Wellness

[151949]

I had written about the endoscopy center charging my husband $300 "facility fee" in addition to his co pay for his colonscopy. He paid it and - lo & behold - today in the mail they returned his check. No explanation , just an envelope with the check in it. OK . Fine. When we went that morning they did make him give them 2 checks - one for the facility fee and one for the co pays, so we thought that was pretty odd.

[cherry]

So did you come out ahead ,or in worse shape? 

It sounds like the left hand, has no idea ,what the right one is doing ,in that place

[PinkSunset]

Interesting, they held onto someone's personal check for over a month without depositing it? Never heard of any medical facility doing that. Billing dept takes in checks in batches and applies to accounts and deposits the checks.

Most people would be calling the billing dept and asking about an outstading check after a couple weeks went by. I guess it was just sitting in someone's inbox all this time. and they didn't know what to do with it anymore so thye just put it in an envelope and sent it back?

I'd be calling and wanting all the details of this situation. . I can't imagine any billing department doing this. You may get an outstanding bill in the future stamped overdue

[151949]

@PinkSunset That would not surprise me in the slightest.

[PinkSunset]

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@151949 wrote:

@PinkSunset That would not surprise me in the slightest.

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maybe. but the logical part of my brain would still want to know all the details of this and why I got back a check with no note or anything attached. What if the same person who held the check put it in the wrong envelope and mailed it to someone else? 

This could happen all the time and I'd want to know first from my insurance company if I was ever responsible for the payment and second call the billing dept and find out how I got charged in the first place. Unless you left out details and did call and ask for a complete rundown of the transacno onetion before they took your money to the bank. In which case if they were investigating all this time and found there was an error, then maybe that's why the check got sent back. But having worked in hospital billing departments in the past. they would never, ever send someone's check back with no explanation after having kept it for weeks, NEVER. At the very least, they woud have called the patient and told them of their findings and that they would be sending the check back. 

[Mom2Dogs]

@PinkSunset....late last year I had a procedure done inside my local hospital...once the bill started posting to my insurance company I noticed a facility fee...this was something I had never seen before, and it was marked denied

I called the insurance company for explanation of the charge and why it was denied.  She explained that I was being charged for using a facility inside the hospital....I had never heard of this before she told me that it was denied because the office coded it wrong but that the insurance company (at least my insurance company) covers the cost 100%.

Our local hospital is in competiton with our local medical facility.....fighting for the medical dollars and they have brought in an ENT, Pain clinic and a heart doctor.  So I assume that if anyone in the area uses the services of these doctors  are also being charged that fee....it was new to me and to the few friends I mentioned it to.  Maybe it is not a line item on the bill that goes to the insured, it never showed up on the bills that were sent to me.

[151949]

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@PinkSunset wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

@PinkSunset That would not surprise me in the slightest.

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maybe. but the logical part of my brain would still want to know all the details of this and why I got back a check with no note or anything attached. What if the same person who held the check put it in the wrong envelope and mailed it to someone else? 

This could happen all the time and I'd want to know first from my insurance company if I was ever responsible for the payment and second call the billing dept and find out how I got charged in the first place. Unless you left out details and did call and ask for a complete rundown of the transacno onetion before they took your money to the bank. In which case if they were investigating all this time and found there was an error, then maybe that's why the check got sent back. But having worked in hospital billing departments in the past. they would never, ever send someone's check back with no explanation after having kept it for weeks, NEVER. At the very least, they woud have called the patient and told them of their findings and that they would be sending the check back. 

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There was another long long thread about how we tried to find out what this fee was for etc. Many conversations with ins co & surgicenter & our ins. agent. In the end - if he was to have the test he had to pay it. Then when we got there he had brought one check so he had to give them a check for the facility fee and put the co pays on his credit card because she said they don't go to the same place and have to be paid separately. Thay's why this thread is titled UPDATE - it is an update on a previous thread.

[KarenQVC]

@151949  Cray, cray.  I don't think Medicare would put up with this foolishness.  Sounds like they were trying to put something over on you.

[chrystaltree]

I've been in the field for a long time I have never heard of a provider requesting two checks for services.  They didn't know what they were doing and they didn't understand how or how much your husband's insurer was going to pay them.  Maybe they got it right now, maybe not.  I'd call my insurer and ask the to walk me through the payment....just in case.

[Havarti]

After reading your initial post on this “facility fee” I checked with my health insurance person and she told me only certain states – like Florida – have this “facility fee”.   Fortunately for me, it does not currently exist were we live.  You have my sympathies for having to deal with this hassle.  It is just WRONG that patients have to be on guard at all times for these financial tricks associated with health care.  It is enough just to be sick and in need of help – who needs all that extra hassle & expense.  I am glad you got your check back!  Thanks for letting us know and for giving us a heads up to check into this before it became a factor personally.