Their billing department is a disaster of criminal proportions. I went there for something major in an emergency and before I left they had me pay my bill. It was my full out of pocket maximum, which seemed right based on what had been done, so I paid it right there. Almost a year later they sent me a nearly identical bill (it was like $100 less I think) saying it hadn’t been paid. I called them and they had me send them proof of my payment from my credit card company, as well as some documents from the insurance company. They said they would look into it and call me back in a few days. They never did. They continued to send me bills about every 3 weeks for a while and I would call them every time to explain. They kept contradicting what they had told me on the last call, so I started announcing every time I had to call that I was recording the call. When I inevitably had to call them three weeks later and have the same conversation they would say something like “we have no record of that” I was able to play them a recording. Finally they stopped sending me bills. I called a few months later to ask if it had been settled but was told that they were still investigating. That was a few months ago. So I honestly don’t even know if it is over. In conclusion: do not trust a word they say, get everything in writing and record every call (be clear to announce that every time and get that announcement as the first part of the recording). Talk to your insurance company to clarify everything. Keep detailed records of everything including any payments you do make. I like the idea of asking for an itemized bill, but just know that they are as dishonest as they are incompetent. Maybe call back a second time three weeks later and see if they send you a different bill!

wow great tips, thanks so much! you'd think with so many smart people so much money and so many professionals, considering we had great medical experience, that they'd be better sorted in the billing department. Amazing!

I don’t think the medical people have ever met the billing people. Seeing as the billing department told me at one point that they only accept certain documents via fax… I can only assume the entire office is twenty to thirty years behind the times.

I had to spend 3 days in the hospital there, and I’ve spent an almost equal amount of time just trying to resolve their bookkeeping incompetence in the year and a half since then. It is as simple as they said I never paid and I have all the documents proving I did.

They are either criminally over billing or negligently incompetent. Don’t trust a single thing they tell you. By the time you are talking about $20k it might be worthwhile to pay for a few hours with a lawyer or some other expert’s time to assist you.

agree with the other poster. i had $60k worth of emergency surgery and a three day stay over the summer. billing has been nothing short of a shitshow. question everything they send you, read it carefully, read it again, have your shit buttoned up when you call them (take notes of who you spoke to on what day, keep good records of payments etc).

edited to add that asking for an itemized bill is the bare minimum of patient proactivity, you and everyone else who receives a large bill from any provider should absolutely be asking for one.

I had similar issues with hospital billings but not at JCMC. It took months to resolve and it only resolved when I threatened to go to the President of the hospital. I believe every billing offices of any hospital are incompetent. POV, do ask for itemized bill and question/document everything.

Can confirm, worked for jcmc and have no idea how the billing is done or who handled it. I've never interacted with billing at any hospital I've worked at. We simply document and enter charges for the services we provide (not in money but procedures) and through some black magic that turns into dollar signs on a piece of paper sent to you.

I took a friend into the JCMC ER last year, and they took my name and number and info just as an emergency contact. Six weeks later I got a bill (no itemization) for 11K for ER treatment for ME. MIND YOU all I did was sit in the chair next to the hospital bed and try to keep my friend cheerful. I hired a lawyer and the bill went away, but NEVER EVER give your info in that ER. The attorney charged me $2,200 to clear it up. I'm still infuriated.

I think we found a winner… ha. That’s nuts, I honestly don’t understand how that isn’t illegal. If I messed up billing one of my clients at work that bad even once I’d be fired by the end of the day. I cannot comprehend how this doesn’t result in severe and immediate consequences once discovered.

So sorry that happed to you for just trying to be a good friend.

Thanks. It was such a disaster. They kept saying "well you rode in the ambulance" which I did...but what was I going to do, run behind it? The ambulance driver told me to hop in, and I was grateful. I could have called an Uber but that would have been a long delay. So just NEVER give your real/full name there. It taught me a great lesson, very few people or companies are getting all my info from now on.

Just curious, why do you feel it's so important to announce that you're recording the call? NJ is a one party consent state, so you are able to record the call without announcing.

My thought would be you may not exactly know where you're calling. The "billing department" could be an outside vendor in another state, so it would seem safe to just let them know.

Also its probably a good way to keep them honest and possibly even work harder to get you the answers you're looking for.

You could be right, I’m not a lawyer. Could it also depends where the person you are talking to is located? No guarantee they are also in NJ.

I have some friends of friends who have a crazy story about getting this wrong years ago… and I want no part of that. It gets really bad really fast. Recording anyone without notifying them ahead of time gets dicey even if it might be technically legal, no harm at all in being safe. #NotLegalAdvice

After so many hours of initial not-recorded calls that I wished I had recorded, I also didn’t hate them knowing I’m going to hold them to what they said. It also gave me more credibility when I said “a person named <this> told me <this> on <this> date.”

I went to their ER, received a bill shortly after which I paid and then randomly 6-8 months later received a new bill from some doctor who apparently glaced at me while he walked past while I was there.

Congrats on the new baby! Was this for a typical delivery? Surprised to see the costs so much higher than the average childbirth cost in NJ

omg that's the worst, however do they get away with this??!!

thanks for sharing, total winner story here, and I can't believe you can't at least get your legal fees back, insane!! we will def not be sharing names in similar circumstances!

Thanks! yes normal delivery, thankfully no surgery. After insurance, it's going to be about $10k total for mother and baby. That may be average, but still seems crazy they'd send a bill with absolutely no details, just Nursery $9,200, amazing even number, no break down, nothing. I guess we all just need to get used to asking for itemized bill. We don't yet have bill for mother but from what we can see online it's similarly cryptic and even.

thanks for sharing, will do!

noted, will do, and from the other stories, we really need to be proactive! thanks! hope you were able to sort things out.

got it, will do. they have those patient advocates we may be gearing up to contact. thanks for the tips!

noted thanks!

Since you went through insurance, you may get better details through your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) through your insurance provider. They usually have pretty good breakdowns of what was billed (date, units, etc...) and what the coverage and remainder is.

actually nothing! yeah I was hoping but nope, equally cryptic on our insurance end. crazy, no?!

It's for "training purposes"

I have always received good care at JCMC, but their billing department has sucked for over 20 years. It's a disgrace, and I can't understand how they get away with it.

I have a friend who REFUSES to give her name, ever. She will use a fake name to order food, shop online, get a manicure appointment, whatever. I used to think she was nuts to maintain that level of privacy. Now I think she's a genius. The whole world does not need our info....I learned that the hard way.

They are a disaster of a company