St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center

In response to the complaint received from your officeI have personally reviewed thecase of Ms***.The claim in reference was submitted timely to the patient insurance, however it wasoriginally denied by the insurance company as the infant was not added to the insuranceat the time we
submitted the claimWe were notified by the insurance in April thatthe infant had been added and we resubmitted the claimAs noted in Ms***letter we received payment in June 2016.It is very unfortunate that the circumstances required the billing of the claim to take theamount of time that it did, however we are obligated to bill patients for liability left by theinsurance companyIf we neglect to do so, this would be considered to be an act ofinducementTherefore, we cannot reduce the balance due by Ms***In reference to the question on charging, the newborn room and board covers multiplecosts to the hospital such as nursing care, supply costs, etcAdjlitionally, I would like toclarify that the amount charged for the infant room and board does not impact thepayment received from the insurance company or the patient liability left by theinsurance companyThe case rate received as payment is reflective of the health of theinfant and includes any procedures performed while the patient is in house (i.eNewbornHearing Screen)The copay, deductible and coinsurance left by the insurance companywould not be changed if there were any reduction of charges.Whiie we cannot reduce the bill as requested by Ms***, I would like to encourageher to reach out to the benefit advocacy department at *** *** to determine ifshe qualifies for any financial assistance relief.Thank you,Katie

Received voicemail from consumer on behalf of the business stating complaint has been resolved

This letter is in response to a complaint registered by one of our patientsThe patient stated that shehad contacted the practice a number of times requesting a complete copy of her medical record.Our documentation shows that we did receive this patient request for her medical record to
betransferred to another practiceAt the time the authorization for this record was received, we wereutilizing the services of a release of information vendor, *** processed the requestand it was their procedure to only release the last year or two of patient informationIt is unclear if thepatient contacted us about her request or she contacted *** directly.On February 22, 2016, our office contacted the patient and informed her that her entire medical recordwould be copied and sent to her new providerThe patient was satisfied with this resolution.If you have any further questions or concerns regarding this issue, please don't hesitate to contact me at###-###-####.Very Truly Yours,Stephane N***, RHIT, CHCDirector of Health Information and Patient RelationsYour Healthcare Connection For Life