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Billing 'nightmare' for donor in 4-way kidney swap
« on: March 08, 2013, 02:54:43 AM »
Billing 'nightmare' for donor in 4-way kidney swap
Neil Vigdor
Published 7:17 pm, Thursday, March 7, 2013

There's a void inside Victor Tiriolo Jr.

It cuts much deeper than a missing left kidney, which the Cos Cob native and Seymour resident donated as part of the first four-way kidney swap performed in Connecticut last October.

It comes from the loss of his father, Victor Tiriolo Sr., a veteran postman who was also part of the swap and died two months after the simultaneous surgeries.

It stems from an onslaught of telephone calls -- not from doctors or nurses about his upcoming six-month check-up, but from the collections department of Yale-New Haven Hospital telling Tiriolo he owes $40,000 for an operation he said wasn't supposed to cost him a cent.

Despite what he said were assurances from his patient advocate that his medical costs would be covered by the insurance of the Wilton woman who received his kidney, Tiriolo told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers that the same hospital that was quick to seek out media coverage of the swap is now quick to collect.

"It went from a real heart-touching story to a nightmare," Tiriolo said.

Yale-New Haven Hospital, which choreographed the swap, owned up to the billing error when contacted by Hearst.

"First and foremost, I think Mr. Tiriolo did a very noble thing here," said Vin Petrini, a senior vice president in charge of public affairs at the hospital. "We assured him that he would not be burdened with any charges that are related to the procedure and we intend to stand by assurance. We apologize to him for any anguish or anxiety that he experienced related to this situation."

Since he was not a match for his father, a diabetic from Cos Cob who was on dialysis, the younger Tiriolo was identified by a new database as a match for Robin House, 50, of Wilton, who had polycystic kidney disease.

Her husband, Michael House, then 49, turned out to be a match for the elder Tiriolo, setting the stage for the ground-breaking swap at Yale's Transplantation Center.

Multiple teams of surgeons and nurses performed the transplants. Because the father and son had the same first and last name, operating rooms on opposite sides of the building were used to prevent an organ mix-up.

"I simply did what anybody would do for my parent," Tiriolo said. "If I could keep my father around for another 20 years, I would do it. It just ended bad."

About a month after the surgery, Tiriolo said he started getting calls from Yale's billing department and then a collection agency on his cell phone and at Chicken Joe's, a Cos Cob eatery where he is manager.

"The way it works with a four-way swap is the recipient's insurance pays," Tiriolo said.

Tiriolo faxed the newspaper a copy of a denied claim from his insurance carrier, Medica, which he said is customary in cases of organ donation. He said he furnished the documentation multiple times to the billing department at Yale and arranged for a three-way conference call with his insurance carrier and his patient advocate at the hospital.

"Now I go to check, I have a $40,000 delinquent bill on my credit," Tiriolo said. "I was wondering why I had a hard time getting my wife a new car. I just got denied for a loan and a new credit card."

At the same time, the health of Tiriolo's father took a turn for the worse. His dad was suffering from a fungal infection and myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune neuromuscular disease. The elder Tiriolo died Dec. 16, 2012, two months after receiving a new kidney.

"I'm sorry to hear that his father passed away," Robin House said when reached by the newspaper.

House said her body is responding "beautifully" to her new kidney and that she had no difficulties on the billing end.

"I hope his situation can be rectified," she said of her kidney donor.

House said she would hate for such a billing error to discourage others from organ donation.

Yale said that House's insurance carrier required more comprehension documentation that Tiriolo's insurance denied his claim.

"Unfortunately, it was a by-product of an insurance coordination issue," Petrini said. "We've instructed all of those involved to make sure the matter is resolved without any adverse impact to Mr. Tiriolo or his family."

When his father fell into a coma at Yale, Tiriolo said he was further stunned by the line of questions from doctors.

"They asked us what we were doing with the kidney," Tiriolo said. "They made it seem like they wanted to take it out and re-donate it to somebody. It went into the ground with my father."

Petrini could not speak to the specifics of that conversation.

"We certainly would offer him an apology if that caused him any concern," Petrini said.

Yale performed its second four-way kidney swap on Jan. 31.

"It's a very complicated procedure," Petrini said. "But the fact of matter is we have to get this right from a billing perspective. Even in the very best organizations mistakes happen periodically and we apologize for them. At the end of the day we want to do right by this patient."

neil.vigdor@scni.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy



Read more: http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Billing-nightmare-for-donor-in-4-way-kidney-swap-4337557.php#ixzz2MvsoNto6
Daughter Jenna is 31 years old and was on dialysis.
7/17 She received a kidney from a living donor.
Please email us: kidney4jenna@gmail.com
Facebook for Jenna: https://www.facebook.com/WantedKidneyDonor
~ We are forever grateful to her 1st donor Patrice, who gave her 7 years of health and freedom

 

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