Handling Incorrect Medical Bills

Approximately two months ago I was sent an erroneous bill from a local laboratory which caused my family and me a great deal of unnecessary stress. After a great deal of work on my part I was finally able to get the situation sorted out.

The Back Story

For several months I was under the care of an out of state clinic, and in order to receive certain follow up care I was required to visit a local facility. The majority of my visits were easily arranged, but one week I was unable to schedule an appointment. My out of state clinic advised me to visit a local laboratory instead of the local clinic since the only service I needed was blood work.

Since the medical appointments were all business related my company paid for all procedures with a company credit card at the time of service. The office manager at the laboratory was contacted and a third-party billing account was created for my visit. With the account in place I would only need to show up for the appointment, and the laboratory would put all charges (minus a discount that was received for paying cash) on the company credit card.

Initial Complications

What should have been a 20 minute appointment quickly turned into 2 hours of confusion. The technician who was supposed to draw my blood was unable to locate the ordering physician in the company's computer, or find the billing information previously provided by my company. In the end, I paid cash for the blood work and submitted the bill for reimbursement.

The Bill Arrives

Over a month after my visit to the laboratory, I received a medical bill in the mail which was five times the total amount of the actual blood work and associated fees. The medical bill listed an ordering physician I'd never heard of, and the additional fees I was being billed for were "miscellaneous services". I promptly called the customer service number to inquire and was told I would receive a more detailed statement in the mail.

Getting the Run Around

After waiting for a detailed statement which never came, I sent the company a certified letter explaining my situation and requesting a detailed statement. At this point I only wanted to know what I was being billed for, and why the initial billing information my company provided was not being used. The only response I received was another medical bill with the same vague charge and instructions for setting up a payment plan.

Resolved at Last

I decided to give the company a final chance to correct the situation before taking further action. I wrote another letter, explaining my experience and my efforts to correct the billing error. The letter included copies of my previous correspondence, my receipt provided at the time of service, and the information my company originally provided when they attempted to establish third-party billing. I sent the letter to the office where the lab work was performed, to the company's headquarters, and my states consumer affairs and attorney general's office. A week later I received a letter confirming my account was in good standing, and apologizing for the entire event.

Coming from a medical background, I know that medical billing errors occasionally crop up. What upset me the most about my situation was that so many easily avoidable clerical errors were made, all of which contributed to the medical billing mistake. All of the basic details including ordering physician, procedure type, and ICD-9 codes were incorrect, even though an order for the procedure was provided which contained all of the correct information.