Second bill for colonoscopy that forced blood test adds insult to injury

The definition of righteous indignation: Having to be tested for hepatitis C because you might have contracted the disease during a colonoscopy. Then having to pay for the test and the colonoscopy. Then, getting a second bill for the colonoscopy you've already paid for.

A local attorney who doesn't want his name used had his colonoscopy Dec. 3 at the now-closed Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada at 700 Shadow Lane and was among the 50,000 patients advised to get tested for hepatitis C and HIV, which could have been passed to him through reuse of syringes for anesthesia on more than one patient.

The colonoscopy cost $600. His co-pay after his insurance paid was $156.

But recently, he received a second bill for the same colonoscopy. This time the cost was listed as $700, according to the bill. The attorney shared his paperwork with me, including records showing his insurance paid both bills and his canceled check for the first billing.

"It appears Dr. (Dipak) Desai has billed my insurance company twice for the same procedure and was reimbursed by the insurance company on each billing. If this is true, his conduct in doing so might be construed by some as insurance fraud," the attorney wrote.

It does seem odd the same colonoscopy costs $100 more in the second bill, and the account number appears to have changed between bills.

Simply a billing error?

The attorney isn't so sure and is going to pursue it.

Another man was furious at getting a recent bill demanding $77 as his share of his colonoscopy and consultation. Medicare paid the rest. Although it isn't a lot of money, he blew up about the bill and said he wasn't going to pay it.

While it's easy to see why patients who had to be tested for hepatitis would feel the wrath they do, an attorney involved in the civil cases against Desai and the clinics advises people to pay the bills.

Las Vegas attorney Billie-Marie Morrison (no relation to this columnist) said her law firm, which is handling 1,200 cases, including 70 who have tested positive for hepatitis and two for HIV, is advising her irate clients to pay the bills.

Morrison warned that not paying could have unintended consequences on your credit rating.

"The reality is, for most people, they had a service, they didn't get hepatitis, and regardless they have to pay for it, until a judge says they deserve reimbursement," she said.

If you don't pay, you run the risk of the bill being sent to a collection agency, and that information is sent to the credit bureaus. A ding on your credit score has consequences you won't like. Do you want to pay more for your house or new car because your credit score isn't good? How about the loan for your kid's college? Do you want a higher interest rate?

"They might feel like they're making a stand, but they're only hurting themselves by not paying," she said. "Don't screw your credit for such a small amount."

Her clients are just as angry as the two men who contacted me. "They're all mad, especially my HIV clients, who are paying for treatments. That's where the real outrage is," she said.

Health officials have not directly confirmed any HIV patients being linked to procedures at Desai's clinics. They have identified nine hepatitis patients who probably got the liver-damaging disease at two of Desai's clinics, the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada and the Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center, which are now closed.

Morrison suggested the double-billing in the case of the anonymous attorney was simply an error because both the district attorney and the Department of Justice are investigating Desai and the clinics. "It's probably a billing error. If the insurance has been double-billed, the insurance company would be all over it."

But people are willing to believe the worst, particularly people who have gone through the anguish of being tested for potentially fatal blood-borne diseases. Even when their tests show they don't have hepatitis, they're mad as hell and don't want to take it anymore. Those colonoscopy bills reignite their rage.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.