Mom Charged by Hospital for Delivering Baby in Parking Lot
Should a new mom be charged for delivering her baby if she never made it inside the hospital? One mom was billed for a full in hospital delivery and she’s now telling her story to The Doctors.
Paula gave birth to her daughter in the back of her car in the fire lane at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Her husband was able to catch the baby as nurses rushed to help with the rest of the delivery. Much to the new mom’s surprise, she was sent a bill for over $7,000 for full delivery fees.
Watch: Shocking Delivery of 10-Pound Baby!
“I was definitely very shocked. I laughed. I figured it was a billing mistake since [my daughter] was born in my husband’s car in the fire lane outside the hospital,” she tells The Doctors about receiving the bill. “I did call the billing department and they put my file on review twice and went through a grievance process and I got letters saying everything was billed appropriately.”
The Doctors think there could be some sort of middle ground resolution between Paula and the hospital as she received some services, but not full delivery services. She says that a future meeting with the hospital has been set up.
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A spokesperson for Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Thomas Chakurda – Vice President of Marketing, released a statement to The Doctors regarding the matter.
“Boca Raton Regional Hospital has reviewed the matter, understands the concerns of this patient, and has previously attempted to resolve the outstanding balance concerns with the patient. Unfortunately the system of healthcare reimbursement is complex, our contracts with insurance carriers reflect a per case rate, and the statement of billed charges do not actually reflect the patient’s responsibility after contractual adjustments are made to the account. The hospital appropriately bills for the medical services and care it provides and has determined that the level of care provided and billing were appropriate in this instance. We take all of Mrs. D'Amore’s concerns seriously and are willing to review them further. Rather than comment on any particular issue, we plan to meet directly with her and address all of her concerns,” the hospital’s statement reads.
This incident serves as a reminder that everyone should carefully check their medical bills as mistakes can occur.
