In June of my Va Clinic Dr. (Dr. Ver Steeg) at the Veterans Clinic in Fergus Falls MN ordered a cardiac stress test for me to be performed at the VA hospital in Fargo, ND.
Gas being $4.00 a gallon, it was a hardship for me to drive 160 miles round trip to have a test I didn't want to have. I felt ok and didn't believe I needed one at the time. None the less, I went and was informed by a tech at the hospital that I weighed too much for a one day test and had to come back the following day.
I cancelled the test at that time and went home, having wasted valuable time and money. I was working part time and could not afford to take another day off of work to go back the next day. I informed my doctor that I didn't take the test for those very same reasons. He told me it was possible to have the stress test done in Fergus Falls (which is only 50 miles round trip).
An appoitment was made in Fergus Falls by my doctor. The VA approved. Then somebody at the VA in Fargo saw that I had an appoitment in Fergus Falls and cncelled it possibly thinking if I could do a stress test, I should do it there in Fargo.
I cancelled the appoitment in Fargo again, telling my doctor that I had enough stress already and I didn't really need a test. Dr. Ver Steeg made another appointment and it was made in Fergus Falls again and I reluctantly went because he insisted I needed one. I went and had the chemmically induced stress test (I can not do the physical one because I have had 5 back surgeries) at the Lake Region Hospital on July 23. I never had spoken to anybody at the Fergus Falls medical group or the hospital before my test... Nobody!!!
On 02-09 I started getting bills for the stress test the VA approved back in 2008. I have received a final notice that I am being turned over to a collection agency. The VA has denied payment post facto because they claim Dr. Ver Steeg never received approval for my stress test being done away fom the Fargo VA hospital.
I am caught between two bureaucries and neither one will listen or claim responsiblity and it is my credit rating that will be destroyed. The Lake Region Hospital (where the test was performed) is also billing me for an additional $3,603.65. They haven't threatened me yet but I'm sure that it is just a matter of time when they will come after me also.
I need a strong advocate to represent me to these two entities. Once again, a Viet Nam Veteran is getting the short end of the proverbial stick; in fact I'm being beaten with that stick for a bill I do not owe.in retrospect, the test showed I was in perfect health and did not need the test in the first place! Help!
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