College Tuition's Mental Health Cost Included A Surprise Medical Bill : Shots - Health News - NPR

Hofstra University student Divya Singh found herself beset by a double whammy of bills from two of the costliest kinds of institutions in America — colleges and hospitals.

After experiencing anxiety when her family had trouble coming up with the money for her tuition, she sought counseling and ended up with a weeklong stay in a psychiatric hospital — and a resulting $3,413 bill.

Hofstra University student Divya Singh found herself beset by a double whammy of bills from two of the costliest kinds of institutions in America — colleges and hospitals.

After experiencing anxiety when her family had trouble coming up with the money for her tuition, she sought counseling and ended up with a weeklong stay in a psychiatric hospital — and a resulting $3,413 bill.

Singh was taken by ambulance to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y., and kept for a week on a psychiatric ward at nearby Zucker Hillside Hospital.

Medical Service: Seven-day inpatient psychiatric stay at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y.

Service Provider: Northwell Health, a large nonprofit hospital system in New York City and Long Island.

Singh's Northwell bill of around $3,413 reflects the plan's requirement that she pay for 20% of the costs of her hospital stay.

As a result, Singh found herself beset by a double whammy of bills from two of the costliest kinds of institutions in America — colleges and hospitals — both with prices that inexorably rise faster than inflation.

The Internal Revenue Service requires all nonprofit hospitals to have a financial assistance policy that lowers or eliminates bills for people without the financial resources to pay them.

Such financial assistance — commonly known as charity care — is a condition for any hospital that wants to maintain its tax-exempt status; that status shields the facility from having to pay property taxes on its often expansive campus.

While the bill Northwell sent Singh includes a reference to "financial difficulties" and a phone number to call, it did not explicitly state that the hospital might reduce or waive the bill.

Singh says the worker who took down her insurance information during her hospital stay never explained that Northwell might reduce her portion of the charge.

With the addition of Medicaid's coverage, Singh should end up paying nothing if the stay is retroactively approved, Northwell said.

You can also find documentation online: All nonprofit hospitals are required to post financial assistance policies on their websites.