Copyright WIS10
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT/Gray News) – A woman in Nebraska who is battling a disabling disease said she has also been caught in the middle of a billing dispute with her insurance company. Evie Kava said notices from a collection agency are just adding to her stress. “You have to have this treatment in order to stay functioning and not get sick because Muscular Dystrophy affects all your muscles,” she said. However, halfway through half a dozen treatments, Kava said she had to walk away because of a dispute with Aetna insurance. “How can you deny a preapproval that came from your company because you and CHI don’t want to play together. It’s not fair to the patient,” Kava said. Kava and her sister Mary Kaup have been navigating CHI Health bills after they expected insurance would cover most of the treatment cost but failed to do so. “$30,000 worth of bills for something that was told it was approved. It really ticks a person off that, who do you go to, nobody is listening,” Kaup said. Then came the notice that some of the CHI bills not paid by insurance have been sent to collections. “It hurts my reputation, because it’s going against my credit, and my credit numbers are dropping — and I had perfect credit,” Kava said. WOWT contacted both Aetna and CHI Health, getting a response acknowledging how difficult it is when patients find themselves in the middle of a payment issue. Aetna and CHI Health then worked together to get answers for Kava and paused all of her billing. The email from the companies said Kava’s bills are being processed in at network rates. When all is said and done, CHI will actually owe Kava money. “If I could do a cartwheel, I would. I’m just elated,” Kava said. Here is the joint statement from CHI Health and Aetna: “We recognize how difficult it is when patients find themselves in the middle of a payment issue,” the companies said. “Aetna and CHI Health worked together to get answers for Evelyn. Our teams contacted her, paused all billing, and ensured her claims were paid at an in-network rate.” Kava’s bills are in fact being reprocessed at in-network rates. Once this is complete, her balance with CHI health will be just over $2,000. Because she has already made payments exceeding $2,000, she will instead receive a refund for $3,849.
