ORLANDO, Fla — Victoria Sjostedt had serious injuries after getting struck by a car in August.
“When the impact first happened, my leg kind of exploded,” Sjostedt told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal.
But as she worked to recover, she found herself dealing with a billing nightmare for a wheelchair she claims she turned in months ago.
She said, “I don’t know, it’s overwhelming.”
When Sjostedt was released from the hospital, she was provided a wheelchair and billed around $50 a month to use it by a company called CareCentrix, but she said after returning it to Orlando Regional Medical Center in December, the bills kept coming.
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She said three different companies, the company that owns the wheelchair, the billing company and the hospital kept passing the buck, and none of them could figure out what happened to the wheelchair.
During the accident, wheels of a car rolled over her legs.
“I think the official diagnosis was crushing injury of the lower right extremity,” Sjostedt explained.
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She later left ORMC with a muscle deformity in her right leg and a wheelchair to help her get around.
She said, “When they discharged me, they had me choose between a walker and a wheelchair, and I chose to take the wheelchair.”
Then in December a family friend loaned her a different chair. Victoria claims on December 15th, she and her boyfriend returned to ORMC to turn in the original wheelchair after she called CareCentrix to get instructions about where to bring it.
“And the lady at the front desk, she wasn’t sure what was, wasn’t really sure how to handle that, but she was like, ‘Ok, just go up to where you were admitted, and they’ll be able to figure it out.’”
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So, Victoria Sjostedt brought it to the 10th floor where she was admitted. But even there she said staff seemed unsure about how to handle the return.
She said, “We asked them if we could have any sort of documentation or a receipt to, you know, have proof that we were no longer in possession of the wheelchair, but we were told that we were free to go. And so we just left.”
But then weeks later, she realized CareCentrix was still billing her for the wheelchair she turned in.
Calls to CareCentrix, AeroCare, the company that owned the chair and even the hospital did not solve the problem. Then CareCentrix sent her letters threatening to send it to a collection’s agency if she didn’t pay.
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“It really just felt like nobody knew what was going on. And honestly, it felt like nobody was on my side, and everybody was just kind of just out to get me,” Sjostedt said.
After Action 9 reached out to CareCentrix, the company said it couldn’t address details because of privacy regulations, but sent this statement:
CareCentrix takes consumer satisfaction seriously and is dedicated to addressing and resolving consumer disputes fairly and responsibly.
And Victoria Sjostedt shared documentation with Action 9 showing the company took away all the charges after December.
Still, it was a frustrating process and she wonders why the companies involved don’t have a better system for checking in and verifying the return of medical equipment.
“It honestly just feels like a cruel joke,” she said.
It can be hard in the moment, especially when you’re dealing with an injury or illness, but it’s a good idea to insist on paperwork for any medical visit.
Orlando Health sent Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal this statement:
Our Care Management team communicated with both AeroCare and CareCentrix and has been advised that AeroCare will be working with CareCentrix on billing adjustments as needed. Orlando Health is pleased to have helped resolve this misunderstanding.
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