I simply refused: Non-payment for shocking medical bills

John James' story:
When my son died as a result of the poor quality healthcare he received, I simply refused to pay any of the uninsured costs. For at least 6 months after my son died his cardiologists were sending their bills in his name to our home address in Houston. Even after the fact, if the outcome has been less than "advertised" let those who would bill you for poor quality care know you will make an issue of the quality if they insist on billing you.


In another instance, I negotiated some costs with a highly recommended urologist, including the cost of pathology that would be involved. I got his estimates in writing. When the pathology bill came in thousands of dollars over the urologist's estimate, I simply sent a copy of the estimate to the pathologist and said that it would be unethical to charge me more unless he had done something unusual, which I knew he had not. That's the last I heard from the pathologist. I know what it costs to do pathology and the bill from the pathologist was outrageous.

The classic definition of the Yiddish word "chutzpah" [ pronounced "khoots-pah"] refers to a defendant who insists the judge should look favorably upon him because his murder of his parents has left him an orphan. The staff involved in billing John on these two occasions showed exactly that kind of chutzpah.

Read John's draft of The American Hospitalized Patient's Bill of Rights in my book, Getting Your Best Health Care: Real-World Stories for Patient Empowerment. Thanks to John for sharing his story with the Facebook group, "IHI Patient Activists." John is a pathologist, and author of a moving memoir, A Sea of Broken Hearts.

Is it better to bring 8,000 individual cases?: Pathology errors in breast and prostate cancer biopsies

Patients impacted by a misdiagnosis and the quality of service at the Miramichi Regional Hospital will file a class-action suit on Tuesday.

Halifax lawyer Raymond Wagner will file the proposed lawsuit in Miramichi on Tuesday. It is available to any patients who had a biopsy or other procedure at the Miramichi Regional Hospital between 1995 and February 2007, regardless of their test results.

"They suffered great mental distress, frustration, and needless anxiety while awaiting confirmation that the original results were correct," he said.

The province is reviewing more than 23,700 cases from the hospital dating from 1995 to 2007 while a public commission is examining the rate of breast and prostate cancer misdiagnoses.

An independent audit of 227 cases of breast and prostate cancer biopsies from 2004-05 found 18% had incomplete results and 3% had been misdiagnosed at the health authority in northeastern New Brunswick, which was being served by a now-suspended pathologist.

Filing a lawsuit will hold the system accountable, Wagner said, adding that arguments revolve around allegations of negligent hiring and poor quality control at the pathology department.

"The suit of course is to assist the people in the community surrounding the Miramichi with respect to their health care," he said. "It is to bring to account the hospital administration with respect to oversight and quality control and to assure the community that their health care is of sufficient quality for them to have confidence in that health care."

A judge will have to decide if the suit will go ahead, which will involve testing whether the lawsuit is the most efficient way to proceed, Wagner said.

"Is it more appropriate and more efficient to have the case determined in one case, or is it better for everybody to bring their own individual cases, in other words 8,000 cases?" he said.

The Halifax law firm, Wagners, is working in co-operation with Newfoundland and Labrador firm Ches Crosbie Barristers.

Advice: Pathologists have to use very subjective judgments in assessing biopsies. Ask the pathologist how certain s/he is about the findings of your biopsy.

Read another Pathology error story.

The source article comes from a posting today on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's website.

Sorry, you didn’t have cancer: A misdiagnosis story

Suffering from chest pain and difficulty breathing, Muriel Lavallee went to the hospital, and was sent to another hospital. There, doctors drew fluid from around her heart, which the pathologist reported was cancerous. Doctors immediately began chemotherapy, in November 2004. Over the next four months, she was hospitalized five times, spending 42 days in the hospital, with various infections, weakness, and outbreaks of the C. difficile bacterium. She became so ill that the doctor decided to stop the chemotherapy.

A week later, she was shocked to hear, "Sorry, you didn’t have cancer. You can go home now."

Then 59, she had lost her hair, and a sense of feeling in her hands and legs. Muriel is still suffering the loss of feeling, which prevents her from returning to her job at WalMart. She is seeking $155,000 from the Quebec Superior Court, which is scheduled to hear her lawsuit in July.

Advice to chemo patients: Ask the doctor the false positive rate of the test that showed you have cancer, and consider asking for an independent retest.

Read a cancer advocacy story, or read Dene Moore’s source story in the Toronto Star.