This is my first time posting here so sorry if I mess up submission rules or don't include relevant information.
About a year ago in July I woke up in a hospital after making some questionable decisions drinking. It was extremely dumb and I have some consequences for that which I understand, but there are some major problems I experienced with billing afterwards.
Upon receiving an itemized receipt and checking the codes with my healthcare providers cost estimator, I saw I was SEVERELY overcharged. Diagnostic tests estimated to cost around 60-100 dollars at a hospital normally were on my bill for about 1000-2500, with multiple tests. The overall bill charged to my insurance for a one night stay in a bed with an IV was over 10,000. My copay was over 3000.
I called the billing department 3 times over the time from August to November asking about what steps I could take to contest the bill and they said they would send an audit form to my address. Each time I never received the form and called back. I got caught up in university and didn't pay attention for a while but called again in February with no followup and then again in March. A few weeks later I received a form in the mail that said my audit request would be arriving in the next two weeks, and then never did. It's important to note I also asked specifically each call that my bill would not be sent to collections since it was under review and they confirmed it would not.
I confirmed my address with them multiple times, asked if it could be sent digitally or to a different address, and each time I was told this was not possible. I have not had contact with the billing department since March. I know I probably should have been more persistent and followed up, but I was caught up in the stress of finals and finding a summer job and it left my mind for a while.
Today I woke up with a voicemail from a debt collector informing me that the bill had been sent to collections. The only thing I can think to do now is threaten to take the hospital to small claims court.
Any advice on what steps to take now, government bodies to contact for assistance, or any other information would be greatly appreciated. This is my first experience with something like this and I really don't know what to do next.
Submitted May 29, 2019 at 01:00PM by altacct5283950235 http://bit.ly/2MhaCfs
