We received a $995 bill from a California medical equipment distributor for a "Bio-Care Home Cervical Kit" that was in fact nothing more than a $16 orthopedic pillow. We were also billed $995 for a "Bio-Care Therma-Stim" - an electric moist heat pack that sells for $62 to $75. To justify these high charges, the distributor falsely claimed it manufactured, rather than purchased, this equipment. We recently sued the company for unfair business practices.

A California hospital sent us a $569,777 bill for a seven-day admission for an injured employee's back surgery. Upon reviewing the bill, we notified the hospital (through our attorney) that this bill was excessive. The hospital eventually responded that it would accept $22,413 as payment in full--96% less than it tried to charge.

In reviewing bills from physicians and medical clinics for pain management services, including charges for epidural injections, we found we were routinely billed for procedures that were not performed. By rejecting these inappropriate charges, we've saved 25-30% in addition to the other allowed reductions on these types of bills.

We received several bills from outpatient surgical facilities for back surgeries. Their charges ranged from $56,000 to $68,500. By contrast, these charges are at least 85% more than charges for similar procedures performed in a hospital. In the first case, we paid the facility $8,478--the equivalent of what it would cost for a hospital admission. It is often in the patient's best interest to have back surgery as an inpatient in a hospital. California's workers' compensation rules, however, are structured so that facilities can get paid much more when a surgery is performed outside of the hospital. For the benefit of the injured employee and to eliminate excessive charges, we are diligently reviewing surgeries performed outside the hospital.