A billing expert knocked thousands of dollars off her husband's medical bill for an emergency room visit at a Wisconsin hospital after a year-long dispute, Kaiser Health News reported.
Bhavin Shah, MD, went to the emergency room at Froedtert South hospital in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., after breaking his arm in a skiing accident. He received a $3,319 bill, after his insurer paid its portion of the cost.
Sunita Kalsariya, Dr. Shah's wife and office manager at his medical practice, requested an itemized bill and discovered that the hospital had billed Dr. Shah $7,000 for a procedure it never performed.
Ms. Kalsariya recommends in addition to requesting an itemized bill, patients who think they have been unfairly charged take steps to research what other hospitals charge for services, request medical records, and tell debt collectors the bill is being disputed.
Eventually, the hospital said it had incorrectly coded Dr. Shah's treatment and reduced the bill total to $1,214. Froedtert South did not respond to Kaiser Health News' requests for comment.
Read the full report here.