Remember last august when i sliced open my thumb? If so, then you'll also recall that i went to two hospitals since i got tired of sitting at the first one after 5 hours. Sometime in november or december, i received two bills- one from beth isreal (who actually sewed up my finger), and one from the other hospital (which didn't do anything). I paid the $50 to beth isreal right away, but was overly annoyed with the other place. They did nothing but leave me sitting in the waiting room with no staff members until 2:30am, but still decided to charge my insurance company for something and charge me the $50 copay. I was livid. I called the accounts department to get the scoop, and the (very nice) woman told me that the charge was because i'd seen the triage nurse (who took my temp, blood pressure, etc). I politely expressed my annoyance, and agreeing with me, she suggested that i write a letter disputing the charge, and gave me a name and address to send it to. I almost didn't do this- et#1 scared me with stories of bad credit due to disputed medical claims, and after all...it was just $50. I actually wrote the check out, and was ready to mail it when my annoyance got the better of me. I sat in that waiting room for five hours with no update from anyone. If there had been even one employee there after 1am to check in with, i wouldn't have had a problem paying it. $50 may not be a ton of money, but i could think of many things i'd rather get with it. I wrote the letter, ccing my insurance company, and mailed that out instead. It recently occurred to me that i never heard back, and after checking the mail at my parents house (i still get some there though i haven't lived there for over 10 years), i got nervous about being sent to collections for $50. I finally called today, and i have an account balance of $0! I won! Now i have $50 extra to invest- i could buy 25 shares of bear stearns!!
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