CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – On Oct. 17, 2019, Jeremy Greenbaum was rear-ended in a rental car while visiting Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
The 35-year-old Army veteran thought he was fine, and he focused instead on making sure everyone else was OK.
“The police had showed up on scene, paramedics did show. At first, you know injuries with adrenaline, you don’t quite feel it right away. Being that I was out of town and I was with the girl I was seeing at the time, it was just like I knew I was hurt, but I thought I could tough it out until I got back in (to Clarksville),” Greenbaum told Clarksville Now.
Hospital visit
When Greenbaum got back to Clarksville, his friends noticed he wasn’t looking well. And then he passed out.
“I just remember that I was standing, and then I remember I’m down on the ground and my ankle hurts. I guess my ankle was finally swollen enough that I couldn’t walk on it anymore, and I guess I just passed out or something,” Greenbaum said.
His friends took him to Tennova Healthcare in Clarksville.
“I told Tennova what had happened, I gave them a copy of the police report, told them I was injured and so on and so forth. About that time, I went ahead and contacted my injury lawyer,” Greenbaum said.
He hired a personal injury lawyer for compensation for the time and medical bills. Greenbaum also said he presented his insurance documents to the hospital during the visit.
Greenbaum had several forms of medical insurance at his disposal. He had full coverage insurance through the rental car company, he had his own private vehicle insurance, and the person who rear-ended him had full coverage. On top of that, he had Medicare, and because of his veteran status, he had health benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I’m 100% disabled through the VA, so anything that happens, all (healthcare providers) have to do is contact the VA and the VA approves it. That’s just how it works,” Greenbaum said.
The lien
Two months later, bills for his treatment at Tennova began coming in, along with a lien.
A hospital lien is a claim that hospitals can use against losses from treating non-paying or non-insured patients involved in liability or personal injury suits.
Normally, patients who are insured get a discounted rate, which is billed to their insurance companies. But the lawsuit alleges the lien filed against Greenbaum contained the full, non-discounted amount, normally given for uninsured patients.
The lien, dated Dec. 17, 2019, states that the amount due for services Greenbaum received at the hospital in October totaled $2,741.02, the full, non-discounted rate.
And it was billed to Greenbaum, rather than to any of his available medical insurance plans.
“I had just wrapped up the personal suit when that medical bill started coming through, and my lawyer was kind of like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. This isn’t right, something is going on. I know another lawyer who is working on something like this if you’d like for me to speak to them on your behalf?’ And that’s where I picked up the suit against Tennova,” Greenbaum told Clarksville Now.
In Greenbaum’s case, since his personal injury suit had been settled, the lien was placed on his house. So if Greenbaum were to sell his house, which at the time he was looking to do, a percentage from that sale would go to the hospital.
Liens also appear on credit reports.
“They didn’t even try to bill my insurance. It was straight to billing me, straight to putting a lien on my home, which could have affected me seriously,” Greenbaum said.
Benjamin Gastel is representing Greenbaum as part of a class action lawsuit against Tennova.
“We started out with one case alleging some federal claims that ultimately got dismissed by the federal judge here in the Middle District of Tennessee. We then refiled in state court with one plaintiff, and then we’ve recently amended to add two different ones. So I guess we’ve brought the suit on behalf of five different individuals at this point,” Gastel told Clarksville Now
Greenbaum’s case was recently highlighted in a New York Times article about the issue of hospital liens nationwide.
Tennova responds
Tennova spokesperson Gail Young provided Clarksville Now a statement on the hospital’s lien practices.
“Tennessee state law allows hospitals to file provider liens as a way to ensure that health care providers can be paid for treatment provided to individuals involved in a motor vehicle accident. Hospital liens are not enforceable against the patient. It is not a debt the patient owes. The lien is enforceable only against any recovery the patient may receive from the third party who caused the accident.
“Tennova hospitals do not pursue hospital liens related to any patient who presents commercial health insurance. When a patient presents commercial health insurance to a Tennova hospital, the hospital bills the insurance company and does not file a lien. In instances where the patient is uninsured or has Medicare or Medicaid, the hospital may file a lien in an attempt to be paid for its service. Often, if there is no recovery from a third party for the motor vehicle accident, the hospital receives no payment from anyone for the services it provided the patient.”
Additionally, the hospital says it did not bill Greenbaum.
“Regarding Jeremy Greenbaum, Mr. Greenbaum is a plaintiff in litigation against the hospital. Because of this, we will not provide comment on his particular case beyond sharing that Mr. Greenbaum has not been billed for services provided at the hospital during October 2019 nor does the hospital plan to bill him for those services,” Young said.
But according to the lien document, Tennova did bill Greenbaum for $2,741.02 for the treatment, and took out the lien based on this amount.
The lawsuit alleges that a lien presupposes, or cannot exist without, the existence of a debt.
Greenbaum says he doesn’t have anything against Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville
“I would never say (Tennova) is a horrible hospital, I just think this is a situation that should have been handled with a little more finesse. It’s still a wonderful facility and I would recommend anybody in going there,” Greenbaum said.
On March 17, there will be a case management conference for the lawsuit, and a schedule will be set for further litigation.