GENEVA, Ohio — We’ve all gotten medical bills that just don’t look right. Maybe you’ve been overcharged for a procedure, or services were duplicated. But what about a bill that makes no sense at all?
In March 2023, it couldn’t have been a more normal school day for Chris Hoyt, who was a retired banker turned school bus driver. But then something happened.
“There was a very profound thud to it,” said Hoyt. He was driving a bus full of Geneva Area City Schools students when a car pulled out of a driveway and hit the bus.
“When you’re driving a bus, the first this is the safety of the passengers, the children," he told us.
Thankfully, the kids weren’t hurt. Hoyt wasn’t hurt. But it’s the school district’s policy that no matter the accident, the school bus drivers have to go get screened for drugs and alcohol. And that’s when the financial roadblocks started popping up for Hoyt.
“We went straight from the scene right over to UH Emergency (in Geneva), “ said Hoyt, who told us he got screened for drugs and alcohol. None were found.
“Did they treat you for any pain? Did you have back problems, neck problems? Anything like that?” we said.
“No, nothing like that at all,” Hoyt replied.
What became a pain in the neck was that later in the year, he got a bill for nearly $1,000 related to his hospital visit.
Hoyt talked to the school district. They showed him they paid the correct bill.
Hoyt said he called UH but the hospital was no help. He called the ER billing company. No luck there, either. He then was threatened with collections and a hit to his credit.
“They just told me that if the bill was not resolved by the 6th or the 10th of June, then it was going to go on my credit report,” Hoyt told us.
“You have to be ever vigilant to keep that credit report and credit score protected,” said Lisa Gill from Consumer Reports, who specializes in areas like medical debt, costs, and billing.
She said if you get an invoice that’s incorrect, don’t ignore it.
“You need to open it up, read all the fine print and try to figure out what is it that they believe you owe,” Gill said.
She suggested what Hoyt did, like contacting the hospital then asking if they’ve applied insurance, asking for an itemized bill and if you’re dealing with collections, she said the key words to tell them to do are “verify the debt.”
“And what they mean is, they have five days to send you, through the mail, a copy of the original bill that you apparently owe, along with any other documentation that confirms that that bill is really yours,” said Gill.
All of the steps are important because Gill told us in her research on healthcare costs there are many problems out there.
“Approximately half of all medical bills contain at least one error and usually not in your favor,” said Gill.
Hoyt asked News 5 Investigators to help. We did and after several calls and emails we made, his balance of $985 is now zero.
“I know WEWS is very spot on with getting results on these things,” said Hoyt.
This consumer story came to us from our tip line: 216-431-HELP (4357). If you have a problem you’d like us to look into, call our tip line or email InvestigatorTips@WEWS.com.
