Watch Your Hospital Bills
A patient who was involved in a car wreck went to a hospital to receive
treatment. His medical insurance company paid the hospital bill pursuant to
a contract the insurance provider had with the hospital to accept a reduced
amount for services rendered in the hospital. This is a common practice. The
example, if you have a $60,000 hospital bill, the medical insurance provider
has an agreement with the hospital and the hospital agrees to accept $20,000
as payment. In this case the hospital did except the reduced sums but then
sent a letter to the patient stating that the patient was responsible for the remainder of the bill. The hospital informed the patient that the hospital was
claiming a hospital lien on the recovery amount the patient would receive
from the car accident. Hospitals and doctors can have a lien on proceeds from
an automobile accident similar to a lien a garage man has on your car or a
contractor has on your house repairs.
The Appellant Court agreed the patient owed a debt to the hospital but the
debt was paid when the hospital accepted the reduced payment from the
medical insurance company thereby extinguishing the hospital’s lien.
Where I’d Rather Be: On a cold rainy day having barbeque and a beer with
Billy Debow at the Elbow Inn.
David Lee Wells is a Missouri lawyer and this article is not legal advice. See a
lawyer for advice. A lawyer should not be chosen solely on advertising
David Lee Wells practices law at
329 Armour Road,
North Kansas City, Missouri 64116
(816) 842-2171
toll free 1-866-LAW4BIKERS
www.law4bikers.com
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