What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana
I was in ER at local hospital in 2012. The doctor who was assigned to me looked like any other ER doctor. He was wearing the same uniform and had hospital's logo name tag. He provided his services and released me after a few hours of treatment for bronchitis.
About six months later I receive hospital's bill in mail : $1780 for Dr.XYZ's services....I call the hospital tell them, contact my insurance company. They said they did and the insurance co isn't paying for his services. The hospital IS in my insurance's network. So I call insurance co and they tell me the hospital never filed a claim! The insurance agent was kind enough to get a person from the hospital and me on the phone at the same time and he told the worker their code where to send the bill to. The worker at financial services at hospital said "The doctor is OUT of NETWORK and your insurance co won't pay for that doctor"..... ok why the heck nobody told me that the doctor was out of my network to begin with? Why was I assigned some doctor that the hospital claims he's an independent doctor and not employed by the hospital when he was wearing hospital's scrubs and the name tag with hospital's logo??? Why wasn't I notified?
So now I am not employed been in and out of hospitals due to health issues and getting slammed with this $1700 medical bill.
Here's where it gets nasty...
I've received a letter from an attorney (hospital had hired to represent them). The hospital is a mega huge hospital that makes $600 mill annually. Yet they hire an attorney who can't even afford his own stationery and prints me his black and white letters on cheap papers. Why am I writing this? Because I feel like this "attorney" is operating out of his home's basement if you will.
Then a month later a woman calls me. She says her name very fast over the phone and I can't even understand it. Then she asks me to verify my personal information over the phone. I ask her what is this about? She replies : "It's about personal matter". I said : "I am sorry ma'am. I can't verify my information to some stranger over the phone. Then she says this :
- I know where you live!
- You have a son named xyz....right?
- I said yes.
- You know what this is all about!
- I said : No ma'am I don't know. I am assuming. You are asking me to verify my personal information but you wont' tell me exactly what it is about.
Then she says :
- Ok we'll talk next time but it's not going to go away!
- You know what this is about!
Again, I said : "No ma'am, I don't know. I am assuming". She hung up the phone.
What really tickles me that what right did the hospital have to give this 3rd party information about my son who is not even a teenager? Why his name is getting pulled into this? And what does my child have to do with me affording or not affording paying medical bills that a hospital forced on me to see a doctor out of my network! WTH?
The line "We know where you live" is really stuck in my head. The woman on the phone sounded like she was chewing gum or eating...
I don't know who these people are, who they employ and what type of background they have. I feel that my family is being exposed by the hospital and that my privacy policy had been violated.
Someone please help me what rights do I have to defend myself? Can't afford a lawyer atm but if I could I'd love to sue the hospital for it.
I was in ER at local hospital in 2012. The doctor who was assigned to me looked like any other ER doctor. He was wearing the same uniform and had hospital's logo name tag. He provided his services and released me after a few hours of treatment for bronchitis.
About six months later I receive hospital's bill in mail : $1780 for Dr.XYZ's services....I call the hospital tell them, contact my insurance company. They said they did and the insurance co isn't paying for his services. The hospital IS in my insurance's network. So I call insurance co and they tell me the hospital never filed a claim! The insurance agent was kind enough to get a person from the hospital and me on the phone at the same time and he told the worker their code where to send the bill to. The worker at financial services at hospital said "The doctor is OUT of NETWORK and your insurance co won't pay for that doctor"..... ok why the heck nobody told me that the doctor was out of my network to begin with? Why was I assigned some doctor that the hospital claims he's an independent doctor and not employed by the hospital when he was wearing hospital's scrubs and the name tag with hospital's logo??? Why wasn't I notified?
So now I am not employed been in and out of hospitals due to health issues and getting slammed with this $1700 medical bill.
Here's where it gets nasty...
I've received a letter from an attorney (hospital had hired to represent them). The hospital is a mega huge hospital that makes $600 mill annually. Yet they hire an attorney who can't even afford his own stationery and prints me his black and white letters on cheap papers. Why am I writing this? Because I feel like this "attorney" is operating out of his home's basement if you will.
Then a month later a woman calls me. She says her name very fast over the phone and I can't even understand it. Then she asks me to verify my personal information over the phone. I ask her what is this about? She replies : "It's about personal matter". I said : "I am sorry ma'am. I can't verify my information to some stranger over the phone. Then she says this :
- I know where you live!
- You have a son named xyz....right?
- I said yes.
- You know what this is all about!
- I said : No ma'am I don't know. I am assuming. You are asking me to verify my personal information but you wont' tell me exactly what it is about.
Then she says :
- Ok we'll talk next time but it's not going to go away!
- You know what this is about!
Again, I said : "No ma'am, I don't know. I am assuming". She hung up the phone.
What really tickles me that what right did the hospital have to give this 3rd party information about my son who is not even a teenager? Why his name is getting pulled into this? And what does my child have to do with me affording or not affording paying medical bills that a hospital forced on me to see a doctor out of my network! WTH?
The line "We know where you live" is really stuck in my head. The woman on the phone sounded like she was chewing gum or eating...
I don't know who these people are, who they employ and what type of background they have. I feel that my family is being exposed by the hospital and that my privacy policy had been violated.
Someone please help me what rights do I have to defend myself? Can't afford a lawyer atm but if I could I'd love to sue the hospital for it.