New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer has announced that Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY will change its billing practices after receiving a number of complaints from patients. Individuals reported receiving bills from the Albany Medical center before the hospital even checked to see if insurers covered the treatment in question. Though the problems weren't widespread, the hospital has agreed that it won't bill patients until an insurance company denies their claim.
The settlement is part of Spitzer's "Clean Bill of Health" initiative, which aims to correct improper billing practices in New York hospitals. Other medical facilities that have been cited under the law include Beth Israel Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, MDS Labs, Quest Diagnostics, WellCare of New York and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield.
- read this article [1] from The Business Review
Links:
[1] http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2006/07/10/daily42.html