Victims of last year's deadly Unite the Right white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., continue to seek clarity about their medical bills, The Daily Progress reported.
Seven things to know:
1. White nationalists and their supporters gathered during Aug. 11-12 of last year in Charlottesville to protest the removal of a Confederate-era statue. Counterprotesters also turned up, and things turned violent. A vehicle driven into a crowd of protesters, killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injured at least 12 others.
2. A year later, the University of Virginia has told at least one victim that University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville waived outstanding out-of-pocket patient expenses that insurance didn't cover, according to the report.
A member of the university president's staff told the victim: "We have been working to try to resolve issues related to the medical bills of university students and community members who were injured and treated at the UVa Medical Center. We now know that the medical center has waived all medical center patient bills that were not covered by insurance. Insurance billing may still be going on, however, so it's possible that some of these people may be getting contacted by their insurance companies as the companies gather information — and this may be creating confusion for some patients."
3. But several survivors and health advocates told The Daily Progress they had not received the university's email about bill waivers.
4. Matthew Christensen, a former social worker who has been helping survivors, confirmed to the publication that he knows of one client who saw bills go to collections, despite the fact the person requested assistance from the Virginia Victims Fund, a state program that helps victims of violent crime with medical expenses.
5. According to the victims fund, state law prohibits healthcare providers from putting an account in collections that is under consideration at the fund.
6. Mr. Christensen told The Daily Progress he was working with the university regarding his client's issue and that survivors and advocates have had a hard time navigating bills, payments and assistance applications.
7. University spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn said the university has not sent out mass notification to known survivors. Instead, the president's office has contacted those affected individually, according to the report. Kristal Seymour, the medical center's contact for billing questions, did not immediately respond to requests from The Daily Progress for comment.
Access the full report here.
Alyssa Rege contributed to this report.
More articles on healthcare finance:
Northwell Health seeks to raise $530M for capital improvements, initiatives
New Jersey hospital to pay $550K annually to city after challenge of tax-exempt status
Hospitals slow in cost-cutting efforts, survey finds