CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You have a medical procedure. You probably get lots of paperwork in the mail. Some are bills. Some aren't. One cancer patient thought she was paying everything, until a collection agency called.
Agnes Barbee found out she has breast cancer a few months ago.
"This just knocked me off my feet," she said with emotion. "Well, you know, it's pretty scary, you know."
She said she had two surgeries since then and was good about staying on top of her bills, or so she thought.
She missed one from Charlotte Radiology and it eventually turned the bill over to a collection agency.
"This just [came] out of the blue for me," Barbee said.
She said her credit score was solid and was afraid this would ruin it.
So Action 9 asked Katie Robbins, who works for Charlotte Radiology, what she would do, as a patient, to make sure she didn't miss a bill.
Her recommendations:
- Before the procedure, she'd ask her provider and insurance company for an estimate.
- Right after the procedure, she'd ask for an itemized bill.
- Then, if a collection agency calls, she'd call the provider immediately. Some use outside billing services. So you may have to call them, too. But do that before you speak with the collection agency.
"You can call one or the other and, more times than not, we're going to encourage you to call the billing company because they have everything on file there," Robbins said.
She also said don't be surprised if you clear up the bill with the provider and the collection agency calls again.
It takes time for the provider to take the situation back out of the collection agency's hands.
But, the situation should be resolved. Just double-check with the provider.
Action 9 emailed Charlotte Radiology for Barbee.
It turns out there was a clerical error.
A worker didn't update her insurance information correctly. Now, it's sorted out.
Barbee's credit stays the same.
She emailed Action 9, "If it were not for you guys at WSOC 9, I don't know what I could have done to resolve this. Thank you so much."
Charlotte Radiology said you can find out its pricing information on radiology services (including breast centers, vein & vascular centers, Carolinas Imaging Services and affiliated hospitals via Carolinas HealthCare System) by calling its imaging valet line at 704-442-4390 ext. 4 (for pricing) and ext. 3 (for insurance).
You can find more pricing information by clicking here.
Many providers will give you fairly specific pricing information prior to a procedure or other visit.