A $6,000 urine test? Bay Area hospital company sued over ‘unconscionable’ fee

  • 📰 mercnews
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 28 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 15%
  • Publisher: 68%

Canada News News

Canada Canada Latest News,Canada Canada Headlines

Contra Costa County woman hit with test fee almost 100 times Medicare’s reimbursement amount, lawsuit filed Tuesday claims.

Savannah Thompson walked into the emergency department at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek just after midnight June 14, fearing she had ingested fentanyl — a synthetic opiate responsible for a North America-wide epidemic of fatal overdoses — in what she had been told was cocaine, according to a new lawsuit accusing John Muir Health of fraud.

The fee charged to Thompson, a Contra Costa County resident, was almost 100 times Medicare’s reimbursement rate of $62 for the test, the suit claims, adding that as a rule of thumb for medical billing, charging up to just under 1 1/2 times Medicare’s reimbursement amount is “considered reasonable.” John Muir Health received more than $6,000 from Thompson’s outside insurance provider, and wants her to pay an additional $7,100, the suit claims. The laboratory-services portion of the total bill amounted to nearly $10,000, the suit alleges.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 88. in CA

Canada Canada Latest News, Canada Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Enchant Christmas leases more than 100,000 square feet at Contra Costa Logistics Center - San Francisco Business TimesThe lease is the latest for the massive logistics center, which spans nearly 2 million square feet of industrial space.
Source: SFBusinessTimes - 🏆 78. / 68 Read more »

A $6,000 urine test? Bay Area hospital company sued over ‘unconscionable’ feeContra Costa County woman hit with test fee almost 100 times Medicare’s reimbursement amount, lawsuit filed Tuesday claims.
Source: mercnews - 🏆 88. / 68 Read more »