My wife received a $974 bill after visiting the ER at Hartford Hospital, even though we left without seeing a doctor. Here’s what happened:
She registered at the front desk, and a nurse took her vitals and triaged her. After waiting for a couple of hours, someone came to confirm her details (address, phone, etc.) and charged $100 to her card. We eventually left after a few hours without receiving any further care.
The bill includes:
$415 for “Emergency Department Visit, Moderate MDM”
$923 for “HC Emergency Department Visit, Level 2-ED” — this charge lists a doctor’s name, but we never actually saw a doctor.
After insurance, we owe $874 (the $100 already paid is included).
We contacted the ER billing department, but they said the charges are valid. A debt collector also confirmed that the balance remains after verifying with the hospital.
Should we just pay the bill, or is there a way to dispute or reduce the charges? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Yes, the charges could still be valid even without seeing a doctor.
While you may not have had a face-to-face consultation, a doctor might have reviewed your wife’s chart and vitals and assigned a triage level.
In an emergency department (ED), a low triage level indicates a non-urgent case, where a patient’s needs can be addressed as time allows. The Emergency Severity Index (ESI) is a triage system that categorizes patients based on the hospital resources they require.
Thank you for the information. We heard from the billing department that the results of triage and vitals were shared with the doctor. So yes, what you are saying makes sense. But still can’t believe the amount compared to the service we got. Thanks for the information.
When I worked for a health insurance company, we paid $1,100 just for our members to enter the ER, and costs only increased from there. My role was to prevent people from going to the ER, as many would go there for minor issues, like just getting a sandwich.
The bill is from hospital. And this is the itemized bill with the mentioned two charges.
We already put so many hours on calls, and now it has been sent to debt collector. We don’t have much time, not sure how much time do we have before it gets on her record.
I will call the hospital again and the insurance. But not sure if anything will change. Thanks for the information and help.