Action: CAT scan bill is sent as an update

My wife had terrible pains in her side. Our family doctor wasn't sure what was causing them, so she recommended my wife have a CAT scan. On Oct. 31, my wife had the scan at Town and Country Diagnostic Center in Tampa. She had to sign some papers beforehand. She thought they gave the doctor permission to perform the scans; she didn't know they were a waiver to pay the bill.

We are both in our 80s and have Medicare and supplemental insurance. It doesn't make sense that my wife would pay the bill: The doctor's office should know that. I called Medicare and was told the bill would be paid, but that the doctor had to send another bill, I'm sure with an explanation of the mistake.

Every month we receive a bill for $868 for the CAT scan, which is upsetting us very much. Can you help bring this to some kind of closure? Chester Warczyglowa

Response: Julia LeBerth, director of managed care and marketing for SDI Diagnostic Imaging with offices in Town 'N Country and Oldsmar, said that Medicare initially denied a portion of the charges because of the diagnosis code. The information has been corrected and resubmitted to Medicare for processing. The Diagnostic Center is now awaiting Medicare's payment and expects to receive it by mid-August.

LeBerth said that, according to the notes in your file, the center already knew this error had occurred and was working to correct the problem. You were told to disregard the statements that the billing center automatically generates each month until payment is received. She said this reminder keeps patients informed on the status of their accounts and can prompt them to get involved and contact their insurance companies if necessary.

The waiver of liability your wife signed is standard in the medical field. LeBerth said this signed acknowledgement of the patient's financial responsibility protects the provider if the insurance company were to deny payment or if the patient did not have valid coverage.

Although this claim is still pending, LeBerth said that with both Medicare and supplemental insurance coverage, it is unlikely that your wife will have to pay anything out of pocket.

Missing grave marker

In December, my mother passed away suddenly. My parents had purchased funeral plots and markers back in 1980 from Abbey-Parklawn Funeral Home in Palm Harbor. After the funeral, the funeral director, Michael Walsh, said it would be six to eight weeks before the funeral marker came in and was placed on my mother's grave.

On April 17, the marker was still not there. I called Abbey-Parklawn Funeral Home to ask how much longer it would be. It was very important to the family that it be in place before we arrived to place flowers on her grave on Mother's Day. Jeannie Walsh, the general manager, said the marker would be in place within 12 to 14 days.

On May 11, I called again only to find out that it would be another three to five days. On May 15, my father went down to Abbey-Parklawn to see what was going on. Michael Walsh said he would look into the matter.

He then told us that the marker had not been ordered because the paperwork was apparently lost. He said he would fax the paperwork himself, and that it would be another three weeks. I have since called on June 14, and been told the paperwork was messed up again, so there would be another three weeks' wait.

As you can see, we have tried numerous times to resolve this problem. The family has been waiting over seven months for a marker on my mother's grave that still is not there. Wanda Abel Sparks

Response: Jeannie Walsh, president of Abbey-Parklawn Funeral Home and Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor, said that she and the current management have been at the funeral home for only two years. When your mother died, your family told the funeral director that the marker had already been purchased, and he in turn passed this on to the cemetery staff. The paperwork in the folder from the purchase back in 1980 indicated that all that needed to be ordered was a date scroll.

Walsh said when the grounds crew opened the burial space for your mother, there was no marker to be found in it as is usually the case. Unfortunately, this fact slipped through the cracks and the marker was never ordered. When you inquired about the marker in April, the records were reviewed. They showed the 1980 purchase of the marker. At that time it was common for the memorial to be ordered and installed prior to the death. Since it appeared that only the bronze date plate was missing, only it was ordered. When it arrived, the marker could not be found. The manufacturer subsequently confirmed it had never been made, and an order for it was immediately placed.

Walsh said your family was notified of the situation and also told that because of the error, the funeral home would provide a granite base for the marker as well as an additional inscribed "memory phrase" at no cost. This production generally takes 10 to 12 weeks, she said, but your family refused to acknowledge that and instead threatened the funeral home with legal action.

Walsh said that the memorial was placed on your mother's grave on July 9. Your family was notified and has been observed in the cemetery since that time, although it has never acknowledged the installation.

-- Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

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