An Arizona man was billed thousands of dollars for gallbladder surgery he never had because his name and birthdate matched another patient's, according to a KTVK/KPHO-TV report.
Jose Angel Perez began receiving late notices from Tucson, Ariz.-based Banner Health South Hospital earlier this year, the report states. The late notices were for gallbladder surgery he never had, and he continued to get medical bills, totaling about $3,000.
Mr. Perez told KTVK/KPHO-TV that his insurance already has paid part of the medical bills, so media contacted the hospital to investigate.
Mr. Perez discovered that another Jose Perez with the same birthdate should have received the bills, and the issue was resolved.
Banner Health South Hospital told KTVK/KPHO-TV: "Upon learning about the inaccurate bills received by Mr. Perez, we launched an investigation into the issue. The error that caused the issue has been resolved, and we have recalled the inaccurate bills sent to Mr. Perez. Mr. Perez currently is in good standing with Banner Health, with no collections or financial notations in his patient record. We regret the confusion this may have caused."
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