I should have taken it was a warning when I walked into Intermountain Health in Billings and they had a great big sign up threatening to have security haul you away if you raised your voice, argued, or used profanity. So much for the First Amendment. Believe you me, you will have plenty of reasons to want to raise your voice, argue, or use profanity.
At least my doctor was excellent, and the rest of the medical staff seemed pretty good too, but the administrative side of things was just plain shit.
Saint Vincent’s used to be a private Catholic hospital and was rated one of the very best facilities in the state. Now, they’ve been taken over by a giant multi-state corporate monstrosity and things are going downhill fast.
At the pre-op appointment the afternoon before my surgery, the billing people totally blind-sided me with a $4,500 out-of-pocket bill which my Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance did not cover and which had to be paid immediately. It was the first I had heard of it. So much for the No Suprises Act. I am fortunate that I have an emergency fund set aside that was sufficient to cover said bill, but how many people do not or cannot pay this kind of unexpected extortion?
I had gotten a call from a Colorado number about “demographics and billing”, but every single time I tried to call this number back I only got an AI robo-operator that asked for the location I was going to. I tried every variation of Saint Vincent’s, Intermountain Health, Yellowstone, Billings I could think of but the robot would not recognize any of them and I could not get past Hal to talk to an actual human being.
They also wanted me to sign up for their “epic” My Chart on-line system but every single link they emailed me to sign up for said system malfunctioned and led nowhere…”There has been an error and we cannot process your request.” Any system that’s so screwed up they can’t even get an email link to work is likely dysfunctional in most other ways as well.
When I got home after the surgery, there was an email and a letter about the $4,500 bill after the fact.
Ever since, now well over a month after the surgery, I have been getting bill after bill after bill. Letter, email, or phone, these bills simply demand more money and don’t tell what it is for. There’s literally no information…no explanation of what it’s for, no itemized list, no reason, no note if insurance has been billed…absolutely nothing but a demand to send them more money. So much for the Patient Bill of Right’s clauses on Cost Transparency and Billing Clarity. And of course, I cannot respond to or contact the phone numbers or email addresses, they just get kicked back as undeliverable.
For the first month I kept paying hundreds of more dollars for all these additional mystery bills, but I just received yet another unexplained demand for yet another $515. Now I’m waiting on hold trying to contact an actual human being on the phone to ask for some kind of clarification about what these endless streams of bills are actually for.
What a scam and a boondoggle. If you make the mistake of seeking medical treatment here, better figure on having a few extra grand in your pocket or, better yet, demand a full account from them on the actual costs ahead of time. Just don’t ask loudly or profanely or they’ll sic the rent-a-cops on you.
And so much for the “Affordable” Care Act.
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