Billed for services not requested.

[ErikA4242]

Jurisdiction

Wisconsin

Hello,

My wife was having a baby at our home and per the midwife's recommendation we transferred to a local hospital.

The delivery went well and the baby was healthy, however because of the time of day their was not a resident doctor on staff and we were told that we needed to wait until a resident doctor arrived so that we could be discharged.

At no point in time were we made aware that being "discharged" is a billable service, and had we known that it was a billable service we would have left the hospital against medical advice (AMA). We had repeatedly declined other services that were billable services (Ibuprofen, meals etc) - our only intention at the hospital was to use the echo-cardiogram. To use the echo-cardiogram we needed the service of the on-staff doctors and nurses. Those charges were completely agreeable and paid for.

It is the hospitals policy that only a resident doctor can discharge a patient. We stayed as a courtesy to the hospital until they had completed their "service" - unbeknownst to us that "discharge" was a specific and extra billable service.

What are my legal options? I have filed a complaint with the BBB earlier today. I have also spoken with the company that employs the resident doctors, to no avail.

I own a pizza restaurant and how I equate this situation is that I brought some pizzas and appetizers to a table, they never ordered it, but now I still expect them to pay for the product because they were in my restaurant.

Thanks,

Erik

 

[adjusterjack]

What are my legal options?

None.

I have filed a complaint with the BBB earlier today.

Useless.

I have also spoken with the company that employs the resident doctors, to no avail.

No surprise there.

I own a pizza restaurant and how I equate this situation is that I brought some pizzas and appetizers to a table, they never ordered it, but now I still expect them to pay for the product because they were in my restaurant.

Apples to oranges. Not even close.

Sorry, but the hospital has all the cards. You won't win this.

 

[ErikA4242]

None.



Useless.



No surprise there.



Apples to oranges. Not even close.

Sorry, but the hospital has all the cards. You won't win this.

I disagree that it is apples to oranges but I'll trust your judgement on this.

So basically - I either pay the bill or just let it go to collections?

 

[army judge]

I either pay the bill or just let it go to collections?

You could attempt to file bankruptcy, you could bring a lawsuit, you could try negotiating a lower amount with the hospital's business office, or you could wait until you're sued to defend your position.

Perhaps you could discuss this with the midwife in an effort t0 seek clarification, as it seems you were misled by by the midwife.

It was, after all, the midwife who directed you to use THAT facility.

 

[ErikA4242]

You could attempt to file bankruptcy, you could bring a lawsuit, you could try negotiating a lower amount with the hospital's business office, or you could wait until you're sued to defend your position.

Perhaps you could discuss this with the midwife in an effort t0 seek clarification, as it seems you were misled by by the midwife.

It was, after all, the midwife who directed you to use THAT facility.

The bill is only $309 so I won't be worried about bankruptcy or the other options listed.

The midwife did not have any say in the matter so that isn't the issue.

How it went was that the hospital has on call doctor's for overnight service - that was the doctor that was called in to do the echo-cardiogram. We then delivered the baby and all was well. The on-call doctor is not permitted per hospital policy to "discharge" patients. We were told we would need to wait for the resident doctor to be "discharged."

The main issue is that "discharge" can be used as a noun or a verb. We took it as a verb when in fact it was a noun. We could have just got up and left the hospital and we would not have been billed for the "discharge" service. We assumed we were being polite by allowing the hospital to dot their i's and cross their t's - when in fact we were unassumingly signing up for a service we did not need, request or want. The resident doctor's office did offer a 30% discount because we are not using insurance.

The bill has my wife's name listed so it would end up following her credit record. Is it possible for it to be put in my name because I'm not concerned with my credit score, whereas my unwillingness to pay this bill would affect her, that is the worst part.

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Congratulations on the birth of your new born. Your child's health is obviously of paramount importance and thankfully that is not in issue.

Unfortunately there is no easy answer and question the amount of time and pain you're willing to endure. If you can get a substantial discount on this "service" you're better off doing it and moving on. Technically you did receive the "service" whether you like it or not. I understand why the hospital would tell you that you had to wait around and arguing that they didn't provide you with the option will be a weak one. Unless you really know how to handle these medical providers and are willing to spend the time, I'll say you're better off cutting your losses at this amount of money.

It's useless to try to ignore these bills too. She is the patient - not you. They will pursue her for payment of the bill. Unfortunately many medical offices are billing machines and if sent to a collection agency you'll find that the latter can be ruthless. Negotiate as best you can. Ultimately you're best of negotiating that settlement amount and moving on.

 

[army judge]

The bill has my wife's name listed so it would end up following her credit record. Is it possible for it to be put in my name because I'm not concerned with my credit score, whereas my unwillingness to pay this bill would affect her, that is the worst part.

Any idea you conceive is always worth discussing with the other party.

All the other party can say, is "SURE", or "NO, thanks".

Negotiation, compromise, discussion, conciliation, mediation are very useful tools in everyone's TOOLBOX.