Consumer complaint received 2023-05-25
Company: The Outsource Group, Inc
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
Bottom line on Top : Totally disagree and refuse to accept this bill as there was no service provided by the hospital or the attending physician. 

Respected Sir/Madam, I got multiple phone calls and letters at my cell phone and home address to discuss and pay about this outstanding bill. I had spoken few times to the collections agency XXXX Medicredit Inc ) to discuss and dispute the bill. On their request I had also sent in a detailed summary with the sequence of events including evidence as attachments. 

On XX/XX/2022, I got a severe cold burn on my upper right shoulder. Initially I rushed to a nearby urgent care. After I was checked in with the regular questionnaire, XXXX XXXX, temp and pulse, I was quickly placed in the doctors chamber. Upon checking the doctor quickly determined that it is not something he has expertise or knowledge and advised me to go to the emergency instead. The reason was that I needed to make sure that this burn did not lead to a localized frost bite or permanent scarring. I was instantly released and they waived all the initial check in fees as the doctor did not feel comfortable treating me. 
Immediately, I drove to our nearest hospital emergency which was the XXXX XXXX hospital in XXXX XXXX, CA. I went through a similar triage where my XXXX XXXX, temp and pulse was taken. An attending physician XXXX XXXX XXXX asked me the reason and took a look at my shoulder. He asked me whether I was in pain and the obvious answer was yes as it was burned quite significantly and the skin had turned purple. I asked the doctor if this was a frost bite and what treatment should I receive as I was very stressed due to the burn and what can be done quickly to prevent any frostbite and permanent scarring. To my utter surprise the attending physician gave me an answer which I never expected from an emergency ward. He mentioned that he is not aware whether it would lead to a frostbite nor he has any expertise in cold burn treatment and referred me to visit a specialty burn center ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) in the next 24 / 48 hrs. I was a little flabbergasted what to do next as I was told to sit in the lobby with further instructions. After an hour another nurse came and handed me a narcotic prescription for pain which I never asked nor requested. To this day I have not used that prescription. I ended up going home in that situation as I was not able to secure an appointment at the XXXX XXXX XXXX and the lines kept going busy. Unfortunately as I did not get treated on time nor received the proper care, I am left with a big permanent scar as a result of this cold burn. 

After a few months of this incident, I get a massive bill from XXXX XXXX indicating that this is the bill for the treatment. I received 2 bills- one for the physician and the other from the hospital. The physicians bill was already paid in full. The hospital bill came out to be exorbitant. My question is if the hospital refused treatment or was not able to treat me, then how can they charge me? The hospital alone charged {$3300.00} and that too for measuring XXXX XXXX, temp and pulse? I can do that at home and do not need to go a hospital. Saying that, the hospital actually got paid {$1700.00} from my insurance already. I am having a hard time understanding how come insurance paid them this money for measuring XXXX XXXX. I went to the hospital ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) a few times asking more clarification about my exorbitant bill and not getting treated. The billing director ignored my plea and upon asking an itemization statement few times, they repeatedly sent me a cryptic statement saying level XXXX triage which does not mean anything except that there was one nurse who took the XXXX XXXX, oral temp & pulse rate and there was this attending physician XXXX XXXX XXXX who told me that he is not an expert and asked me to go to a specialty hospital. I had requested many times to waive my part of the bill ( {$440.00} ) as i never received treatment from the doctor and it is absolutely unreasonable to charge {$3300.00} for measuring blood pressure/temp/pulse rate. But nothing happened and until recently it was sent to the collections agency. I disputed the same with the collections agency but it seems like a never ending battle. I also flagged my own insurance as negligence of duties, irresponsible patient care and exorbitant overcharging. 


P.S. - I have had numerous bills with the same hospital XXXX XXXX in the last 5 years and I have religiously paid all of them as they were legitimate and lot of them were quite high bills but in each case me or my family got the treatment that was needed. This is the only time that I was billed exorbitantly but no service or care was provided. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation