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My painful experience with California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC).
I am sharing my experience here so that CPMC administration takes responsibility, and so that other families can see the unfair treatment that patients may face. I have done everything I possibly could to resolve this problem. My daughter was born at CPMC on June 4, 2023. On June 8, she had to return to the hospital for phototherapy because of high bilirubin. Throughout 2023, our whole family had Medi-Cal. My daughter’s Medi-Cal card clearly shows an issue date of June 7, 2023. This means that her hospitalization should have been fully covered by Medi-Cal. However, a few months later, I began receiving several bills from CPMC totaling $6,408. Each time I received a bill, I called the billing department: First time: The operator told me not to worry, because I had Medi-Cal and I didn’t need to pay anything. Second time: I called again after receiving another bill. The operator said she saw another insurance. I clarified that it was CCHP, which I had not used since 2019. Currently, I only use Medi-Cal. Third time: Another operator asked me to provide NEMS. I explained again that the hospital should bill Medi-Cal directly, not a clinic. Shortly after, instead of a hospital bill, I received a final notice from a professional collection company. Fourth time: I called again. This time the operator said: “Since we did not receive payment from Medi-Cal, we sent your bill to collections. You need to go to the Medi-Cal office and get proof.” I did exactly that. Fifth and sixth times: I called again, but some operators would not even listen to me. I also emailed copies of my Medi-Cal card and proof to CPMC, but nobody replied. When I called again, finally a woman who identified herself as a supervisor answered. She said she could not see my email and claimed it was an IT department problem. I immediately re-sent the email and even forwarded it to my husband. She then said: “We do not accept your documents. You must have Medi-Cal contact us directly.” I told her the documents I submitted were official, stamped by the San Francisco Human Services Agency, exactly as they instructed me to do. As an ordinary person, how can even government-issued proof not be accepted? After a long discussion, she finally said: “Your bill has been canceled.” When I checked my My Health Online account about two months later, I did see the balance was zero. I thought the nightmare was finally over. But then, months later, a collections company started calling me again. I cannot understand why CPMC continues to refuse to process our Medi-Cal coverage. I have submitted documents many times, both directly to the hospital and in person to the San Francisco Human Services Agency. Despite this, without any notice, they still sent my account to collections. I have made countless calls to the billing department. Staff either refuse to listen, play “pass the ball,” or push me back to Medi-Cal with no responsibility. I also confirmed with Medi-Cal that no bills under my name or my daughter’s name were ever received. The recent call with CPMC billing department was this month. The representative states that she is team leader. She said I have to contact medical, which I did. But an ordinary person cannot force government employees to contact the hospital. This process has been extremely painful and stressful for me and my family. What hurts me most is the feeling of being treated unfairly.
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