Saint Michael's Hospital

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
 As I stated I did not receive any billing statement or otherwise in November. No voice mail was received regarding my account on 11/04/14 and I would have had no way of knowing who was attempting contact me because it was a blocked number. During my conversations with the billing department I was never informed that I had any shortfall in payments from September or October. I was led to believe that the account was up to date. Furthermore, the voice mail received on 10/27/14 did not indicate it was in relation to a delinquent bill. No reason at all was stated. The repondent falsely claims that the message stated that the last payment was only $75.00 leaving a difference of $39.00. Nor did it inquire if I wanted to set up a new payment arrangement or discuss adding the difference to my next payment. This is blatantly dishonest. The voicemail simply stated that it was the hospital calling and provided a number they could be reached at. As such I did not return the call because it was my understanding that the bill was current. The voicemail from 10/27/14 is attached as documentation in this matter. At no time was I informed that I needed to make up for the $39.00 shortfall from the September or $14.00 from the October billing period as the hospital representative states. In fact, none of the voicemails received indicated late payments, shortfalls on past payments or the need to follow up about a specific billing issue. I was however told during the call on 10/16/14 that I would need to take out a medical loan to pay off the entire balance if the payments were lowered so I opted to attempt these payments. Once the bill did actually become delinquent on 11/16/14 no calls were attempted to notify me of the issue. The repondent clearly states that the last attempt to contact me (no voicemail was left) on 11/04/14 was before any actual delinquency occured. I firmly stand by the fact that their was no delinquency because I had never been informed of the matter the $39.00 needing to be made up in another payment when the $75.00 was paid on 10/16/15. Nor at anytime during that conversation was it mentioned that I needed to make an additional $14.00 payment for September.  Since I had not received a statement and this is not a normal monthly bill I freely admit payment for November slipped my mind. A phone call could have been made and a voicemail left to notify the me of delinquency. Additionally, I fail to understand how the hospital can claim to have sent a delinquency notice on 11/18/14 but sent a regular billing statement on 12/2/14 which failed to notify me of the issue. The last statement should never have been sent out if they expected a payment by 12/5/14. Since I live out of town I wouldn't have received the bill until after it had already been sent to collections anyway. Documentation shows that I made a payment within six days of the December bill being sent out.  In actuality the account was 23 days past due when this payment was made. While this is not ideal I do not see how a company and a religiously affiliated hospital no less can justify sending someone to collections after that amount of time. The hospital is claiming months of delinquency based on an agreed upon one time smaller payment that should in no way be reflected in this issue. Had I at any time become aware of the issue I would have made an immediate payment and spoken to someone in the billing department in order to bring my account back into good standing. Continued payments in December and January and attempts to get up-to-date statements indicate quite clearly that I had every intention to pay the balance in full.  At this point I believe the hospital did not in fact attempt contact to correct the issue and charged my bill off in error and is now refusing to admit the mistake. The fact that the hospital staff are willing to deceive about billing shortfalls being the reason for a charge off and statements made in their own voicemails is proof enough for me that a clear error was made on their part. I maintain that I want this account recalled and removed from my credit report. I will gladly pay the entire amount in full at that time.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted]
Once again, after having reviewed the most recent replies from the customer, Ministry Health Care stands by the processes undertaken with this customer. We feel confident that we have done our due diligence in trying to work with her. Unfortunately, the customer's balance will remain with the collection agency and she would need to work with them regarding payment.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Patient Relations Specialist
Ministry Health Care

Review: I received a letter in the mail from a collection agency stating I owed $50, which I was aware that I owed. I had been waiting for a bill to pay the balance. I contacted St. Michaels and I was told they sent me a letter in late April, which I stated I had not received and don't you think I would have paid the $50 instead of going to collections? They told me they " called" me and I hung up in them. I am able to provide my phone records to prove they did not call. I offered several times to pay the balance and they refused to accept the money. This is unethical practice and shame on them for accusing me of not being honest that I didn't receive a letter or receive this phone call.Desired Settlement: I want this removed from our credit report. I want to be allowed to pay my bill with St. Mikes. I would like an apology that they willingly try to ruin someone's credit over $50 instead of working with their customers.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com,

With regard to the Customer's Complaint #[redacted], they stated that they were waiting for a bill so that they could pay the balance of $50 that they were aware they owed. Our records indicate that 8 monthly billing statements were mailed to Customer between the dates 10/05/14- 04/19/15 as well as a final notice on 01/03/15 (for a 09/07/14 visit) and on 04/17/15, (for a 11/10/14 visit.) The address that the statements and the final notices were mailed to is the same as the Customer has listed on the complaint. Ministry did not receive any return mail service for the Customer. It is the routine billing practice of Ministry Health Care to attempt to reach the guarantor by phone, after two monthly statements have gone out in the mail to set up payment arrangements on the account balance. We do show record of phone calls being placed and voice messages left for the guarantor on 11/14/14, 03/26/15, 03/31/15, 04/09/15. Another call was placed on 04/28/15 and call was answered then party hung up. We did not get to speak with anyone during call or to leave voice message. Our phone system dials and then signals if hung up on, which is what occurred on 04/28/15. The charges were turned over to the collections agency on 05/14/15 and removed from Ministry's ledger. Once a charge has gone to collections, the patient/guarantor will be referred to the collection agency to discuss payment arrangements since the balance is no longer on Ministry ledgers.

Ministry Health Care abides by responsible, ethical, and standard health industry billing practices, similar to those used by other health care facilities.

With regard to the Customer's desired settlement, the collection agency has not yet reported the balance to the credit bureaus (usually not for 30 days,) so if they pay the balance to the collection agency before 06/14/15, this will not even appear on their credit report. Ministry Health Care is confident that we have done our due diligence in working with the Customer.

Review: In August 2014 I called the Saint Micheal's Hospital billing department to find out about getting my bill from a procedure that occurred on 3/21/14. I was told it would be sent out and I received it a few weeks later. I then received a call/voice mail from the billing office about making a payment on August 14th. I returned the call on August 18th and made my first payment of $100.00. They said I needed to make a payment of $114.00 per month or take out a medical loan. I made my September payment over their online bill pay center for the $114.00 on August 18th. I received a voice mail from the billing office on September 23rd about making a payment. I did not return the call because my September payment had already been made. The following month I was unable to make the full payment so I called the billing office and arranged to make a payment of $75.00 on that day. The person I spoke with said that the account would remain up to date because of the payment. I received a voice mail from the billing office on October 27th which I again did not return because the account was current. I did not receive a billing statement in November and subsequently forgot to make a payment. I also received no voice mails during the month of November. In the first week of December 2014 I received a billing statement from December 2nd. I made an online payment of $100.00 on December 8th. I made an additional online payment of $50.00 on December 22nd. I did not receive a statement in January but made online payments of $100.00 on January 5th and January 28th. In January I called the billing office for an updated statement. I received a call/voice mail back but was never able to reach them during their business hours.

I again called the office February 25th in an attempt to get my billing statement and was informed that on December 5th my account had been sent to collections. I was informed I had been sent notice of collections and phone calls had been attempted. I disputed this fact because my final billing statement had been on December 2nd and indicated no such collection notice. Nor had I received any voice mails other than those in August, September and October when my account was current. I informed them that I had been paying over the last two months and was told the payments were never received. I was then told after insisting I had documented proof of payment that all payments had been forwarded to the collection agency. At this time I was told I had to settle the account through this agency and take the hit to my credit report. When I insisted that this was a mistake because I had never received any communication about the possibility of being sent to collections I was hung up on. At no time did I resort to rude or violent language to illicit such a response. My call was initially in attempt to get my billing statement and I was at a loss as to how this had happened.

I understand that I missed one payment in November but since August when the billing was initiated I have paid $699.00 of the $1020.15 balance. I never received any communications regarding my risk of being sent to collections. I went through my phone records and can verify as much. Those voice mails that I did receive were from an unlisted number so if other calls were attempted and went unanswered it is likely because they were attributed to being a telemarketer call. No voice mails regarding the account were left after October 27th when the account was listed as up to date. During my February 25th communications with Amanda in the billing department it was strongly insinuated that I had received communications during this time but I was unable to gather further information before I was hung up on. Based on my calculations, at this time I should owe 321.15 on this account. I pulled my credit report in response to this call and find that despite the $400.00 in payments since this has been sent to the collection agency I now owe $536.00.

I also find it absurd that they would send me a billing statement on December 2nd only to send me to a collection agency December 5th before I had even received the bill in the mail. I obviously would not have made a payment on December 8th only a few days after the statement date if I was unwilling to make the payments, nor would I have continued to do so over the last two months. Three days is insufficient time to send out bill and expect payment it even if it had indicated I was at risk of being sent to collections. The December bill was a normal bill and had no writing to indicate this was the case. This is why I do not believe proper procedures were followed when I was told that warning phone calls and statements were sent out prior to this occurring. If I had been about to get sent to collections the December statement should have said so. It clearly does not and I can provide a copy for verification purposes.

Because of this I am now being forced to pay an additional amount for services and it will hurt my credit rating. I would like the account reactivated so that the remaining balance of $321.15 can be paid and the collections account removed from my credit report. If they are unable to do this I'd like a transcript of all supposed dates that communications were sent via mail and phone as I will follow up by disputing this claim through the credit reporting agencies.Desired Settlement: I want this removed from the collections account and my credit report.

Business

Response:

In reviewing our account for the customer, she did call into our Business Office on 08/15/14 at 11:06 and agreed to a payment arrangement of $114.00 per month, due on the 15th to begin on 08/15/14. She did in fact render a credit card payment for that amount. Balance on the account was $1,020.15. As the customer stated, she made another payment on 08/18/14; however, it was a $100.00 payment. Our Business Office did place a call to her on 09/23/14 at 10:50 am, following up on the short payment, as payment due was to be $114.00 on 09/15/14. There was no return call documented. On 10/16/14 at 11:29, the customer phoned in to our Business Office and provided a new address. She stated she just moved there. She rendered a $75.00 credit card payment over the phone, stating that money was tight and trying to get settled into new place. The representative that spoke to the customer offered to reset the payment arrangement to $110.00 and can start at the end of November, if more convenient. The customer stated she needed to think about it and agreed to call back by 10/27/14 to set firm payments. Our Business Office phoned the customer on 10/27/14 at 9:03 am and left a voice message for her, following up on the balance of $731.15. Message stated that she had set up a payment arrangement of $114.00 due the 15th of the month. The last payment was only $75.00 leaving a difference of $39.00. Does she either want to set up a new payment arrangement or discuss if she is adding the difference to her next payment due? On 11/04/14 at 11:24 am, our Business Office placed another call to the customer, but there was no answer. They were following up on the $114.00 due 10/15/14 and receipt of short payment $75.00, still need $39.00. Balance $731.15. During this time, Ministry Health Care mailed out monthly billing statements on 09/09/14, 10/07/14 and 11/04/14. In review of the statements sent to the customer, there was an address change reflected on the statements between the October and November statements. On 11/18/14, Ministry Health Care mailed a Final Notice for past due charges of $731.15 that was due on 11/27/14, or the account would be placed with a debt collection agency. The final notice does state that the customer’s immediate attention is required and if patient is unable to pay their bill in full or feel that they have received the notice in error, to please contact the business office for assistance. Another monthly statement did mail out to the customer on 12/02/14. The customer’s account was turned over to the debt collection agency on 12/05/14. Once an account is turned over to the collection agency, the customer needs to contact the agency to set up payment arrangements and Ministry Health Care does not send any more statements or make any further phone calls on those balances. If a customer makes payment on an account whose balance has been turned to collections, and they do not have any other open balances at Ministry, we will report the payment to the collection agency and the agency will apply it to the customer’s collection balance. This customer did make payments of $150.00 on 12/09/14, $50.00 on 12/23/14, $100.00 on 01/06/15 and $100.00 on 01/29/15. However, when Ministry reported these payments to the collection agency, the collection agency applied those payments to collection balances ($205.35) that were turned over to them on a prior date (07/30/10.) That is why there is a discrepancy between what the actual current collection balance is and what the customer stated she feels it should be. On 01/28/15 at 8:51am, Ministry Health Care’s Business Office phoned the customer, returning her voice message. She had called and left a voicemail stating she did not receive a statement and wanted to know her balance. Since her balance had been turned to collections, there was no balance on the account. The representative left a voice message that her call was being returned. On 02/25/15 at 5:58pm , the customer called questioning why she has not yet received her statement? Our representative informed the customer that the last statement was mailed on 12/02/14. The customer stated that she had received that statement and nothing more recent. She wanted to know the balance left on the account. She was informed that there was no balance due at this time and was advised of the turn over to collections on 12/05/14. The customer stated she did not understand as she was making payments. Our representative reviewed the payment arrangement on the account, as well as the short and missed payments, the statements that were sent and phone calls that were made to the customer several times and advised her to contact the collection agency. In regard to Ministry Health Care courtesy calls registering as an unlisted number, that is correct and we do that to protect the patient’s privacy. The voice messages that are left are also brief and of a general nature so as to protect the patient’s privacy. A telephone number for our Business Office is given and the patient is requested to return the call. Ministry Health Care feels that reasonable efforts were made to attempt to work with the customer prior to turning her balance over to the collection agency and the customer needs to work with the agency to set up payment arrangements to clear the debt. Sincerely, [redacted]Patient Relations SpecialistMinistry Health Care-CR715-342-7616

Consumer

Response:

I have had nothing but problems with the billing services at Saint Michael's Hospital in Stevens Point since the first time I walked in, almost a year ago to-date. Upon my first check-in, the receptionists asked for and made copies of my insurance card, as to be expected. However, the next two times I returned for an appointment, they claimed that I had no insurance on file, so I gave them my insurance card again each time, and they made copies again, each time. They also failed to ask if I had a co-pay; I had to remind them each time that I owed $30. As a check-in receptionist, I feel that co-pays should be pretty standard procedure, yet they seemed confused and unorganized.

That was only the beginning of my problems. None of the billing statements I received from Saint Michael's Hospital showed my co-payments, and the format was again confusing and unorganized. I spoke to someone on the phone about the issue and they were of little help, but to avoid future interactions I just paid my $300+ balance and thought that would be the end of it.

Two months later, after having paid my bill off completely and making no further visits (I was 4 hours away from Stevens Point at the time), I received another billing statement in the mail from Saint Michael's Hospital requesting $121 for services that had taken place 9 months prior, on my first visit--services that had shown up on my previous $300+ balance, which I paid off!

I tried again to call the Saint Michael's Hospital billing office for clarification, and the woman basically said there was nothing she could do; I would have to take up the discrepancy with my insurance company. Feeling misguided and confused, I went into the billing office to speak with someone face-to-face about the issue. The woman I spoke to was very smug and condescending, and told me to just pay the $121. I left feeling more unsure than I when I had arrived.

So a few days later I returned to speak with a different woman, who proved to be very helpful. She explained my billing statement to me in great detail and even printed out another copy to show exactly what each dollar amount referred to. She said she would contact my insurance agency and put a hold on my account until they responded.

Well that was the last I heard from Saint Michael's Hospital. Two months later I received a call from a debt collection agency about a $121 overdue balance. I felt betrayed and angry. I would have paid the bill had I known things were cleared. But as it turns out, Saint Michael's Hospital had been sending my updated billing statements to my permanent address, not my current address in Stevens Point, which I had supplied to the woman in the billing office during my last visit.

The bill is now paid, and I am through with Saint Michael's Hospital. Because of their poor communication and lack of organization, my credit score now shows a debt collection agency. I have taken my medical business elsewhere and will encourage others to do the same.