This is an appauling account of my beloved sister’s visit to the Chandler Regional Hospital. Outrageous!

June 8, 2007

Chandler Regional Hospital

475 South Dobson Rd

Chandler, AZ 85224

RE: Emergency Services Billing

To Whom It May Concern:

In the early morning of April 26, after experiencing severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting for more than six hours, I was taken to your emergency room. I was visiting from out of town and after checking in with the front desk where I had my blood pressure, temperature, and weight taken with absolutely no privacy by a triage nurse who spent no more than a minute with me and in no way diagnosed or treated me, I was instructed to sit in the waiting room.

I was called into an office to give my insurance information and told to go sit back down and wait. I found that I was sharing only one bathroom with the other 25-30 people awaiting treatment. This was quite inconvenient as I was continuing to experience diarrhea while vomiting violently every ten to fifteen minutes and that bathroom was often unavailable as it was being used frequently by other people getting sick and giving urine samples. I had to throw up in a garbage can.

While in the waiting room, we learned that the average wait time was 14 hours and someone suffering from similar symptoms as mine had been waiting already for four hours. The person staffing the front desk confirmed this and we decided, after waiting for two hours at that point, that I would be better served going home to rest as best I could.

I went to the front desk and told the staff person that I was going to leave. I was never treated or diagnosed by any medical professional during that time. In fact, the next day, when I was still experiencing the same symptoms that went undiagnosed and untreated in your emergency room, I was taken to a private doctor to be treated. It was then that I was diagnosed with an extreme case of food poisoning.

I was appalled, shocked, and angered when I received a phone call yesterday from your hospital explaining that my insurance carrier was charged $205.00 for a trip to the emergency room that resulted in absolutely no medical treatment whatsoever. When I heard I was being charged over $200.00 for having my blood pressure, temperature, and weight taken, I was even more furious. This is outrageous and unacceptable and Chandler Regional Hospital should be embarrassed by its billing practices, which seem to include charging outrageous fees to people who never become patients.

I was contacted yesterday because apparently I owe $30.00 that Tricare will not cover. There is no way that my visit to your emergency room incurred over $200.00 of actual, billable services, let alone $30.00. I begrudgingly pay this because I am a responsible person and because I will be taken to collections if I don’t. But I will be sending a copy of this letter to Tricare and I will be telling everyone I know (including family and friends in Arizona) about this appalling fleecing that occurs in your hospital.

Regretfully,