The largest operator of freestanding emergency rooms in the country has been given the green light to refund money to an undisclosed number of patients as they navigate bankruptcy.
According to a report in the Dallas News, Lewisville-based Adeptus Health, who filed for bankruptcy in April, will be allowed to refund up to $250,000 to patients who were owed money before the bankruptcy filing in an effort to avoid bad publicity.
The company said they feared that consumers would tell friends and family to avoid Adeptus facilities and cause financial harm if they were not allowed to issue the refunds, the Dallas News said.
[Also: Adeptus Health appoints Ricardo Martinez, M.D. as chief medical officer]
The refunds stem from overpayments unwittingly made by patients, such as when a deductible or copay is incorrectly estimated by the provider, and the patient pays before insurance has kicked in. The patient is entitled to a credit in cases like this, and a number of patients either asked for refunds or had checks that went uncashed before Adeptus' bankruptcy filing, the report said.
Adeptus formed in 2002 and opened 99 facilities across five states. Last year, it treated more than 400,000 patients. However, rising competition coupled with shrinking revenue and problems with revenue cycle management proved too much for the company, according to court documents cited by Dallas News.
[Also: Adeptus Health aligns freestanding ER's with Texas Health; facilities to rebrand this year]
There were also a number of executives who left the company suddenly and a consumer lawsuit levied against Adeptus that alleged fraud, the article said.
Twitter: @BethJSanborn