OVMC, Overcharge because of no insurance Wheeling West Virginia

In my last report, I detailed how the above facility charged my wife about five times what she would have paid had she had insurance. Her bill was $117,000 for a nineteen day stay in the hospital. I had been faithfully paying the hospital $100/mo and all of the other medical providers the same amount. In the beginning, i was spending $1,700 of my $2,300/mo income to pay for medical providers bills. In spite of this, the hospital turned Barb's account over to an out of state collection agency. And, I hadn't missed one month of paying them. For the first three months of these nasty collection letters, I just ignored them and continued to send the hospital the customary $100. Then, I sent an email to my senator, Sen Jay Rockerfeller of WV. The senator replied to my email. Obviously, he also sent an email to the hospital. Magically, I got a bill from the hospital asking that I send my payments to the hospital in the name of a supervisor at the hospital. And, the collection agency quit sending me dunning letters. I guess that sometimes, it's a good thing to write your senator. In any event, I am still trying to negotiate Barb's bill with the hospital. God help the un-insured in this economy.

George
Wheeling, West Virginia
U.S.A.