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Post by Host on Jun 29, 2005 2:31:20 GMT -5
Hey guys, I was told by a fellow sufferer that she contested all of the medical bills that she received during the DOP phase-when we all erroneously thought that going to the doctor would give us some answers. Apparently the billing companies accepted her contention and removed the bills from her file. I'm not going to pay these jokers who refused to spend more than 5 minutes with me, threw me in a psych ward, and now are sending me outrageous bills for the nuthouse stay and also for lab fees of specimens that were allegedly sent somewhere without my knowledge. I've got bills coming from here and there and all they want is money from me, and I think that they have already inconvenienced me enough. I'm going to compose a letter to dispute the charges for all of these bills. Have you guys ever done this before? I assume that someone on here probably has. I would be truly grateful for any advice you could give me. I'm not sure what I'm going to write, but I am confident that they will drop the charges-I'll take them to court if they won't. I also would like to have the DOP diagnosis removed from my records. Yeah, I hear you guys laughing..LOL I have no idea about the likelihood of THAT happening, but I'm sure not going to let them label my USP as a mental illness without putting up some kinda fight Host
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Post by debbie on Jun 29, 2005 18:32:48 GMT -5
Now thats making a stand, and good for you....
I am right behind you on that, and for the rest of you, take note... Can this be done.... Surely it can, especially for the many of you that did not even get a skin scraping or a doctor even come near you....
Way to go.... Host..... Let us know how is goes...
wishing you well.....
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wally
New Member
Posts: 35
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Post by wally on Jun 29, 2005 20:51:44 GMT -5
I had promised a hipaa update a few weeks ago, and this seems like a good opportunity to provide it. Under the updated Hipaa laws also known as the Health Insurance Portablity and Accountability Act rule 164.526 Amendment of protected health information, you have the right to dispute or amend any entry in your protected health information, or better known as your medical records. I have used this to seal my records as well as having the records and diagnosis disputed. I would urge anyone who has been diagnosed as dop to take advantage of this process. For one thing it really is annoying to any medical practitioner to have his diagnosis disputed. Secondly, these hipaa laws are taken very seriously by everyone in the medical community and they will start to change thier attitude when you start quoting hipaa laws. Here is one link that you can go to and view these laws. I really don't have time to discuss the legaleze in the rules, but you are all very well educated people and shouldn't have to much trouble deciphering all of this. One tip an entity is like a hospital, clinic, medical practice, not a person. the link is www.hipaadvisory.com/regs/finalprivacy/526.htm There are other sites to go to for the same info. There is a government site that shows all of this too. I just couldn't find it today and wanted to get this information out there to everyone. I urge everyone suffering from Morgellons to become familiar with these laws and use them to your advantage. He who knows the rules usually wins the game. Forge on/ wally
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Post by Orion*** on Jun 30, 2005 3:26:03 GMT -5
Thank you so much for the Heppa link. Ain't this a great place to come, or what?
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Post by Host on Jun 30, 2005 10:55:25 GMT -5
uRight on guys!!! Thanks for the encouraging words, as well as the Hippa links. I knew I was probably signing away important rights with those packets of paper they started having sign years ago, but I had NO IDEA that there was anything beneficial for US in those laws (I just figured they gave our gov't supreme power and squashed our little rights outta the picture).
I composed this little form letter, which I will leave a * for any personal identification.
To Whom It May Concern,
This letter is to serve as notice of my refusal to pay charges of * . This was billed to me, * , on * . I have Unidentified Skin Parasites. I was not given any assistance for my illness during the period when these charges were billed to me. I will not pay for services that were billed to me because I was given a Delusions of Parasites diagnosis and the doctor would not look at me for more than five minutes before making his diagnosis. Unidentified Skin Parasites, or Morgellons disease, has not been given the recognition that it will have soon by the medical community. I have been able to successfully treat myself using Ionic Copper and Silver, as some other sufferers of this disease have done as well. There is a current standard protocol that makes it mandatory for all doctors in the United States to refuse to investigate further into the DOP diagnosis. I have a disease that causes me to have fibers come through every pore of my skin, lesions that are all infested with the same fibers, a strange chemical odor that emits from my pores, constant itching and crawling all over my skin from my scalp, face, neck, arms, stomach, back, legs, feet, and privates, permanent numbness in eight of my toes, and other symptoms that would run chills up your spine if you read about them on the message boards where I speak with other sufferers. The same exact thing is happening to thousands of people all over the world. This disease is infectious and highly contagious by those with compromised immunity. I therefore am refusing to pay the aforementioned charges because I was not given any treatment for this disease. I was taken against my will to the * Ward. I was put on high doses of * to make me calm, and then repeatedly told by the psychiatrist, *, MD that I was having delusions, and that I would not go home or back to work or school until I stopped seeing them. My parents were contacted and told that their daughter had a mental illness and thought she saw bugs in her skin. I was given *, an antipsychotic medication that caused my hips to go partially numb. I have contacted a neurologist and he will examine my neuropathy next month. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Respectfully,
*
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Post by special guest star on Jun 30, 2005 23:58:32 GMT -5
I didn't know that was possible. I am now filled with glee at the prospect of retrieving money back from some of those bastitches. Does it work if you have insurance? I mean, can you get your co-pay back?
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Post by Host on Jul 1, 2005 1:40:48 GMT -5
That's a good question. I haven't sent any of these altruistic and good physicians a dime yet, and they didn't manage to scam me for a co-pay during my Baker-acted vacation at the nuthouse.
It really feels like icing on the cake to get the bill after the (dis)service. More like...the straw that broke the camel's back. Or maybe ... the unidentified straw-like fiber that poked out of the camel's lesion and broke its back. Hmm
heh heh heh...heh.
Jess
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Post by bb on Jul 1, 2005 9:03:04 GMT -5
Host, my shrink asked me when I started referring to myself as a "host".
DUH!!!!!!!!!! Since I became one!
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wally
New Member
Posts: 35
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Post by wally on Jul 1, 2005 9:33:03 GMT -5
I wouldn't pay these morons either. Why should we pay for a defective diagnosis. If you take your car into a garage and they don't fix it, why should you have to pay. That would be a great deterrent to these dermafraudulists to not pay for dop and then we will see how many of these nuthouses will accept people with this diagnosis. Its alway about money. Until you hurt them in the pocketbook, you won't get there attention. By the way, medical bills can not be enterred into your credit report for non-payment so I wouldn't worry that much about it. I am going to do a little research into what constitutes medical fraud. I really think that is what we are dealing with now. Forge on! Don't forget, hit them with the hipaa stuff. Wally
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Post by ANTHILL on Jul 1, 2005 10:25:32 GMT -5
Wally' I think you have somthing there "no cure no pay" ;D
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wally
New Member
Posts: 35
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Post by wally on Jul 1, 2005 12:11:36 GMT -5
I know I have something here. Hey host, did any of this high priced medical procdures make you one bit better, if not tell them to get lost. By the way if you missed any work, send the doctor a bill for lost wages. If they didn't do you any good I don't see any reason that a doctor shouldn't be responiblel for lost time and wages for a worthless diagnosis. I am telling you we need to go after these people. Wally
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Post by Hostto Wally on Jul 1, 2005 16:19:28 GMT -5
Hi Wally, I did miss about 4 days of work; I had to call my office and tell them that I was very ill with the flu (I couldn't think of another good sounding reason that would explain why I was locked up in a hospital for 4 days and 4 nights). Since I only get paid 8$ an hour (I love my job tho-it's an internship) I probably wouldn't want to claim lost wages. I am just worried about this all getting back to my employer if I tried to do something like that. I surely haven't spread the news at my new job yet that I've got unidentified parasites and that's why they locked me in a mental ward. Yeah.. I dunno if that would go over so good. Especially since my boss has diabetes, and has just started to show symptoms of usp. He doesn't know why there are millions of little white flakes coming out of his hair and landing all over everything in sight: "what is all the damn dandruff doing all of a sudden" and the lesions on his head "I don't understand why I'm getting pimples here" Plus I see him scratching as bad as I was during the "I think I have scabies" phase. Poor guy... Thanks for all the wonderful information Wally. You seem very wise and caring, and I really appreciate all your help. I'm all ears about the medical fraud stuff Host
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Post by Host on Jul 15, 2005 16:35:25 GMT -5
Hey ya'll,
I got my first response since I sent out notices that I was refusing to pay my USP related medical bills.
I received back the massive bill from my psych ward stay @ the hospital, and it had been adjusted to where there was only a 50.00 balance left.
Which is great, but I'm never going to pay them anything, so I'm going to contest the 50.00 too. They didn't elaborate on the leftover balance of course. Whether it was a co-pay or anything else, I will never give these people a penny. I was agonized, demoralized, and traumatized. I'm sure as heck not going to shell out my hard earned money for that kind of "treatment".
This is kind of fun and VERY empowering! I suggest that you all give it a try. It appears that if you send them a letter describing the horrors of your disease, they will instantaneously adjust the charges.
Does anyone have thoughts as to why they are so easily able and willing to adjust USP related charges? Do you think they are getting more letters disputing these types of charges or something? I have no idea.
Thanks everyone:
Host
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