Dozens of Houston patients recently received medical bills for thousands of dollars. The bills are the remaining balances insurance companies did not pay for COVID tests three years ago. Several of you reached out to ask Investigative reporter Amy Davis if you really have to pay those old bills.
Patients, including Michelle Higgins, reported receiving multiple high bills for COVID tests taken at Memorial Village ER. Higgins received four bills totaling over $8,000 for tests her family took between November 2020 and August 2021.
Higgins and others quickly turned to investigative reporter Amy Davis, concerned about these surprise charges. When they searched the provider’s name online, they found a similar story covered by KPRC 2 back in 2021 about Memorial Village ER billing customers thousands of dollars for COVID tests.
A related report from 2021 on Memorial Village ER’s COVID test billing practices showed that these billing issues have been ongoing. During the earlier investigation, KPRC 2 found some patients were billed as much as $3,752 for a single COVID test.
Update on current COVID bills
Memorial Village ER explained that the bills sent out in early October 2024 were due to a software error. They said they have since reached out to affected patients via email, social media, and text messages to clarify the mistake. According to Memorial Village ER, patients who received these bills do not owe any balance.
Some patients expressed concern about how these erroneous bills could affect their credit. Memorial Village ER has assured KPRC 2 that they will send a zeroed-out statement to any patient who received a bill in error, upon request. Patients are advised to call Memorial Village ER to obtain this confirmation of a zero balance.
Know your rights: Texas Timely Billing Law
If this situation or a similar one ever happens to you, it’s important to know Texas’s “timely billing” law. This law requires healthcare providers to send bills within a year of the medical service date. If a bill is sent after this period, the provider cannot legally demand payment.
You can learn more about your rights regarding medical debt and the Texas “timely billing” law by visiting our detailed guide on medical debt.
