Insurance carrier: PHS; hospital: Columbia Presbyterian, NYC
Patient's name was entered incorrectly on original hospital intake forms. All subsequent charges were thereafter billed to the patient as the carrier refused to pay for someone whose name they didn't recognize.
HPN contacted the hospital repeatedly requesting that they change their records, but they did not. Eventually the bills were over one year old, and the insurance company now considered them to have not been submitted in a timely manner, and to refuse to pay.
HPN visited the hospital billing department with all records, demonstrating this patient's good faith effort in trying to straighten out this bill. The hospital realized their error and closed the file.
The importance of good record keeping was paramount in this case. Health Plan Navigator recommended.
