Common collection challenges that arise from the emergency room.
11/20/2018 9:00
The health care world has many moving parts. As a debt collector, it’s your job to be the health care expert—which means it’s often up to you to explain medical bills and insurance coverage to consumers, Collector magazine editor Anne Rosso May reports in the November issue.
You’ll hear things like, “My insurance should have paid that!” and “I was told I was covered.”
In an emergency situation, medical bills get even more confusing. The patient might not even have been conscious at the time of care to consent to the treatment.
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act requires hospitals to evaluate and stabilize patients regardless of their financial situation. These requirements are mandatory and not affected by payment considerations. The hospital still bills the patient, and the patient is responsible for paying that bill, Rosso May reports.
This is particularly stressful if patients aren’t satisfied with the treatment and find out their health insurance won’t cover it.
Sometimes patients go to the emergency room, change their mind and refuse treatment, but are still charged a facility fee. Facility fees are charges for a hospital’s services and equipment, and they often come as a surprise to patients.
Even if patients disagree with these charges, unless they can negotiate a lower amount with the health care provider, they are responsible for paying the bill.
Read Rosso May’s report for helpful questions to ask patients to help resolve their account and understand their payment responsibility.
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