As tough as it is to be a parent, nothing is harder than watching our children suffer. Even more so, when, we can’t do anything to help ease their pain and discomfort. However, one Florida mom followed her intuition and took her son to the ER after he sustained an injury. Sometime later, the family received a hospital bill in the boy’s name and were unable to dispute it.
Unclear Diagnostic
Sara McLin, a Florida Dentist and mom to now 5-year-old Keeling. Last Memorial Day weekend, Keeling burnt his hand on the stove. As a result, Sara took him to a nearby emergency room for treatment. Medical professionals determined that Keeling would need specialty care and referred the family to HCA Florida Blake Hospital. At that point, she was under the impression her family wouldn’t have to pay a hospital bill for their visit because, “ she(the doctor) phrased it, along the lines of, ‘well, we won’t even call this a visit, because we can’t do anything,’“
Treatment for Second Degree Burn
After being taken to the burn unit for treatment, Keeling was diagnosed with a second-degree burn and was then treated and bandaged. Because her son had gotten the care he needed, Sara took him home, thinking nothing of the possible hospital bill from the first hospital. After all, they were unable to treat him and referred him elsewhere.
Unexpected Hospital Bill
However, some time passed, and a letter from the first hospital suddenly came in the mail. It contained a hospital bill. Although they were told they wouldn’t be charged, it was more perplexing that the bill came in Keeling’s name but was addressed “to the parents of” Keeling.
When she opened the letter, Sara was stunned to find just over $1,500 in charges. Contacting her family’s health insurance agency, United Healthcare, she was advised not to pay the bill. Additionally, receiving a hospital bill from HCA, including the visit to the first hospital.
Fighting the Hospital Bill
Again, Sara contacted the hospital billing department to discuss resolving the matter of the hospital bill. However, she ran into another problem, HIPAA. Sara was informed that they couldn’t even speak with her about it because it was her son’s name on the hospital bill. HIPAA is a law of ethics regarding medical services and patient confidentiality. In other words, the hospital isn’t legally allowed to discuss diagnosis, treatment, or even billing without written consent from the patient. In this case, the patient was four at the time. Therefore, it would be difficult for Sara to get his written consent. Instead, she chose to fight the hospital bill. “They had him as the guarantor,” Mom, Sara, explained. Apparently, Keeling was listed as both “unemployed and uninsured.” Having learned a valuable lesson, Sara shared, “I should have made them write something down to that effect,”
Before finally getting the hospital bill taken care of, Sara had a number of hurdles to overcome. One includes contacting the HCA to ask that the hospital bill be appealed. “I never heard anything back and assumed we were good,” she said. In January, the family received a notice from Medicredit, a debt collection agency, informing them the hospital bill had gone to collections.
Taking Responsibility
According to a spokesperson for Envision Physician Services (the first place Keeling was seen), the hospital bill fees would be waived, and they apologized for the misunderstanding. “We recognize the patient’s family may have understood at the time of treatment that there would be no charge for the visit, including the medical service provided by our physician. Unfortunately, this courtesy adjustment was not captured when the claim was processed.” she said.
Expert Advice on Fighting Hospital Errors
Erin Fuse Brown, is a law professor and director of the Center for Law, Health & Society at Georgia State University. According to her, McLin did everything right. Furthermore, explaining it’s not common for parents to be banned from discussing their child’s bills. “The fact that the hospital wouldn’t even talk to her strikes me as the part that is absurd. It’s absurd as a business matter. It’s absurd as a privacy matter,” Fuse Brown said.
Believing the matter could easily have been resolved by the hospital, she also stated, “You get the feeling that it’s this large, automated process, that there’s no human to get through to, that there’s no human to talk to and override the mistake,” Fuse Brown said. “Maybe it’s routine, but she couldn’t even talk to someone to correct a correctable billing error, and then the system just steamrolls over the patient.”
Clearing up the Hospital Bill
Fortunately, the debt was removed after some time, and the hospital bill was waived. “We have attempted to contact Mrs. McLin, apologizing to her for the inconvenience this has caused her. And to let her know that there is a zero balance on the account,” said Debra McKell. McKell is the marketing director for HCA’s West Florida Division. She concluded, “We also will be sharing with her that we are reviewing our processes to ensure this does not happen again.” The McLin family have now received a letter stating the hospital bill and collections debts have been cleared, and not reported to any credit agencies.
Although Sara is glad to have it resolved, she’s still feeling frustrated. She said it’s because, “It’s the principle of the thing that’s annoying me at this point.” Bringing up the point that patients shouldn’t have to go through these kind of challenges, on top of dealing with their health concerns, and the every day business of life.
Fuse Brown advises that anyone fighting a medical bill error needs “to think like a lawyer”. “Once you hear from a debt collector, it’s not like the game is over and you lose. Consumers do have rights.” she explained. She suggests getting documentation of every interaction with hospital personnel including written statements, phone exchanges with insurance, or a copy of the paperwork from every visit.
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