Hospitals billing auto insurers instead of health insurers after car accidents

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Most Americans pay a premium every month to have health insurance.

When they go to a hospital, they expect their health insurer to get the bill.

However, Channel 9 discovered that if a patient is hurt in a car accident, that might not happen.

"She rear-ended me and my car flew to the other side of the highway," said Jessica Mounce of Arkansas.

The schoolteacher went to the hospital after the crash, but she and her attorney, Shawn Daniels, who is an attorney with Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton, LLP, said the hospital never sent the bill to Mounce's health insurance provider.

"They were threatening to turn us over to collections," Mounce said. "They filed a lien against me. Honestly, it was horrible."

• CLICK HERE for more on Mounce's lawsuit

"They are intentionally not running this through Blue Cross and going after Jessica because they want the full amount of the bill, not what they would get reimbursed by Blue Cross," Daniels said.

Instead of billing an injured driver's health insurance provider, some hospitals seek payment from the at-fault driver's auto insurance. Attorneys told Channel 9 that the hospitals place a lien on any settlement that the auto insurance pays to the injured driver.

Lawyers argue the injured driver should get the money for pain, suffering and damages.

They said health insurance should cover medical expenses.

"You can see here that it says her primary insurance is Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina," Charlotte attorney Brett Dressler told anchor Allison Latos. The issue has sparked court battles across the country.

A lawsuit was filed in North Carolina in April against Moses Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro and the collection company Avectus.

Carolinas Healthcare hired Avectus in 2014 to handle claims for car crash patients.

Channel 9 learned that Avectus helped close 6,900 cases in 2015.

So far in 2016, it has closed about 2,000 cases.

CHS wouldn't explain exactly how those bills were paid and declined an interview, but sent a statement.

Carolinas HealthCare System seeks to identify those responsible for paying the medical bills of its patients so we can request payment from the appropriate payer for the services we provide.

"For traffic accidents, the responsible party could be the patient's health insurer or auto insurance company, the auto insurance company of the other drivers or an attorney who is negotiating a settlement.

"We either contact patients directly to obtain this information or work with another company who asks on our behalf.  We make every attempt to identify health or auto insurance companies involved, but we may also seek payment from a negotiated settlement.

"Settlements are paid to people involved in traffic accidents to cover expenses related to the accident, including health care costs. In 2015, Carolinas HealthCare System absorbed nearly $20 million in bad debt from unpaid medical bills related to auto accidents.

"While we provide care to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay, we believe those with insurance coverage or the proceeds from an accident settlement should pay for the medical care they received as a result of that accident."

Indiana legislators passed a law requiring hospitals to bill a patient's accepted health insurance.

• CLICK HERE to view the law

Mecklenburg County Sen. Jeff Tarte said he's watching the issue.

"If it continues to be an ongoing problem or the courts can't decide, it may be something the Legislature needs to look at," Tarte said.

Novant Health told Channel 9 that it does not request auto insurance information from its  patients who are injured in crashes.

WSOC asked CHS for more details on how the hospital system determines whether to file claims with a patient's health insurer, and the information provided to patients, but CHS declined to answer the follow-up questions.

Cox Media Group