You get a
bill for $361.26.
I almost
had a heart attack. And then I burst
into tears. And then I got pretty
freakin’ pissed off.
For that
price, I could pay for 18 appointment co-pays with my current insurance.
I could do
a lot with that kind of money, but I cannot afford to pay that for my medical
records.
I wanted
my medical records because I am moving.
And how was I supposed to know that my medical records over the past
five years would be six inches thick, more than 1,000 pages?
When I got
home one night a few weeks ago and saw a box from a health company in Atlanta,
I figured surely that couldn’t be my medical records. Then I picked up the box and it was heavy to
the point where I knew it probably was.
And before I even saw the bill, I had a sinking feeling in my
stomach.
I feel
like I am being punished because I have a complicated medical history. It’s insane to me that these people look at
this six-inch thick medical record of a 27-year-old, and rather than wonder
what my life might be like as it is, they stick it to me even more.
And I was
under the impression that if I was going to be charged more than $50, I would
be contacted before they went ahead with processing my request. That never happened. Because if it had, I wouldn’t have been
willing or able to pay that much.
The other
thing is that I poured through every page and found nearly 350 pages that were
blank, only had the hospital logo on them, or only had the line about
“electronic mail not being secure”. There
were 1,202 pages at 0.23 each. I
accounted for those, which included the 350 garbage ones I just mentioned. But then there were 20 pages at $1.16 each
and 30 pages at 0.58 each. I couldn’t
account for those.
But the
real question is, besides how I was going to pay the bill is how can I be a
responsible patient if my medical records are in Michigan and I’m in New York?
How is it
possible that I have to pay for my own medical record?
This is
the kind of thing that, as the chronic illness community, we cannot stand
for.
We have to
speak out when injustices like this happen to us.
And I know
I am not alone in these experiences.
When you
can’t afford your medication, medical records, or something equally important regarding
your health, it causes “good” patients to become “bad”. It sabotages a patient’s quest for health,
and can have deadly consequences.
I waited
to write about this until the situation was resolved. I didn’t want to hurt my chances of a
decision in my favor.
Ultimately,
I was bounced around between the medical records people in Michigan and the
company that copied them in Atlanta.
Maybe if this were all done in Michigan, it wouldn’t cost so freakin’
much.
The person
in Atlanta said that they didn’t know why I hadn’t been contacted ahead of time
and said they had to call Michigan.
Almost a week went by without hearing anything, so I took matters
further. I knew that the worst that
could happen was that I would be told I had to pay the full bill.
So I
contacted the Better Business Bureau.
The situation was stressful enough that I didn’t really trust myself to
handle getting bounced back and forth, which seemed to be inevitable.
And this
is the way a lot of health situations get handled. You get bounced back and forth, the system
hoping that you’ll just give up. But
when you feel you are being disenfranchised, you can’t just give up. It allows the system to perpetuate the
problem.
This isn’t
even really about this one incident anymore.
It’s about the fact that the financial burden of health-related expenses
is making it impossible for some people to take care of themselves.
I often
think back to the fact that if I wouldn’t have had built-in health insurance
from my graduate program, I probably wouldn’t have had health insurance
otherwise, and I probably wouldn’t be alive right now. That’s a sobering thing to think about.
So fast
forward five years later, I am alive, but being financially raped to gain
access to my own medical records. It’s
just totally insane and surreal.
It’s never
fun to get a bill that you’re not expecting, especially when it’s for
paper. The worst part is that these
people know how important my medical record is to me. And I guess they figured they could totally
take advantage because they know I need it.
Because
let’s be honest. Healthy people don’t
need their medical records. And if they
do, they aren’t 1,200 pages long.
I think
that if you are going to be charged for your medical records, there should be a
limit on how much they can charge you.
Ultimately,
it was determined that I should have been contacted ahead of time before the
order was processed and because I wasn’t, the company changed the bill to
$50.
This felt like a huge victory for
me. But the thing is, I probably would
not have gotten a resolution if I wouldn’t have contacted the Better Business
Bureau. So if you’re wondering if they
deal with medical-financial disputes, they absolutely do. I’m not for blowing smoke if there’s nothing
to blow smoke about, but I do believe in looking out for yourself when
companies/hospitals/insurance/pharmaceuticals are taking advantage. And I very much felt that is what happened in
this situation.
So, in
case you’re curious, this is what five years and 1,200 pages of medical records
looks like. Enough said.
WOW! Good for you for fighting that bill! There is NO WAY I would have paid that and I would have done the same thing as you by notifying the BBB. I agree that it is really not fair to make us pay for a copy of something that our new doctor needs. The new doc should have to pay that and should take care of the request as well. That's just my thoughts. **)
ReplyDeleteWhat a shocker! I agree that you should have been informed of the cost prior to printing and shipping.
ReplyDeleteIn hindsight, would you have been able to take the existing records with you? I assume that they are your property - not sure what your rights are in the U.S. to that respect.
This is such a valuable public service message - thanks for taking the time to share it, Leslie.
Holy crap, that's a lot of notes!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for treating this like a business. It's so important that we start holding them accountable for the things we wouldn't tolerate from any other service provider.
My view is that if they didn't inform you of the cost, you don't have to pay it! But I don't know how that plays in reality. It might have been buried in fine print.
ReplyDeleteGOOD FOR YOU for fighting back!
Who was the hospital? It's not rude to name them; I'm sure their policy is public, not secret.
You're one hundred percent right. We're are held hostage.
ReplyDeleteAnd the irony? A new physician will more than likely never read even a 1/3 of that stack. And that's being kind.
Frustrating.
best,
jenji
Thanks for fighting the good fight, Leslie! I'm interested to know more about what your interaction with the BBB was like, could you give us some more details? I help people get their medical records at RecordCollect.com and using the BBB may come in handy one day.
ReplyDeleteAlso for future reference there are state laws that determine how much they can charge you for records, they just happen to be bad laws that allow for outrageous bills like yours. Reform is definitely needed!
http://www.lamblawoffice.com/medical-records-copying-charges.html#Michigan