A Bronx hospital that illegally billed 17 rape survivors for medical exams tied to their assaults reached a settlement Tuesday with the twice-victimized women.
The BronxCare Health System signed off on a deal with the state for charging the survivors as much as $1,957 for examinations done after the sexual attacks, said state Attorney General Letitia James.
A dozen of the victims had their medical tabs sent to collection agencies, according to James.
The settlement marked the ninth secured by the AG’s office during a statewide probe into improper billing of rape survivors.
“The trauma of sexual assault is more than enough for a survivor to bear,” said James. “The secondary trauma of fighting an illegal bill for a forensic rape exam is unfathomable, and we will not allow it to continue.”
Under New York State law, hospitals that provide forensic rape exams or other services to sexual assault survivors do so without charge — with the tab instead going to the state Office of Victim Services or to the survivor’s private insurance.
“The issue is now resolved at our hospital, and standards were previously enhanced to prevent this type of situation from occurring in the future,” the hospital said in a statement.
“Our staff also fully understands the standards in place regarding this most sensitive process.”
According to James, BronxCare will install a written policy to prevent future billing of rape victims and make 100% restitution to the woman who were charged between Jan. 10, 2016, and Dec. 26, 2017.
The charges sent to the women were between $35 to nearly $2,000. The AG investigation found that BronxCare also failed to tell the women about the billing options as required under state law.
