Northwell Health Dinged for $1M After 'Deceptively Advertising COVID-19 Testing Sites,' NY AG Says

New York's largest health system has refunded $400,000 to more than 2,000 patients, and will pay $650,000 in penalties to the state.

Northwell Health will pay $1 million in penalties and refunds to patients for "misleading New Yorkers seeking COVID-19 testing during the height of the pandemic," New York Attorney General Letitia James said Friday.

Under an agreement reached with Northwell, the health system has issued more than $400,164 in refunds to 2,048 patients, will pay a $650,000 penalty, and must notify future patients seeking COVID-19 testing at emergency rooms that they will be billed for emergency department charges, the AG said.

"During a time of great stress at the height of the pandemic, Northwell Health caused more worry and frustration for New Yorkers who were sent emergency room bills for simply taking a COVID-19 test," James said in a media release.

"Today we are putting money back in New Yorkers' pockets after Northwell Health misled them. New York patients should not get surprise fees," she said. "I encourage anyone who thinks they've been taken advantage of through deceptive advertising to file a complaint with my office."

Northwell issued a statement saying that it "cooperated fully" with the AG's investigation and "voluntarily entered an agreement to settle the matter without admitting to any wrongdoing."

The OAG launched an investigation after hearing complaints from patients about bills they got for emergency department visits after they took a COVID-19 test. Investigators found that emergency departments at Northwell's Lenox Hill Hospital, Lenox Health Greenwich, and Huntington Hospital posted signs between March 2020 and March 2021 advertising emergency departments as COVID-19 testing locations.

State and federal laws prohibited health plans from charging any type of cost sharing for COVID-19 tests and related services. However, investigators found that thousands of people who tested for COVID-19 at one of these three locations were billed standard emergency room charges, including patients who tested at Huntington's drive-through site.

Investigators found that Northwell collected $81,761.46 in out-of-pocket payments from 559 people for COVID-19 tests at emergency departments. People who visited the emergency department for other medical care were also charged when COVID-19 tests were given.

Northwell Responds

Northwell Health issued this statement:

"In the first year of the pandemic, when patients often faced challenges obtaining COVID-19 testing, three of Northwell's emergency departments posted public-facing signs indicating the availability of COVID-19 testing services. At each of these three locations, patients were able to receive emergency department services above and beyond those offered at standalone COVID-19 testing sites, including triage services and medical evaluation by a licensed emergency department clinician. These locations also posted signage, written consent forms and other messaging intended to advise patients upfront that they would receive services as emergency department patients."

"Northwell also implemented broad billing controls that, in the overwhelming majority of cases, succeeded in preventing patients from being billed for COVID-19 testing and related services, including patients for whom Northwell was entitled to collect out-of-pocket payments because they received additional services unrelated to COVID-19 testing and evaluation. This resulted in Northwell foregoing collection of payments from patients to which it would have been entitled in numerous instances."

"In the extremely limited instances when patients who sought COVID-19 testing at these three locations did make out-of-pocket payments, all those amounts, totaling $81,761.46, were voluntarily refunded. Out of an abundance of caution, Northwell also voluntarily issued refunds to many patients who received additional services unrelated to COVID-19 testing and evaluation, from whom Northwell was entitled to collect payment, totaling $318,402.83."

"Northwell is proud of our unwavering commitment to the communities we have served throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with the heroic efforts of our front-line providers in responding to the unprecedented demands placed on hospitals during this global crisis."