Kudos to Kaiser Permanente for challenging Queen’s Health Systems’ billing practices (“Collaborate to stop unfair health costs,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, July 3).

The practice of balance billing is a national disgrace and is not unique to Queen’s. Actual costs are never disclosed to patients upon hospital admission. While a hospital is entitled to the reasonable value of services provided, hospitals routinely submit vastly inflated bills based on gross charges from “charge master” spreadsheets that rarely bear any relation to the hospital’s costs for providing treatment and differ from the actual, lower charges assessed against the overwhelming majority of patients who participate in Medicare or private insurance programs.

It is also common to apply exaggerated billing codes. The bills in many cases are unfair and unconscionable. Some states, such as Florida, expressly protect consumers from such abuse. Whether Queen’s can actually collect bills in excess of reasonable value of the actual services may be undecided in Hawaii. Non-Kaiser consumers should carefully review bills for accuracy and seek legal advice before agreeing to pay charges for services that appear unreasonable.

John Keiser

Makiki

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