What are the consequences if I refuse to pay a hospital bill that I strongly believe is not appropriate for the treatment provided?

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What are the consequences if I refuse to pay a hospital bill that I strongly believe is not appropriate for the treatment provided?

Services provided: Dressing applied on a boil without the use of special equipment except for a pair of scissors to cut the adhesives. I already paid the doctor’s fee and the hospital is now charging me $1,496 for, according to the hospital, the use of the emergency room. All the patient did at the emergency room was sit down for 10 minutes.

Asked on December 29, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, California

Answers:

FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

If you fail to pay the $1,496.00 hospital bill for the treatment that you received, the hospital can take you to collections where a legal action could be filed against you in small claims court.

I tend to agree that the charge that you were assessed is quite steep for the treatment you have written about. In the interim and as an attempt to try and resolve the dispute about the bill, I would contact the accounts receivables department with the hospital that you had treatment for and discuss the bill. Possibly accounts receivables will voluntarily reduce the amount of your $1,496.00 bill.


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