Lawsuit Over Hospital Billing and Collections Ends in Settlement

After the dust settled, and the angry cries faded in the distance, all that was left was a settlement.  Now, the healing could begin.

Colorado’s Aspen Hill Hospital made itself a mess of enemies due to what many allege were aggressive – and, ultimately, incorrect – billing and collection practices.  The most visible enemy to Aspen Hill Hospital was attorney Richard Cummins, who sued the hospital on allegations that it both harassed and annoyed him over debts he claims he has never owed.

The suit ended in a dismissal with prejudice – which means that Cummins can’t file the same complaint again.

The terms of the settlement are confidential.  Cummins did reveal to the Aspen Times that he is no longer being pursued for the $5,500 balance the hospital claimed he owed.  "They zeroed out my balance," Cummins said.

Aspen Hill Hospital relied on collection agency Accounts Receivable Services LLC to collect its debts.  Due to what some could argue was faulty billing practices, the collection agency received undue attention.  Since the hospital believed, for whatever reason, that they were owed the money they claimed Cummins wasn’t paying, the turned the account over to ARS.

The hospital’s board of directors responded to the complaints at its January meeting, saying that medical billing is a complicated issue, and it would work it out. In doing so, last month the hospital gave frustrated customers a 90-day grace period to settle their billing issues.

Last week hospital CEO David Ressler said that about 1,000 of the estimated 3,500 disputed billing accounts have been reviewed during the grace period. The customers are paying some bills, while others have been the hospital’s fault, Ressler reportedly said. Ressler said the hospital is adjusting any hospital errors.