Posted on Sat, Jul. 04, 2009  Comments   (0)

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Texas Health Fort Worth hospital is working on couple's billing problem

Nine months pregnant and expecting any moment, Julie Ledford instead rushed her husband to the emergency room at Texas Health Fort Worth hospital with severe abdominal pains a year ago. When Eric Ledford was asked for his insurance card by a hospital admittance officer, he handed it over and never saw it again.

He signed some papers and received treatment. Turns out he had two kidney stones. A few days later, Julie Ledford returned to the hospital and had her daughter.

For much of the past year, though, the Ledfords have tried to explain to hospital billing administrators and then a collection agency that the hospital messed up the bill for Eric’s ER stay. But nobody would listen.

The hospital never entered his address or insurance information into his file. The Ledfords never got a bill. But months later, when they checked Eric’s credit report, they found an unpaid $3,000 debt to a collection agency hired by Texas Health Resources. That payment should have been covered by insurance, but the claim was never filed.

Julie Ledford, a teacher, says she tried for months to talk to the right person at the hospital. She never found a sympathetic ear. Then she wrote The Watchdog.

I checked out a similar case of unresponsive customer service at the hospital several months ago for another reader.

In February, hospital spokeswoman Whitney Jodry told me, "We are reviewing all of our billing responses to ensure that our patients’ questions are answered in a timely fashion."

How did that review go?

In the Ledfords’ case, the reason listed in credit records for lack of payment is that Eric Ledford never signed a consent form. He did. The hospital couldn’t find it.

During admittance, hospital staff copied his driver’s license but didn’t put the copy in his file.

When the Ledfords returned home and realized that the insurance card was missing, they immediately notified the hospital.

No one knows what happened to the card.

The address where the bills were sent is an address the Ledfords never used.

When the Ledfords filed a protest with the credit bureaus and hospital, the hospital updated and confirmed the delinquency in credit records.

Customer service representatives were "unresponsive and uncooperative during my calls," Julie Ledford said. Her notes list many names and phone numbers of administrators at various levels who did not return her calls.

She says she was not allowed to speak to a higher-up at the hospital until she first spoke to a supervisor. But supervisors she was directed to did not return her calls or were listed as on vacation.

"It was a nightmare," she said.

Even though Ledford had her baby at the hospital a few days later (that bill was paid in full and partly covered by insurance), the hospital says it lacked contact information.

"They made it sound like we went AWOL, like we just ran out," she said. "We obviously didn’t. We signed four different forms I have on file.  . . .  The majority of the blame lies on the ER department for inaccurately filling out our paperwork."

Last week, she found a copy of the consent form that her husband supposedly did not sign. He had signed it.

Jodry told me there was a breakdown: "We missed it. We totally missed it.  . . .  We usually don’t make these errors. We realize it’s been a year, and we’re going to take care of it."

James D. Logsdon, vice president of business operations, called the Ledfords to apologize.

Douglas Hawthorne, the company’s president and chief executive officer, wrote to the Ledfords: "I am personally writing to apologize to you and express my regret for the inconveniences we caused you while you were conscientiously attempting to get your bills resolved.

"From the information provided to me, it seems there are many things we could have done better throughout your experience. We were unable to provide the level of service you needed and deserved in a timely manner."

Diana Darden, customer service manager for Texas Health Resources, wrote to Ledford: "Our vice president, Stan Dennis, has already initiated an action plan within the admitting area at Texas Health Fort Worth for accurate patient information at registration, quality review and other process improvement opportunities.

"I have also had training sessions with my staff that was involved and feel confident that they are clear on the actions that should have been taken for a more timely and courteous resolution."

Last month, Moody’s Investors Services lowered its outlook for Texas Health Resources from stable to negative. Among the reasons: High levels of uncompensated care, meaning bills not paid, particularly at the Fort Worth hospital.

And there are issues regarding the company’s new electronic record system, according to a Star-Telegram report.

If you have a similar problem with Texas Health Resources, let me know, and I’ll try to help.

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