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| - If given the option, choose the nearby Carle hospital over Provena. Why? Simply put, Provena's ER billing practices are unethical and in violation of Illinois law. Provena systematically engages in consumer fraud. Here is how it works:
A patient will be admitted into ER. Shortly after, he/she will receive an unitemized bill in the mail for just over $1000. Some of that may be covered by insurance, but in any case the patient will still be stuck with just over $400 in bills out of pocket.
A somewhat savvy patient, puzzled by billable rates higher than those at the best hospitals in NY and Chicago, will then call the hospital to request an itemized bill. Once the bill arrives, the patient will almost always notice incorrect charges, for example being charged for seeing a Physician when he/she really saw a Physician's Assistant, being charged for two pills when he/she received one, etc. Of course the incredibly high rate of billing errors rarely results in undercharges, which leads one to suspect willful misconduct.
The patient will then call Provena to contest the incorrect charges, at which point Provena will undertake an "internal review" of the bill where they simply rubber stamp it as "accurate". If afterwards the patient wants to get detailed notes to verify the incorrect charges, he/she will be charged an additional $40-50 for copies, again an unreasonable charge that does not mirror true costs.
At some point, if the patient hasn't given up and paid the bill (which is what Provena is counting on), the file will be turned over to a c ollection agency.
Eventually, if the agency chooses the bring suit to collect the debts, and the patient chooses to go to trial, he/she will usually win, since the charges are wholly unreasonable (as they are required to be in Illinois) and inaccurate. Of course Provena banks on the fact that 90%+ of its patients will give up and pay the bill.
So what's the solution? If you are a patient, don't pay the bill and fight the incorrect and unreasonable charges in court. Call the Illinois Attorney General. Consider filing a consumer fraud action against the hospital, but be prepared for a fight.
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