COVID-19 shots were supposed to be free. Why did some Boise-area patients get bills?
The Saint Alphonsus Health System has confirmed that it mistakenly sent bills to a number of people who got COVID-19 shots that are free to everyone.
For patients with health insurance, the health system sent bills to their insurance companies, which paid at least a portion of the amount. Any leftover balance was supposed to be written off, with no charge to the patient, Saint Alphonsus spokesman Mark Snider said by email.
“In a few instances, the billing software failed to direct the unpaid balance to the write-off account and sent a bill in error to the patient,” Snider said.
Meridian resident Rob Peterson was one of those who received a bill. He received two of the Pfizer shots, one in March and the second in April. He didn’t get a bill for the first vaccination, but was sent one for $46.61 for the second shot.
“It’s not like it was a huge bill but it just seemed very odd to me,” Petersen said during a phone interview. “I had heard they were free and I just thought, this can’t be right.”
As of Monday, 157.8 million Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 123.8 million are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The federal government is absorbing much of the cost of providing the vaccines. Health insurance plans might pay a portion, as in Petersen’s case, but people with no insurance are also eligible for free shots.
Providers may not charge you for the vaccine, or charge administrative fees, copays or coinsurance. Nor can they charge you for an office visit if that’s the only reason you came to be treated. The Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services., reimburses providers for eligible costs to administer the shots.
Petersen, who got his shots at a Saint Al’s clinic set up at the old Gordmann’s store at The Village at Meridian, said he was told the bill was a mistake when he called the health system. The billing department would be notified to ensure that he didn’t get another bill, he said.
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“We take these errors seriously and work directly with the patient impacted to full resolution,” Snider said.
For anyone who received a bill from Saint Alphonsus by mistake, Snider asks them to call 208-367-5170 to resolve the matter. If they paid the bill, the amount will be refunded, he said.
St. Luke’s Health System sent bills out to 42 patients after their insurance companies denied payment for the shots and mistakenly indicated that patients were responsible for the bill. By the time St. Luke’s caught the mistake, the bills had already been sent out.
“We subsequently sent those patients a letter informing them of the error and to please disregard or contact us with questions,” spokesperson Joy Prudek said by email.
She said the hospital system is working with the insurance companies involved to have them reprocess the bills so patients’ records are cleared.
Prudek noted that prior to last year’s coronavirus pandemic, there were no diagnosis or billing codes for COVID-19. More than 100,000 items are billed under codes developed since then.
“St. Luke’s practice is not to bill patients for COVID-19 vaccine administration,” Prudek said. “If a patient receives a bill, it is an error and they should call the St. Luke’s customer service line listed on the correspondence.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
