Here are six things to know.
1. The Ventura County Health Agency oversees Ventura (Calif.) County Medical Center, Santa Paula (Calif.) Hospital and numerous health clinics and practices in Ventura County.
2. Due to the processing delays, some patients received medical bills two years after they visited a hospital or physician, according to the article.
3. The billing problems were discovered in mid-2014. The discovery came shortly after the health agency integrated millions of electronic patient records and other data during implementation of a new “electronic house records system” in 2013, Catherine Rodriguez, interim CFO for the Ventura County Health Agency, told The Camarillo Acorn. The switch was part of a new state regulation.
“About 18 months ago we determined there were some accounts that had aged more than the normal range of 30 days. It caught our attention,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “So what we did was send out a letter that came out along with the bill to notify the recipient that we have some testing that was being done.”
4. Overall, processing delays affected approximately 3,500 patient accounts as the agency worked to reconcile hospital charges with insurance company payments, Ms. Rodriguez told the publication, adding that the agency spent 90 days to six months “trying to align those reconciliations with the insurance companies to make sure those bills are sent out correctly.”
5. Still, because the electronic records system was new, some bills that “fell through the cracks” were sent out as late as two years after patients received medical care, Ms. Rodriguez said in the report, but most accounts a year old or older have now been processed.
6. In the report, Ms. Rodriguez noted California law allows the health agency a four-year threshold in which to bill patients.
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