Adding insult to injury, three weeks ago she received another bill for $600, this time from the ER physician at the Navarro Regional Hospital Physician’s Group. It has the same billing address as the hospital in Dallas.
“This doctor saw me for about two minutes when I first got to ER,” says Robin. “He just stuck his head in the door and explained how they would hook me up to an IV because I was dehydrated and go from there. Just before I left he saw me again just to say I was being released and would get a few prescriptions, an antibiotic and a med for nausea." Robin also took home a signed consent treatment form stating she will pay whatever insurance doesn’t pay.
How could the hospital justify this exorbitant amount? Upon her request, the hospital mailed Robin an itemized bill. “For starters I was charged for four Zofran and one Depakote --a medication I take for seizures,” she explains. “One Depakote pill costs me 40 cents but they charged me $438 for one pill that wasn’t even given to me, nor was it given by IV.
“I phoned the hospital’s billing department and said these charges were outrageous and that I was willing to mediate for the services provided for the average price that you pay an insurance company. This woman said she would send me out a charitable form, but I am on SSDI and not eligible.” (Robin has a portfolio and retirement income, and she owns her home so she doesn’t qualify for SSI.)
Robin, a former pharmacy student and social worker for more than 22 years, knows what she is and isn’t entitled to—she used to fill out these charitable forms for her clients. In fact Robin’s clients had faced the same type of billing problems and services not rendered by this same hospital. “Most of my clients didn’t have the benefit of education; they were elderly and confused and had no idea where to turn,” Robin says. "These people certainly are unaware that they could dispute medical bills.
“Even though I had many clients I advocated for, I never thought it would happen to me,” she adds. “I used to call this hospital on their behalf and administration told me they would just write off the bill as charity. Or I would tell them they were on SSI and they would just write it off completely.”
Next up, Robin requested her medical records. “They asked me if I was sending my medical records to an attorney,” Robin says. “I told her they were for me but they might go to an attorney in the future. ‘In that case you have to pay $34,’ she replied. This had now become absolutely ridiculous.”
Then Robin called the Physicians Group and said she could pay them $50 per month. “They sent me another bill yesterday that says I agreed to pay my bill and this physician was available to treat me,” Robin adds. “They are trying to guilt me into paying. Doctors at this hospital receive an average of 35 percent of patient payments, according to the Texas Department of Health and Services.
READ MORE EMERGENCY ROOM CHARGES LEGAL NEWS
The hospital asked if I wanted to set up a payment plan but that would be admitting to their charges. I’m not worried about my credit rating either because I’ve had a perfect credit score all my life. It is reassuring that others have filed ER Overcharges lawsuits. I’ve fought many a hard battle in my career; people tell me I need to choose my battles and these ER overcharges has pushed me too far."
READER COMMENTS
Marjorie Jales
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collecting address and drivers and insurance information for their LIENS which in my case were wrong so the LIEN was ILLEGAL as it stands. These hospitals are pure criminal and can not be trusted for anything
Karen Davis
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I was a nurse for 10 years, a healthcare manager for 10 years and the last 10 years was spent consulting physicians & patients regarding medical bills. The other tidbit of info is that if you observe anything while you are at the hospital that looks unsafe, unhealthy or a possible danger, let them know when you meet/talk with them that you will send a formal complaint to JCAHO (any facility in the U.S. has to be accredited by this entity to have/keep a license to stay open to see patients, JCAHO performs regular audits of these facilities however when they get a complaint they will come and do a much more thorough audit of that facility and the facility can be fined and closed or just fined for failure to adhere to that state's regulations). This is a great way to get their attention. So....be observant when you are in these facilities because it will come in handy when you are negotiating fees. I have even had not one but two of my own entire hospital bills waived just because I used the 3 threats, insurance fraud, Department of Insurance, & JCAHO. Also, if you can't get anywhere with all of the above people, don't be afraid to use either the Administrator of the hospital or their legal counsel. That is actually where I ended up with both of the aforementioned hospital bills, one was the administrator and one was the legal counsel for the hospital.
Good Luck and hope this information helps you all.
Bret
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Someone mentioning low income or illegal immigrant, is not racist. "Illegal immigrant" isn't a race. "Low income" isn't a race.
Take your PC attitude and go away.
Leslie Roberts
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Julia
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Richard
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Rupa Patel
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I am riding on the same boat as you all. I had a mild ACL tear and bad knee pain. I went to ER where they took my X-ray and sent me a bill of $9000. And that precious X-ray took up my 6 hours... I am not kidding. They are forcing me to file for charity but what if I don't qualify for charity? That means, I would be accepting their crazy charges.
Can anyone of you who has fought for this or gained resolution guide me for my next step. What should I expect, where can I escalate this issue. Please please share your experiences.
Tiffany
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Some time passed and I received a bill in the mail. It was for $4,077. It was later listed on my credit report. I reached out to the hospital recently to discuss this bill and to come to some resolution. Obviously, no resolution was met. I was basically told that's the charges the hospital has in place, it's been sent to collections, and that it needs to be paid. I was very civil during this conversation and while I was explaining I got absolutely no answers to my condition at that time, and very little service was given. I lost my temper when the financial counselor said "Well, they gave you an IV." Not only was I heavily insulted by that because I'm a pharmacy major, I was also irritated because this woman actually thinks their IV bags and blood work are worth $4,077. Then, when I mentioned I never got any results back from the medical department. I was told to go to the records department to obtain those records. At that point, I completely lost it, demanded the number to their legal department, I said I was getting a lawyer and I hung up the phone.
Bekka
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His bill was for $625. While the hospital bill was over $1,000 and close to $2,000. They kept asking for my car insurance but if I don't have a license, how the freak do I have car insurance! I'm a kid! I'm not there yet. I didn't want my boyfriends insurance to pay because it wasn't his fault it was the speeding cars fault. My regular health insurance paid off the hospital bill but bevause it was months after the crash that the stupid doctor sent me HIS bill, my insurance refuses to pay for it. My dad will thankfully pay for it but they just doubled it! To $1,222. Who does that? They double billed me! Hospitals are such a scam. It's not our choice to have an accident or our insides burst. Mind you, this is a CT hospital. It sucks. They make you wait so long and the doctor only sees you for a second. I saw this dude before for another illness I had that he misdiagnosed me for. I had tonsillitis but he "can't see anything wrong with my tonsils." Excuse me? Do you not see the bubble of puss dripping down that tonsil? Bill was $700 for that. And for what? To be seen for a split second? This sucks.
Happy Imnot
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John in TX
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I had my blood pressure and temperature taken. The "doctor" came in for 30 seconds. Saw my face and said, "yep, I'll get you some antibiotics".
All that...a whopping 10 minutes in the place and I get a bill for over $1300. Obviously they can stick it, and I'll never pay it...but I would like to see if there's an actual way I can do it "legally" without just giving them the finger.
It's encouraging seeing that other people aren't going to put up with this.
Danny
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I am having a similar issue right now, being billed for some sort of a heart test during a free regular checkup for $850
Thanks!!
Dave B
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Supposedly this is a top hospital I'm sure. They certainly are great at inflating bills, be warned
Margaret
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I just needed to say something.
Over over charging and charging for false treatment is WRONG.
Gloria Viruet
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Amanda
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Michael Ray
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What can I do? Should I get an attorney and sue them for fraudulent billing?
They are criminals
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Brian Johnson
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The facts:
On February 25, 2014, my wife and son were sick. Vomit and diarrhea. Normally would have just powered through it at home, but wife temperature was 102.5 with ibuprofen, so called our doctors office. It was a Tuesday office day, but our Doc said go to ER because my wife has Addisons and this could spiral in danger.
Arrived ER (drove ourselves) and found full lobby of sick bleeding people. Got seen by admission, insurance cards in hand, we are fully insured, upper-middle income... not that it should matter.
Then, both my son and wife had blood samples taken in admission, were given IV with Zophren (anti-vomit medication) in placed in the waiting room with IVs hanging. Then we waited, 5.5 hours. Then moved to ER bed, both son and wife in same bed, and waited another 30 minutes. Then seen by nurse, who took pulse/temp/BP. Then another 15 minutes of wait. Then doctor. Nice guy, quick examine of both. Reviewed blood work. Said "yep, sick, we'll give you another IV, some more Zophren, and a prescription".
In fairness, the IVs and Zophren helped greatly and were needed.
Total of about 7 hours by the time we got out. 1 hour of which we were actually seen by someone and not just waiting. $3,493 for the wife, $2,945 for the son - $6,439.
I'm disputing the $2,200 ER bed charge for the son since both wife and son shared same bed....but overall, again, ridiculous.
Sridhar AV
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Any advice on how to deal with this exorbitant charge is highly appreciated. Thank you!!!
Karyn Cleavely
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Maressa
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Tiss
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Even though I'm not responsible for that bill I am wondering how that bill could possibly be legal? It wasn't heart surgery or anything like that. I'm fearful of what the doctors bills are going to be but my mind is boggled on how a hospital could overcharge so ridiculously and it be legal?
Glenda
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brian
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marilyn
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Raquel Saenz
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Can we leave your racism out of this?
Diane T
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Finally about 3 months ago I called my Dr’s after hour’s line because I could hardly breathe let alone walk because of the severe pain I was in. I was told by my Dr. to go to an ER which caters to low income and illegal immigrants due to severe stomach/side pains that had been bothering me for about 2 1/2 months by that time. (I am not illegal so I do not qualify for Emergency Medical and I make $4 too much on Disability to qualify for state subsidized care so my only hope is that Medicare A picks up the cost but that means I HAVE to be hospitalized) OR that the Dr figures out what is wrong so that it would be worth my putting what was left in my savings towards getting rid of the horrible pain I was in.
After waiting for several hours in the ER waiting room doubled over in pain, I was finally put in a bed and all the Dr. did was convince me to have some Morphine in an IV even though I was afraid that it would dull the pain to the point that I wouldn’t be able to pin point where the pain was and ran some blood tests. After an hour or so the PA came back and said that my blood and urine looked fine. Since when is BRIGHT orange and minimal urine fine? Not to mention my feces had turned a bright yellow color over the course of the 2 1/2 months this had been going on.
I asked the PA if could it be a Gallstone or Kidney stone (I was unable to urinate into the cup when asked and my urine flow had been getting worse over the course of my illness). Eventually after they ruled out NOTHING and didn't even listen to my symptoms, they wanted to give me more Morphine as the pain started to return but I denied it... I was there to find out what was going on... not to get drugged up for Gods sake! Finally I was able to get a mini ultrasound done on my gallbladder and the PA said he saw 1 stone but didn't know the size and he would need to talk to the Dr. to see if he could send me for an ultrasound that would measure it. That was soon eliminated by another dose of the Magnesium Citrate detox I did when I got home. (Having high blood pressure and drinking Magnesium Citrate for up to 5 days at a time has its own hazards.)
Hours passed and no word on the ultrasound so finally I decided that I was leaving since I don't have "normal" insurance due to being disabled and I couldn't foot a $10,000 bill unless I am admitted into the hospital but they were acting like I was only there for the drugs since I had Alprazolam and Vicodin in my system (Alprazolam due to CC-PTSD and Vicodin because of the pain I had been in for so long). So after roughly 6 hours I was so frustrated that I took out my own IV, told the PA I was leaving since they obviously did not care to listen to my symptoms to find out what was wrong with me.
All he cared about was writing me a script for MORE pain meds! I was horrified!! I denied those too and went home. Next thing I know I am being billed over $4300 for the ER and $700 for the Dr. who didn't even do anything but talk to me and tell me I needed a pain killer.
They are trying to charge me for the second morphine shot that I didn't even take, but since they filled the syringe I owe them?! I didn't even ask for the shot!
In the end I went back to my GP the next day and because of where the pain progressed to he decided it was a kidney stone!
Had the ER LISTENED to what I said to them and the fact that I couldn't even urinate (when I did it was so little and dark that I wasn't even sure it was a viable sample, it was not even an ounce) and that it had been getting worse over time they might have caught what was REALLY wrong.
It took another month before my GP put me on meds to open up the prostate so I could urinate a little and hopefully pass the stone or stones; however I just kept getting worse, I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs and lost 30 lbs (not a total downside). I kept asking my GP to have me admitted into a hospital for testing but no luck.
Finally 4 ½ to 5 months into it I woke up one morning with my neck burning and when I put an ice pack on my whole chest broke out in a HORRIBLE rash. I woke up my husband and told him what was going on and that is the last I remember until the next day. My husband started giving me Hydrangea root extract every 4 hours because one of the benefits is detoxing the urinary tract, intestines and helping to break down kidney stones. I have never urinated so much blood in my life and that lasted at least 3 days.
For the next week I kept trying to call my GP and his PA to get answers but no luck, finally after a week in bed my GP said he would try to have me admitted into a hospital but I never heard back from him! Thank God for Homeopathic remedies or I wouldn't even be sitting here to type this. In the end due to all the symptoms we figured out that it was more than likely one or more BIG kidney stones blocking my kidney or kidneys from eliminating the toxins from leaving my body (which was making my body feel like a Mac truck hit me) due to a blockage hence the not being able to urinate! We still have no idea if I am out of he woods or if it was kidney stones, I am still taking the Hydrangea root and Dandelion root extracts just incase and I won’t know for sure until I can get hospitalized for a full check up. As to date I have lost around 35 lbs in 4 to 5 months which should have proven there was an issue!
At this point I don't care if the hospital puts the bill on my credit report, because of their lack of giving a proper care I almost died. It took me a week before I was able to get out of bed just to go downstairs and 2 weeks before I could any eat solid foods again. Week 3 and I am finally able to walk a little more, breathe again and leave my house to go on a shopping trip though I still have to take it easy and not overdo it or I get very dizzy. I was put on a liquid diet to detoxify my system and try to break down the stone(s) that was making it so my kidney(s) were not functioning properly. After serious research on the symptoms I had over the past 5 months had we not caught it in time my kidney or kidneys were likely to fail and it would have been lights out.
I told the hospital I had been to the ER at, about how bad I got due to their negligence yet they still harass me to pay a bill for something they didn't even catch that could have potentially killed me?! All it would have taken was to admit me, do an MRI and we would have known what the problem was/is, however that seems to be too much work for them and yet they still want me to pay close to $5000 total for NOTHING?!
The greediness of it all boggles the mind!
Pretty Toez
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Debbie
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Robin Wylie
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The price for a complete metabolic panel at Navarro Regional on 03/09/2012: $398.00. The price for a CBC with PLT AUTO COMPD at Navarro Regional Hospital in Corsicana, TX: $248.86.