.S., it is usually the insurance companies duking it out, like js says, but probably since the hospital only knows you, they're after you. Best to try to sic them on your insurance, after you have reviewed your policy to make sure that they will pay for an emergency without any prior clearance (here, you can get tripped up by that sometimes, depending on what kind of emergency it is).

Good luck to ya,
daloosh

I haven't been to Edinburgh in years, lovely town. PM sent.
 

symes

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....although, being in the EMS business, I'll be surprised if you got out of hospital after 12 hours and didn't see a bill around $2k. Especially in NYC...

Here's something else to think about...often the hospitals just manage some of the costs at the time and then other items such as x-ray interpretation or the use of a specialist physician (that you might not have even met) will find their way on separate bills that trickle in over the weeks and months. So, if you get to cut a deal, make sure it covers the whole thing...

Ditto on the insurance coverage though - can't remember if you stated that you had some - probably had some kind of travel health insurance though right?
 

Ross

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Dec 21, 2002
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Edinburgh, Scotland
We were advised to make sure we had a good insurance policy before leaving for the USA, fortunately I am covered through my work. The National Health Service here in the UK may have its problems but sometimes I really appreciate it!!

Thanks for all the help folks, I have prepared a letter to Lennox Hill and will wait to see what happens (its really just to get an itemised bill) and I have re-contacted my insurance company to get them on-board.

I'll keep you all updated

Ross
 
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