Complaint Review: Lewis-Gale Medical Center - Salem Virginia

I was discharged from the hospital on July 21, 2011 as Deceased. We only found this out when my insurance would not accept my medication refills.

So on 8/5/11 AARP prescription drug account (AARP is the supplemental to my Medicare insurance) denied a prescription to be filled at our local pharmacy (West Pharmacy).  Our pharmacist said we should call AARP.  Called AARP (888-867-5575), they said that Radford Thomas was dead according to their records and the account had been terminated.  AARP said the Medicare code was 90 and it was received by AARP on 7/30/11.

AARP said to call Social Security at 800-772-1213.  An agent told us that there was NOT any such code on the account and that there was NO need to call Medicare and that my deductible had been met and all was well. 

On 8/7/11 we called Medicare (800-633-4227) and they told us to call Social Security, we told them we had already done that and they said we had to wait 30 days for an update.  We told them there was nothing to update, they responded to us like robots, repeated the information like machines, had no compassion that this had happened and were not interested in a resolution. I asked for a supervisor (Diana Greene) she said that the hospital (Lewis-Gale) had told Medicare that Radford Thomas was deceased on 7/21/11.  HE wasDISCHARGED on 7/21/11. 

On 8/8/11 we called the Administration at Lewis-Gale Medical Center

(540-776-4101) Rick Harmon would be checking on this through records management. 

We called at 8:25 AM, no answer as of 10:54 AM today, Monday, 8/8.  At 2:30 we called this number again, and asked to speak to someone above Mr. Harmon who happened to be the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Angela Reynolds (540-776-4125) at Lewis-Gale hospital.  She told us that there had been 2 errors made:  1) The person who coded his discharge, coded it incorrectly, 2) Medicare cancelled his coverage based on this information without a death certificate.  Lewis-Gale and Medicare were to blame.  Ms. Reynolds has updated us with the process of re-doing the code with Palmetto Medicare and trying to clear all the incorrect information that has circulated throughout the system.  As of today, 8/11, she has still NOT confirmed that the change has been made with Palmetto.  In the meantime, we live with stressful anxiety [and anal bleeding] over the fact that this error was made, what are the repercussions for future use of the health coverage, the damages done to a recovering patient and the tension that has caused.  Not to mention the anguish that his wife has gone through for the last 6 weeks of his 19 days hospital stay, and long recovery now heightened with the nightmare of no hospital coverage and enormous bills relating to the surgery and complications.

Senator Webbs office called on 8/10 and said they would send us a copy of the letter from Social Security and Medicare sent to his office stating that all was well with the account of Radford Thomas. 

On 11/21/2011 I received a notice from United Health Care addressed to:  The Estate of Radford Thomas. And, Experian reported that on 11/22/2011 HCA/Lewis-Gale Hospital (HCA) requested my credit record. All HCA bills have been paid according to Medicare & AARP.

This, plus other out-of-state business connections, such as Palmetto Medicare, make this a federal case as I see it. What reasonable case do they have foraccessing my credit records?

So, after 4+ months, my coded death fiasco is still not over. I suffer from extreme stress even going into a state of shock that lasts for hours.

We still have rreservations about everything having been corrected with:

SOCIAL SECURITY
MEDICARE
AARP SUPPLEMENTAL
HOSPITAL
ALL DOCTORS