COLORADO SPRINGS — A Colorado Springs man will no longer be on the hook for a nearly $65,000 medical bill after a surgery to try to combat his cancer last summer.
Dennis Hiser and his wife reached out to News5Investigates for help after he received a letter saying his insurance, Cigna, owed $64,096.31 for a partial bladder removal surgery Hiser had in July 2024.
The letter from CommonSpirit also said that if Cigna did not make the payment, the hospital would bill Hiser for the charges.
Hiser is living with stage 4 bladder cancer that has spread to his bones.
“I mean, you know, the pain is every single day, it never really goes away,” Hiser said, “you're not just dealing with the disease itself, you're dealing with all the things it does around you, to the people you love. They're going through it with you.”
Adding to his confusion, Hiser had previously received an “Explanation of Benefits” from Cigna showing he owed $0.00, Cigna showed it only paid about $10,000 of the $70,000 total cost.
The letter from CommonSpirit frightened Hiser as he battled his terminal diagnosis; he was worried this debt would end up in his wife’s hands if he passed.
“When that day comes, I don't know when it will come, but, um, it's scary to have that lingering for us," Hiser said.
The day before his surgery last summer, Hiser said he received a call from CommonSpirit telling him he was out of network. That call confused Hiser so he reached out to Cigna.
“He looked it up and says, no, no, you're in network absolutely, you’re in- network, talk about comforting,” Hiser said.
To add to his comfort, Hiser said he was placed on a three-way call with the hospital, assuring him he was in-network. Hiser moved forward with the surgery, he said that without that assurance, he likely would’ve rescheduled.
“Even though it would have caused a lot of complications and possibly some severe complications, I would have done that because it means that much that I don't leave the people I love in debt and I don't have everything we worked for here jeopardized,” Hiser said.
News5Investigates reached out to both CommonSpirit. In a statement, CommonSpirit said this was an error on Cigna’s end by incorrectly telling Hiser they were in-network. The statement also goes on to say if Cigna does not pay the outstanding balance, they will honor the in-network status for Hiser.
Full CommonSpirit Statement
"CommonSpirit Health is committed to providing our patients with high-quality care and compassion throughout their journey with us, including during the billing process.
Prior to the patient’s procedure, CommonSpirit notified both the patient and provider that they would be out of network for any surgery performed at a CommonSpirit hospital in El Paso County, including Penrose Hospital.
However, Cigna incorrectly stated the patient's health plan was in network with Penrose Hospital. This was validated both by a Cigna patient representative, as well as Cigna’s provider portal. As a result, our team allowed the procedure to be completed.
CommonSpirit continues to pursue Cigna for the correct reimbursement for the services provided based on their statements that the procedure would be covered as in-network.
Our team has escalated this issue with Cigna, and we will honor the patient's in-network liability and benefits should any amount be owed after insurance processes the claim. CommonSpirit has not submitted a bill to the patient at this time and there is no amount due."
News5Investigates did not get a statement from Cigna by our deadline. Cigna asked for additional documentation from News5Investigates and for Hiser to sign a waiver to release information; he sent that form.
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