From WRIL
IN REGARD TO UNKNOWN/FRAUDULENT BILLS FROM THE SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY MEDICAL CENTER BILLING DEPARTMENT IN CLEVELAND, OHIO.
On Monday January 28, 2019 WRIL was contacted by several people in the Bell County area in regard to what they believed were fraudulent bills they received from the Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center (formerly Pineville Community Hospital) billing office in Cleveland Ohio.
Many who contacted us say they hadn’t been to the facility for several years, long before Americore Health LLC run SKMC took over. We also received information that the majority of the bills had no description of the services rendered and still others had an MISC code.
Many also told us that any interaction they had in the past with the hospital was paid by their insurance or Medicaid. There were also bills coming to some residents in the names of parents or spouses that had passed away some time ago.
WRIL made a call to the number on three bills we knew to have no credibility and we were told by the person on the phone that a $5.00 bill was for a “co-pay” three years ago. The person could not tell us what the initial bill was for. The two other bills were for “miscellaneous” charges that the person also could not identify. There were also amounts that don’t mathematically make sense even within the bill itself.
On Wednesday January 30th we contacted the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and spoke to Debra Gall and then Assistant Deputy Attorney Maryellen B. Mynear. Ms. Gall had us collect and then send some of the bills from our listeners to her office and now Ms. Mynear has taken over.
We are told by the assistant deputy attorney that in order to move forward with these complaints, they are asking that consumers complete the written Consumer Complaint form if they have received bills from (or related to) Southeastern Medical Center that they believe are incorrect or fraudulent.
Ms. Mynear goes on to say that their office will first attempt to informally mediate these complaints on behalf of each citizen. If their mediation efforts are unsuccessful but the office believes that the Consumer Protection Act has been violated, then further action by this office will be evaluated. It is important that they have a written complaint and supporting
documentation for each consumer in order for their office to undertake each of these steps in an effective manner.
There are two ways in which a consumer can submit a written complaint to their office:
1. Electronically – go to https://secure.kentucky.gov/formservices/AttorneyGeneral/ConsumerComplaintForm
OR
2. If you are unable to do that you can come by 212 West Kentucky Avenue in Pineville to the WRIL studio and we can print the form for you.
The Attorney General’s Office cannot take the forms over the phone. However, if you have questions, please call Angela Hockensmith Pane in the Office of Senior Protection and Mediation, she can be reached at (502) 696-5300.
Americore Health LLC is currently under criminal investigation in Pennsylvania and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet has opened an investigation into on-going wage and payroll issues in Pineville.
Employees of Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center were once again not paid on time Friday February 1st, marking yet another delay in payroll.
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