Outpatient shocked by $45m bill

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 10:57

Written by Editor

Outpatient Alexis Rodriguez, 28, is recovering from shock after being billed $44.8 million in error by the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in New York. He was one of a number of patients charged astronomical amounts because of a computer glitch, the New York Daily News reported. Billing firm PHY Services said it had mistakenly printed the patient invoice number where the amount should go. The hospital had treated him for pneumonia, and the actual cost was no more than $300. Mr Rodriguez, an unemployed doorman, told the New York Daily News he could not believe his eyes when he opened the envelope last week: "I think they should have somebody look over the bills before they send them out," he said. "To send out a lot of bills with numbers that big – someone could have had a heart attack." PHY Services has asked patients to ignore the bills, adding that new ones would be sent out.