On Aug., 1, 2017, Brittany Cloyd of Frankfort, Kentucky, said she experienced pain “worse than childbirth.” Her mother — who had been to nursing school — drove her to the nearest emergency room. Brittany thought her appendix had burst, but tests at the ER found she had ovarian cysts. She was given pain medication and told to follow up with her primary doctor.
Cloyd had an Anthem Blue Cross PPO health insurance plan and thought she would get charged just a co-pay for her ER visit. Instead, 15 days later she received a letter from health insurer Anthem. “Your condition does not meet the definition of emergency,” read the letter. She was responsible for the total ER bill — $12,596.
What Brittany endured is becoming more common in the health insurance industry, according to a Doctor Patient Rights Project (DPRP) study. It highlighted Anthem, which through its affiliated networks is the nation’s largest private health insurer. The DPRP contends that Anthem has instituted an organized policy of denial designed to make its subscribers — particularly those who are poor and reside in rural areas — too afraid to go to an ER for fear of receiving a bill like Cloyd’s, or more, for the visit.
“The purpose of this program is to spread fear,” said Dr. Ryan Stanton, a critical care and emergency medical specialist in Lexington, Kentucky.
www.cbsnews.com/news/anthem-among-health-insurers-refusing-to-pay-er-bills-doctors-say/