Hospital ordered home health agency referring to mobile physicians. The MD was not VA and Medicare will not pay. Any suggestions?

Since you declined the services initially and there was an apparent second approach to an ill and possibly medicated elder, I would write a nice letter to the mobile physicians stating these visits and tests were unauthorized and the enclosed bills are superfluous; please close these accounts and do not contact again concerning this matter. I would then send a copy of all that to the hospital inquiring about the hospital's relationship to the mobile physician practice and if the hospital receives any fees for directing patients their way even after services have been declined.

I think TNT sets out a good and courteous approach. This ineligible service was provided without competent authorisation, is the long and short of it, and frankly they shoulda thunk of that before.

Have they got your mother's signature on anything? If so, you'll need to argue that she wasn't capable of consenting at the time. If they insist she was, you point to the fact that they had been liaising with you throughout and therefore knew perfectly well that your mother was not in command of the decisions.

Anyway, you refused the service, she wasn't with it, and you had also explained to them that you were in the process of organising the recommended follow-up through her authorised providers. It's their error.

Hmm... did they tell you that they had ordered the visit once they'd done it but before the visit happened? Or was the bill the first you heard of it?

$1500 for a home visit and set of bloods! Yowch.

Just curious, what is Medicare's reason for not paying for the service? We have a visiting doctor and pretty sure Medicare pays for the service. And the OT, PT should be covered.