Jamie Holmes says a surgical procedure heart tried to make her pay for 2 operations after she underwent just one. She refused to buckle, even after a set company sued her final winter.
Holmes, who lives in northwestern Washington state, had surgical procedure in 2019 to have her fallopian tubes tied, a everlasting birth-control process that her insurance coverage firm agreed forward of time to cowl.
During the operation, whereas Holmes was beneath anesthesia, the surgeon observed early indicators of endometriosis, a typical situation wherein fibrous scar tissue grows across the uterus, Holmes stated. She stated the surgeon later advised her he spent about quarter-hour cauterizing the troublesome tissue as a precaution. She remembers him saying he completed the entire operation throughout the 60 minutes that had been allotted for the tubal ligation process alone.
She stated the physician assured her the additional remedy for endometriosis would value her little, if something.
Then the invoice got here.
The Patient: Jamie Holmes, 38, of Lynden, Washington, who was insured by Premera Blue Cross on the time.
Medical Services: A tubal ligation operation, plus remedy of endometriosis discovered throughout the surgical procedure.
Service Provider: Pacific Rim Outpatient Surgery Center of Bellingham, Washington, which has since been bought, closed, and reopened beneath a brand new title.
Total Bill: $9,620. Insurance paid $1,262 to the in-network heart. After adjusting for costs allowed beneath the insurer’s contract, the middle billed Holmes $2,605. A group company later acquired the debt and sued her for $3,792.19, together with curiosity and charges.
What Gives: The surgical procedure heart, which supplied the power and assist employees for her operation, despatched a invoice suggesting that Holmes underwent two separate operations, one to have her tubes tied and one to deal with endometriosis. It charged $4,810 for every.
Holmes stated there have been no such issues with the separate payments from the surgeon and anesthesiologist, which the insurer paid.
Holmes figured somebody within the heart’s billing division mistakenly thought she’d been on the working desk twice. She stated she tried to clarify it to the employees, to no avail.
She stated it was as if she ordered a meal at a fast-food restaurant, was given additional fries, after which was charged for 2 complete meals. “I didn’t get the extra burger and drink and a toy,” she joked.
Her insurer, Premera Blue Cross, declined to pay for 2 operations, she stated. The surgical procedure heart billed Holmes for a lot of the distinction. She refused to pay.
Holmes stated she understands the surgical procedure heart may have incurred extra prices for the roughly quarter-hour the surgeon spent cauterizing the spots of endometriosis. About $500 would have appeared like a good cost to her. “I’m not opposed to paying for that,” she stated. “I am opposed to paying for a whole bunch of things I didn’t receive.”
Holmes figured it was a mistake when she was billed for 2 surgical procedures after being on the working desk simply as soon as. Her insurer, Premera Blue Cross, declined to pay for 2 operations, she says. The surgical procedure heart billed Holmes for a lot of the distinction.(Ting-Li Wang for KFF Health News)
The physician-owned surgical procedure heart was later bought and closed by PeaceHealth, a regional well being system. But the debt was turned over to a set company, SB&C, which filed go well with towards Holmes in December 2023, looking for $3,792.19, together with curiosity and charges.
The assortment company requested a decide to grant abstract judgment, which may have allowed the corporate to garnish wages from Holmes’ job as a graphic artist and advertising specialist for actual property brokers.
Holmes stated she filed a written response, then confirmed up on Zoom and on the courthouse for 2 hearings, throughout which she defined her aspect, with out bringing a lawyer. The decide dominated in February that the gathering company was not entitled to abstract judgment, as a result of the details of the case have been in dispute.
Representatives of the gathering company and the defunct surgical procedure heart declined to remark for this text.
Sabrina Corlette, co-director of Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms, stated it was absurd for the surgical procedure heart to invoice for 2 operations after which refuse to again down when the state of affairs was defined. “It’s like a Kafka novel,” she stated.
Corlette stated surgical procedure heart staffers needs to be accustomed to such eventualities. “It is quite common, I would think, for a surgeon to look inside somebody and say, ‘Oh, there’s this other thing going on. I’m going to deal with it while I’ve got the patient on the operating table.’”
It wouldn’t have made medical or monetary sense for the surgeon to make Holmes endure a separate operation for the secondary situation, she stated.
Corlette stated that if the surgical procedure heart was nonetheless in enterprise, she would advise the affected person to file a criticism with state regulators.
The Resolution: So far, the gathering company has not pressed forward with its lawsuit by looking for a trial after the decide’s ruling. Holmes stated that if the company continues to sue her over the debt, she would possibly rent a lawyer and sue them again, looking for damages and lawyer charges.
She may have organized to repay the quantity in installments. But she’s standing on precept, she stated.
“I just got stonewalled so badly. They treated me like an idiot,” she stated. “If they’re going to be petty to me, I’m willing to be petty right back.”
The Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to battle a bogus medical invoice, even when the dispute goes to court docket.
Debt collectors usually search abstract judgment, which permits them to garnish wages or take different measures to grab cash with out going to the difficulty of proving in a trial that they’re entitled to funds. If the shoppers being sued don’t present as much as inform their aspect in court docket hearings, judges usually grant abstract judgment to the debt collectors.
However, if the details of a case are in dispute — for instance, as a result of the defendant reveals up and argues she owes for only one surgical procedure, not two — the decide might deny abstract judgment and ship the case to trial. That forces the debt collector to decide on: spend extra money and time pursuing the debt or drop it.
“You know what? It pays to be stubborn in situations like this,” stated Berneta Haynes, a senior lawyer for the National Consumer Law Center who reviewed Holmes’ invoice for KFF Health News.
Many individuals don’t go to such hearings, generally as a result of they didn’t get sufficient discover, don’t learn English, or don’t have time, she stated.
“I think a lot of folks just cave” after they’re sued, Haynes stated.
Holmes says she tried to clarify her state of affairs to the surgical procedure heart’s employees, to no avail — then refused to again down when she was sued for the debt. “I just got stonewalled so badly. They treated me like an idiot,” she says. “If they’re going to be petty to me, I’m willing to be petty right back.”(Ting-Li Wang for KFF Health News)
Emily Siner reported the audio story.
After six years, we’ll have a closing installment with NPR of our Bill of the Month mission within the fall. But Bill of the Month will proceed at KFF Health News and elsewhere. We nonetheless need to hear about your complicated or outrageous medical payments. Visit Bill of the Month to share your story.
Tony Leys:
[email protected],
@tonyleys
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