French Camp, Calif.-based San Joaquin General Hospital will reimburse 64 patients after an investigation found they were improperly billed for COVID-19-related care.
The California Justice Department launched an investigation after receiving complaints from the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation regarding improper bills, according to a March 31 news release from the California attorney general’s office.
The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act allows uninsured and underinsured Californians to receive COVID-19-related care for free, according to the release.
The Justice Department launched its investigation in late 2020 and directed the hospital to conduct a billing audit of its COVID-19-related care, according to the release. The hospital shared the results in December 2022, which identified 64 instances wherein a patient was improperly billed for a COVID-19 claim.
