Grace Hospital - operated by Blue Ridge Health Care
Queja 168753 Detalles

Earlier this year my mom was transported to Grace Hospital a local hospital in Morganton, NC, after being found unresponsive. Later she was airlifted to another better equipped hospital in Charlotte, NC, where she died. I am her only child, so I began to settle and organize her final affairs, and after receiving several bills for remaining balances not paid by Medicare or State Health Plan, from other medical providers, I received a small note from Grace Hospital via my mailbox directing me to pick up a "large envelope" at my post office. When I did, I was shocked at first, thinking I was being sued, or my mom's estate was being sued. I called and asked to speak with someone at Grace Hospital. I was told a name of an employee to talk to. I left a message, and she called me back. The lady was not only hateful in her tone, she was ignorant of what I had received in telling me "she had placed a LIEN against my mom's estate, and I couldn't close it until the balance was paid." I responded telling her (Linda Johnson) she had not placed ANY LIEN against anything, and if she had read the document carefully she would see it states that this is a 'claim' and NOT a LIEN. The lady said, "I'm sorry you don't like what I have said to you, but that is what it is." Additionally, this employee feels the need to include the words "legal affairs" on her correspondence as a means to appear to be a "tough guy" so to speak, so I demanded to speak to someone else. Several days passed and eventually I spoke to an attorney at Grace Hospital. (David Pope) He made things even worse with his careless and reckless comments. As a result, I have contacted numerous state and federal agencies looking for assistance in this matter. When I received the "large envelope" I was forced to "switch gears" so to speak, in that I felt this "OFFICIAL DOCUMENT" required my immediate attention, and in that frame of mind, so that I felt if I paid this off, nothing would happen to me as a financial consequence, Of course, later I realized that this was a separate estate issue and not MY bill to pay as to the estate. Eventually it needed to be paid, but the manner Grace Hospital used to collect it was HORRIBLE at best. I visited Grace Hospital to pay the SMALL amount I was told was owed. The "claim" indicated a balance of $320.31 was still due, after Grace Hospital had already received more than 9,200.00 dollars, on a 9,500.00+ bill for medical services lasting 2 hours or slightly more. When I visited the cashier at Grace Hospital, I was told by a cashier, "They didn't even send you a bill" which referred to the fact that instead of sending an ordinary, regular bill, Grace Hospital "jumped ahead" and filed a "claim" against mom's estate that had been opened a few days in the SMALL amount of $320.31 ! When I visited the cashier, I was told only $248.61 was left to be paid, and I paid that amount. My problem here is this, if Grace Hospital knew when they filed the "claim" that a personal representative existed, why did they not just send an ORDINARY, REGULAR BILL ? I stated earlier in this complaint that I paid several other bills in this manner, but Grace Hospital told the North Carolina Attorney General that "this is our policy" to harrass and act in a callous manner toward a family member after a loss of a mom. I believe they just got GREEDY and made a mistake, but they are standing behind this unconscionable method of billing an estate, without having the common courtesy of sending a REGULAR, ORDINARY bill and waiting to see that it is paid. How can ANY creditor especially a hospital, an entity that deals with life and death everyday, expect the community it serves to feel good about THEIR hospital when they act in this manner? Grace Hospital is one of about HALF of all hospitals in the United States that operates as a "NON-PROFIT" (501c3) hospital. I am not the only one here that has experienced what appears to be ruthless, and deceptive billing practices, I was told by the attorney (David Pope) that "we have a short period of time to file these claims" in response to my call asking why Grace Hospital acted in the manner they did. The attorney basically turned my mom's life into a simple obituary or death notice in a matter of words. To say I'm mad is indeed an understatment. To make matters worse, a week or so later, I received a "receipt" stating, "this letter serves notice, that the account in the name of my mom, is paid in full and no balance is left". The "receipt" referred to the previous amount of $320.31, NOT what I was told to pay, $248.61 !

If indeed Grace Hospital has created such a policy as they indicate by their attorney, I say to them that this practice is unfair and deceptive and should be changed. How is a MEASLY $320.21 worth anywhere near what the memory of someone's life is worth ?


Grace Hospital "took away" my ability to grieve the loss of my mom. And as a result of my not being in a mindset to really understand the situation, I acted in haste, where I would have acted differently if Grace Hospital simply acted in good faith and exercised some common sense.