St. David's North Austin (Texas) Medical Center apologized to a U.S. Air Force veteran for a billing error, according to a KVUE investigation.
The veteran, Kevin Asberry, visited the hospital's emergency room on two separate occasions in 2016. Both visits were due to pancreatitis-related stomach pain. Mr. Asberry believed his visits were covered through the VA's Veterans Health Administration, but he received numerous bills for months, according to the report.
His debt continued to mount. At one point, Mr. Asberry believed he could be on the hook for nearly $10,000. However, the VA eventually notified him it paid his bill, reports KVUE. But Mr. Asberry still received statements from the hospital.
St. David's North Austin Medical Center subsequently sent him a letter, saying "balance forgiven," the report states. Bills continued to come in 2017 from a collection agency regarding a $1,418 charge from the ER physician group that staffs St. David's ER, Longhorn Emergency Medical Associates.
St. David's North Austin Medical Center has since confirmed a billing error occurred with Mr. Asberry. "The bill for the second visit was handled correctly, and it is paid in full. Unfortunately, for the first visit, the VA was not billed as it should have been. As soon as we were made aware of this issue, we submitted the bill to the VA. We apologize to Mr. Asberry, and thank him and KVUE for bringing this to our attention so that we may resolve the situation," the hospital's CFO, Natalie Pack, told the television station.
KVUE reports the hospital debt and the debt from Longhorn Emergency Medical Services has been resolved. Mr. Asberry's also had medical expenses from another physician group, Surgical Associates of Austin. That group contacted Mr. Asberry about his debt, which, at least at one point, hadn't been resolved. Surgical Associates of Austin declined the TV station's request for comment.
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