Surprise double billing from Centura and US Acute Care?

Seeking Advice
1

Has anyone else dealt with this? Back in January, I had to go to urgent care for stitches since I didn’t have insurance. The EMS advised me to go to Centura Urgent Care and explain my no-insurance situation. I paid $150 at the time and thought that was the end of it.

But about a month later, I got hit with another $250 bill from Centura for the rest of the balance. Then, I got a separate bill from US Acute Care Solutions for $1200!

Is this normal? Has anyone experienced this? It feels like Centura charged me for the facility and then the doctor billed me separately. What are my options?

2

Yep, unfortunately, this is normal in the broken US healthcare system. I’d recommend applying for financial assistance through the hospital and asking for itemized receipts for everything.

3

Yeah, it’s common to get two separate bills—one from the urgent care (Centura) and another from the doctor (US Acute Care). This happens because they bill separately, and they tend to overcharge, hoping uninsured folks like you won’t have a legal team to push back.

Call US Acute Care and let them know you’re uninsured. Ask if they can negotiate the bill down, and be prepared to pay a lower amount. Good luck!

4

This just happened to me too! I paid $400 up front, and then got another bill for $8k. It’s getting ridiculous lately.

5

You can call them and explain that you didn’t expect additional bills and can’t pay it. They might offer to reduce the amount. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

6

I had a similar experience at a Centura location after a dog bite. I got multiple bills too, but they did reduce the charges after I explained I was uninsured. Try calling them—they usually offer discounts for uninsured patients.

7

Same thing happened with my partner. We called and got the bill down from $3k to around $300. It’s worth negotiating.

8

This sounds like balance billing, which became illegal in Colorado in 2021. You should check into that.

9

frank said:
This sounds like balance billing, which became illegal in Colorado in 2021. You should check into that.

I think that law only applies to people who have insurance, and I don’t. I’m not sure if it helps me here.

10

@Asher
You might want to call and ask for an explanation of the bill just to be sure. The law can be tricky in these cases.