ptsd Va Reimbursement For Medicare Deductible Emergency Room

[Tbird]

long story short friday i called va emergency room rectal bleeding sever pain to the point of passing out, emergency room nurse says va is diverting they have no beds, but she doesn't know if they va pays or not. i call 911 they check their system the va has not put it in the emt system that they were on diversion, so the emt called the va and they told him they were on diversion, there was some back and forth about it needs to be in their system. and then they took me to a civilian hospital slu saint louis university hospital, we'll just call it slu. so my colon is inflamed and swollen and the bleeding was not stopping. they check me into the hospital on friday and i check out on wed, diagnosis ulcerative colitis. when i got to the emergency room on friday they asked what my insurance was we gave them my va card and stated it was my primary and we gave them my medicare card.

so's the civilian hospital slu wants me to pay the medicare deductible and i says the va needs to pay it, they need to bill va, they says they don't bill va, because va won't pay the deductible. i call fee basis at the va and they say slu bills us all the time call them back, so's i call slu back and tell's 'em what the guy at fee basis say and they say again that they won't bill va for medicare deductible because the va won't pay it. so's i call the patient advocate and she say's the va can't legally pay the medicare deductible, but i say you guys diverted me and i'm a 100% veteran. and she says that's the problem with giving them your medicare card and i says do you want me to lie and she says no i am in no way telling you to lie, but what should i do then and we just go round and round till she tells me when i get the bill to submit it to fee basis and a determination will be made by them.

what kind of crap is this? i says to the lady this sounds like a scam, it sounds like you understaff your er, so vets get diverted to civilian hospitals and you don't have to pay those bills, she assured me this was not the case. but i'm just suspicious that way, too many years in the system, ptsd, maybe a combination of both.

so waiting for the bill for the medicare deductible which i will take to fee basis and make the claim.

the doc wants to come back in two weeks for a follow up but i can't afford that.

any advice would be welcome.

[broncovet]

Tbird..

I dont know if this will help or not, but maybe.

If they do keep sending you bills, write on the bill that you are a disabled Vet, that you went into the hospital on a fee basis, and that you are not paying this bill.

Then dont pay it. Be firm with bill collectors, tell them you are only going to tell them this ONE TIME, you dont owe the bill, and it is illegal for them to harass you, so they need to stop calling immediately. More importantly, dont worry about it. Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, only today of its happiness.

If the hospital turns you into collection, tell the collection agencey the same thing.

The collection agencey can NOT garnish your money for bills, at a minimum, until a judge orders it.

You can explain it to a judge if it ever gets that far, and you should be safe.

People can send you bills all day long..bills for covering the moon with green cheese. However, you have a right to say No, I am not paying that bill. Then it is their burden to prove to a judge that you do owe the money, not your burden to prove that you dont owe it.

Probably the worst that could happen is that the medical company or collection agency try to put bad marks on your credit. However, you have a right to put a letter in your file explaining that this bill is disputed, that you are a disabled Veteran, etc.

Creditors use FEAR to manipulate you. F.E.A.R is "False Expectations Appearing Real". Dont let em scare you, you have the law on your side. This is America, and We Veterans fought for the right of "innocent until proven guilty".

I am NOT going to let some collection agency use fear to manipulate me to pay bills I dont owe.

Edited May 26, 2009 by broncovet

[purple]

Tbird-

I'm dealing with the same thing you are right now from my emergency hospital stay and surgery earlier this month.

Don't pay any of those bills!!!

Keep on top of your fee-basis office.

It might be a good idea to request a copy of your medical records from the civilian hospital for yourself; they will charge you for them, but this way you have your own copy...and can also provide the VA a copy because the chances of them ever really requesting a copy is usually slim to none.

Yes, I've been turned in to collections before because of the failure of Dayton VAs fee basis office to pay.....then I got super ugly....then they magically paid very quickly! Funny how that works.

Keep good notes of course, who you talk to and when.

[Speaking Out]

Hello all! I have been gone for over a year now, but have checked in from time to time. T-Bird, I hope you are feeling better. You should ask for a meeting with the head of Fee Basis and the head of the patient advocates office and make them give you their game plan on getting this fixed for you. You shouldn't have to endure this stress of the VA not doing what they are supposed to do and it affecting your credit score. You can request a letter from the VA at that meeting that you can send to the 3 big credit rating agencies. I had to do this. I am actually having my meeting about the big screw up today. I hope this helps.

[Pete53]

Welcome Back Speaking Out

[Tbird]

welcome back speaking out - i have my follow up tomorrow and we will see what they say.