A wrong made right today

woodchucker

woodchucker

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woodchucker
Nothing to do with flying, just need to vent some pent up tension. Late last year I had been billed by Intermountain Healthcare (IHC) to the tune of $600+. They billed me for a take-home test kit but hadn't bothered to mention the cost (as I had thought it was covered under insurance), and then they billed me for a follow-up, when the doctor's office staff hadn't even called me to let me know the results and there was no follow-up.

When I first got that bill I was so peeved. I had been getting the run around through the patient dispute system ... you can tell who writes their paychecks :mad2::mad2:.

This has been going on for months. Finally, got so bloody sick of it I wrote the CEO of IHC directly last week. Honestly, I didn't think my letter would ever see his desk. Well, he talked to his people, and I just got a phone call today with profuse apologies from one of the VPs ... bill is wiped! :yesnod:

Not sure if there is a lesson to be had here, but I'm almost feeling spunky enough to go ahead and upgrade my Hero1 to maybe the Hero4 Silver. :rolleyes: Maybe even take the wife out to dinner!
 
Now you know the secret of getting things done.... bypass the hourly workers and go to the top.

Good to hear you got things straightened out.
 
I'm facing similar bs with my wife's latest prenatal blood draw. I tried to take her to a stand-alone lab that I know has fantastic service and rock-bottom rates, but they weren't sure what to do with a proprietary kit the doctor gave us and suggested going to our doctor's lab so she wouldn't have to endure two venipuctures (one from them for the normal stuff and another from the healthcare provider's lab to fill the kit's vial). My doctor's lab is convenient but expensive, so we wound up trying out a third place associated with a local hospital. When the bill finally came, it was awfully expensive (they charged my insurance $1500 and after adjustments I owe about $500). So I asked for an itemized bill and most things were reasonable but they charged $420 for blood ABO and RH typing, and they charged it twice for a total of $840. :eek: The lab I wanted to use charges $24 for this test and $10 for the venipuncture, so we could have had them run this test over 30 times for the same cost... Megap!$$ed.

When I called the billing department, my call was taken by a woman who appeared to have no job experience and kept putting me on hold to consult with someone else. She said that that's what they charge for blood typing and that they run it twice just to make sure there's no mistake. Well my doctor didn't order it twice and I didn't authorize it to be run twice. This is bs. I asked them how they can justify $420 for a test that I see advertised between $20 and $50, medicare pays about $12.50 for, and a local lab quoted me $24 for. I was transferred to the next silver tongue who explained that the draw center that took the blood is a free-standing clinic but that they send the tests to a lab at the hospital which is considered a trauma center and is allowed to charge higher rates. Uh huh -- this was a simple outpatient service, not a E.R. situation and we had no expectation of being processed or billed in that way.

I called the lab directly to see what they had to say about it and they acted very nice and ignorant and referred me to their financial adviser who did not take my call and so far has not returned my message.

I spoke with two other labs in my area and they assured me that they never charge twice for blood typing, so I think the billing department just made that up as an excuse. Frankly I feel like this is bordering on fraud--double billing for a test that was only ordered once, making up an excuse to explain it, and billing us at E.R. rates even though we visited a stand-alone non-emergency draw center.

I read some advice about sending a letter to the hospital's CFO and thought it was a ridiculous suggestion, but now I'm beginning to think it might be worth a shot. Man, healthcare is such a PITA in this country.
 
Ollopa, I hear you. I feel that the medical/insurance field is used to running rampant over pretty much everybody, and getting what they want through extortion, which is what that amounts to.

I actually tried to find out who was the VP in charge of billing (CFO), but nothing came up on web searches except for the CEO and some executives, none of which indicated who might be in charge of finances. So I went with the best option.

I am pretty much sure that the peons won't do jack, so you might as well go for it. Present your case, but I found it is helpful to present your case from a human angle as well. I'm a teacher, and was in the military. I threw both of those tidbits in to describe myself. The VP who called me back thanked me for my service as well. I also mentioned in my letter that I felt that billing me for a follow-up which never happened was borderline criminal behavior. Perhaps the same tactic may work with double-billing. Use key words where you can.

"The wife". hahaha. I do live in Utah, but have no interest in multiple wives. Jeesh people! A little respect here? Ahhhhh.... who am I kidding. Live and let live.
 
If it's any consolation. I do medical billing for a living and just managed to resolve a knock down drag out fight with my wifes Gyn over some monkeybusiness in their charges :) .
 
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