Thread: UNC HOSPITALS SUES CITIZEN OVER HOSPITAL BILL!!!!!

http://www.newsobserver.com/150/story/484822.html

Here's an example of how a citizen is treated at UNC HOSPITALS when they cannot pay the hospital bills. This is a publicly supported hospital no less.

There is no way of knowing how many illegal aliens UNC HOSPITALS has treated free of charge nor how many babies have been delivered by illegal aliens also free.

Yet Dean Roper, SOM, "does not apologize for UNC's efforts to collect". All this happened since Roper took over the reins.

william_roper@med.unc.edu

(919) 966-4161

Hi had,

This infuriates me. I KNOW how this works. Just sent off the below email.

http://www.newsobserver.com/150/story/484822.html
[quote:3tz90gyg]
Dr. William L. Roper, who took over as the system's chief executive in March 2004, responded to the petition this month with promises that UNC Hospitals will do a better job helping needy patients get care and do more to ensure that people who truly cannot afford to pay are not hauled into court.

$46.5 million in charity care and wrote off $37.6 million in bad debt
UNC provided $46.5 million in charity care and wrote off $37.6 million in bad debt during the budget year that ended June 30.

Dr. Roper,

I am outraged that you would pursue a citizen who had the unfortunate experience as reported in the above story. To place a lien on this man's home, when they have NOTHING left, is unconsicionable.

This family made every possible attempt to alleviate the situation, such as contacting the drug maker. They tried.

I was an ER nurse for 28 years...different state. I took care of many people who were unable to pay, for many reasons. I respected those who made an effort. These folk are doing that.

I KNOW, Sir, that much of your $46.5 million in charity care and wrote off $37.6 million in bad debt , is due to the illegal immigrant community. So, obviously, your hospital and the state of NC, treat illegal aliens, who are criminals by definition, BETTER, than it does citizens of the USA and NC.

It's time that situation stopped.

Please, write off the Ansley bill. You're hurting your hospital and it's reputation by pursuing this action.

Sincerely, Pat XXXXX, RN, BSN.[/quote:3tz90gyg]

Thanks, Pat.

If he responds, please let us know.

Sure will.

GRRRR , I just can't stand this. I DO understand how expensive it is to treat pts. Just the cost of 1 IV catheter is amazing! I know, I did the ordering of equipment!

So, yes I agree that people should pay their bills when they can.

I paid a ~$3,000 plus surgical bill off $10 a month, while I was a student and had no insurance. So I get it.

But , come on....................!!!

This bill is a legitimate write-off.

UNC hospitals will also garnish your pay for unpayed bills. My daughter has a friend that had somewhere around $200.00 a month garnished over a two month period (total $400.+). According to my daughter, the lady was paying what she could on her bill, but it wasn't enough. It goes without saying, the garnishments made it extremely difficult for her to pay other bills.

I wonder how many illegal aliens have had their pay garnished to pay medical bills?

Can't believe it, but just got this reply.

Dear Ms. XXXXXX,

Thank you for your note.

I appreciate your interest in what we do.

Sincerely, Bill Roper

William L. Roper, MD, MPH

UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health Care System
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
4030 Bondurant Hall
Campus Box 7000
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7000

T - 919.966.4161
F - 919.966.8623
C - 919.616.4837

roper@med.unc.edu
www.med.unc.edu

Yeh, SURE he appreciates my note!

I wonder how many more he's got like yours?

MW, I know a woman who had to sell her house after her husband died to pay off his hospital bill there.

That's just wrong.

I just read this article recently too in the latest Sunday edition of the Raleigh News & Observer. It makes me sick too knowing a legal citizen is getting sued for unpaid medical bills he cannot afford while illegal aliens get free this and that in medical care. Just so happens I applied for and was denied Medicaid and I have some unpaid medical although a much lesser amount than the person listed in this article.

P.S. Great post/email CuriousPat to the hospital. I have a Medicaid application denial hearing this Friday and I will print out this article along with another I printed out from the ALIPAC forums.

This just isn't right.

I'm sure when I attend the hearing and walk into the government welfare office, I will see pregnant and/or Latinas with small children again. This office supplies many types of welfare, a job center and clinic for family planning. I think I will wear one of my t-shirts stating "no amnesty for illegals" or "stop illegal immigration."

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/489879.html

UNC Hospitals relents on claim

Jean P. Fisher, Staff Writer

UNC Hospitals said it will give up its claim against the home of a Clayton man who racked up more than $1 million in medical bills there during a battle with viral encephalitis and a rare, nongenetic form of hemophilia.

Jerry Ansley and his wife, Kathie, whose story appeared in The News & Observer this month, were financially devastated by the medical problems, which began in September 2004 with a mosquito bite that likely infected him with encephalitis. Health insurance covered only a small fraction of the related bills, and the couple ran through their modest retirement savings while he was sick. Ansley remains disabled and dependent on his wife for care, and no one in the house is working.

The Ansleys' medical crisis occurred as UNC Hospitals had become more aggressive in collecting bills. As a state agency obligated by law to try to collect from debtors, UNC had sought to recover at least a portion of what it was owed. Ansley's account was one of hundreds forwarded to the state Attorney General's Office, which sued the couple for the $185,300 -- the full fair-market value of their home -- plus interest and court fees. The rest of Ansley's UNC bills were written off.

The hospital's tougher collection efforts drew criticism this summer. Some patients and staff questioned the state-supported hospital's historic mission to offer care regardless of a person's ability to pay. Hospital officials vowed to alter their approach. Among the changes: UNC Health Care System, the parent of UNC Hospitals, will not pursue legal action against patients who qualify for financial assistance or make a good-faith effort to work with hospital financial counselors.

On Friday, a Raleigh attorney representing the Ansleys, Doug McClanahan, received a letter from the Attorney General's Office that said UNC has approved additional financial assistance for the Ansleys that reduces the balance owed to zero. The letter also said that the Attorney General's Office has dismissed the lawsuit, which sought to place a lien on the couple's home.

UNC Hospitals spokesman Lynn Wooten confirmed that the Ansleys' case has been resolved, but declined to provide details about the case or UNC's decision, citing medical privacy laws.

"We are happy for the family that this issue has been, at last, put to rest, and wish the Ansleys the best in the future," Wooten said in a statement.

Jerry and Kathie Ansley said they are relieved they no longer have to worry about losing ownership of their home.

"I feel like a semi-truck has just been rolled off my chest," said Jerry Ansley, a former high school science teacher who had hoped to start a business as a homebuilder before his illnesses. Now, he and his wife are living on $808 a month in disability benefits and charity from family.

$2.5 million debt

Ansley's medical crisis took him from WakeMed in Raleigh to UNC to Duke Hospital in Durham. In all, his medical bills totalled more than $2.5 million. After reviewing the Ansleys' financial situation, WakeMed and Duke both wrote off the entire amounts due to them.

But the Ansleys say their fight is not over.

The Ansleys hope to persuade state lawmakers to pass a law that would prevent health care organizations from settling medical debts by going after a patient's primary residence. Tara Niebaum, the Ansleys' daughter, said the family has been in contact with members of the state House and Senate, and with Gov. Mike Easley's office, about sponsoring such legislation. The family has established a blog and online petition urging passage of a medical protection act.
Staff writer Jean P. Fisher can be reached at 829-4753 or jfisher@newsobserver.com.