Philadelphia woman quoted $351 for breast MRI—then charged $4,650
A Pennsylvania woman was shocked when quoted $351 for a breast MRI from the Crozer-Keystone Health System, before being billed $4,650 for the exam.
After finding out Medicare wouldn't cover multiple imaging exams to detect tumors hidden by dense breast tissue, Bette Popiel, of Thornton, Pennsylvania, booked an MRI with a provider she found herself.
However, the 66-year-old was rudely awakened when her bill was sent to her explaining she still owed $4,299 after paying $351 upfront, according to an article by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The imaging provider's billing department assured her the bill was a mistake, but two more bills were sent to Popiel – both seeking $4,299 more aggressively each time. She worked with the Crozer's billing department and did get the issue resolved, but she didn’t expect it to take four months to do so.
“Lesson learned,” Popiel told The Inquirer. “Keep volumes of notes of everyone you speak to and always get the quoted price in writing.”
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.