Last month, six hospitals in New York agreed to repay sexual assault victims who were illegally forced to pay for their own rape examinations, sometimes to the tune of $3,000 when the procedure should have been “billed to the state or their insurers.” According to Attorney General Barbara Underwood, the hospitals “wrongly billed victims for at least 200 forensic rape exams in recent years and had collections agencies go after some women who failed to pay.”
Last month, six hospitals in New York agreed to repay sexual assault victims who were illegally forced to pay for their own rape examinations, sometimes to the tune of $3,000 when the procedure should have been “billed to the state or their insurers.” According to Attorney General Barbara Underwood, the hospitals “wrongly billed victims for at least 200 forensic rape exams in recent years and had collections agencies go after some women who failed to pay.”
Of the six hospitals, five reside in New York City and the sixth is in a suburb of Rockland County. In a statement regarding the matter, Underwood said:
“Survivors of sexual assault have already gone through unfathomable trauma. To then subject them to illegal bills and collection calls is unconscionable.”
Since the hospitals in question decided to repay the victims, they have also agreed to implement “new billing policies to ensure that going forward victims don’t get charged.” Additionally, each of the six hospitals will pay a $15,000 fine.
Aren’t there laws on the books, though, designed to prevent hospitals from charging victims of sexual assault for things like rape examinations? The answer is yes. In fact, the federal “Violence Against Women Act prohibits hospitals from charging assault survivors for rape kits.” Additionally, laws in New York mandate that “hospitals instead bill the state’s Office of Victim Services unless a victim decides to have the cost covered by insurance.”
One of the hospitals that illegally charged for rape examinations was Columbia University Medical Center, located in Manhattan. According to reports, the hospital “billed at least 24 victims for rape exams between January 2016 and November 2017 and sent 19 to collections.” Going forward, however, the hospital said that “under its new policy it won’t charge the state or insurance companies.” In a statement, representatives for the hospital said:
“Our patients are our top priority. We are committed to providing sexual assault survivors, and everyone who comes to our hospital, high-quality care with the sensitivity they deserve.”
Typically, in cases involving sexual assault victims and rape examinations in New York, the Office of Victim Services covers the bills for “the forensic examiner, facilities, laboratory testing, and pharmaceuticals.” According to Underwood, having the Office of Victim Services cover these costs “helps ensure privacy and confidentiality and increases the likelihood that a victim will allow for an examination, which increases the ability of law enforcement to identify offenders.”
Underwood first began looking into reports of rape kit billing after her office received a complaint from a victim that she was “billed seven separate times for a forensic rape exam at Brooklyn Hospital Center.” The complaint was enough for Underwood’s office to launch an investigation into the matter. During the investigation, her team discovered “pervasive failures to advise patients of their payment options and widespread unlawful billing of victims, with bills issued by the six hospitals ranging from approximately $46 to $3,000 each.”
In addition to Columbia University Medical Center, the hospitals involved in the illegal billing include Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian/Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, St. Barnabas Hospital, Richmond University Medical Center, and Montefiore Nyack Hospital.
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