Photo:Getty
Getty
An Illinois couple is speaking out after their service provider charged them $600 each for “surgical trays” following routine preventive colonoscopies. After insurance was applied, each patient received a bill for $250.
The Affordable Care Act requires preventive care services like colonoscopies, mammograms, and cervical cancer checks to be fully covered without any cost to patients.
“This was our chance to get our free preventative care,” Panozzo toldNPR, noting that both of their results came back normal.
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So, despite the free screening, the couple later received their respective bills for the visit and were surprised to find that they each had a $600 charge for “surgical supplies.” Their insurer explained that the codes were for “surgical trays.” The couple eventually appealed and were not required to pay.
“The insurance company is supposed to pay the full claim, but there is no requirement on the provider to code the claim correctly,” Sabrina Corlette, co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University, told NPR.
GI Alliance, the national group that manages the Illinois Gastroenterology Group, has not yet responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
She was relieved when the insurance later approved the appeal and neither she nor her husband were required to pay the charges.
But Panozzo said she still felt defeated and exhausted following the entire ordeal. She admitted that she has little trust in the American health care system, even having lived abroad for nearly 10 years.
“I could function in a health care system in German better than I could here in English,” she said.
Earlier, and more frequent screenings are also recommended if someone has an inflammatory bowel disease (such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis), or a personal or family history of colorectal cancer or colorectal polyps, among other pre-existing conditions.
source: people.com
