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August 8, 2007 PA 94-0885 - "Fair Patient Billing Act"In June, 2006, the Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) released a memo on "frequently asked questions" regarding implementation of the "Fair Patient Billing Act" which applies to services delivered on or after July 1, 2007. Recently, a question has been raised by a number of hospitals regarding bill information for which we now have an interpretation from the Attorney General’s Office. As such, this memo is an addendum to IHA’s original June 28, 2006 memo. Frequently Asked Questions About Hospital Billing What information must be on each patient bill? Each patient bill must include the following six items: date(s) of service description of service amount owed hospital billing contact statement on how an uninsured patient may apply for consideration for financial assistance under the hospital’s financial assistance policy (can be on separate page) notice of how to obtain an itemized bill upon request* *In any instance of a request for an itemized statement, the hospital must provide both inpatient and outpatient service itemization. What is a proper "description of service"? The Attorney General’s Office has indicated that the patient must be able to reasonably determine the type of service that was rendered and whether the service was rendered. Overly general descriptions such as "inpatient service" or "outpatient service" are not acceptable. Please check to see that you have a proper "description of services" on all patient bills. If you should have any questions, please contact Elena Butkus at (630) 276-5526. | |
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