Hosps slammed for vics’ rape-exam bills

Seven New York hospitals were cited Thursday by the state attorney general for charging rape victims for their necessary medical exams.

The facilities entered into a settlement with Attorney General Barbara Underwood after being called out for the illegal practice.

The improper billing ranged from $46 to $3,000.

The hospitals agreeing to the settlement are: Brookdale, Columbia University, Montefiore Nyack, New York-Presbyterian/ Brooklyn Methodist, NewYork-Presbyterian/ Columbia University Irving, Richmond University and St. Barnabas.

“Survivors of sexual assault have already gone through unfathomable trauma; to then subject them to illegal bills and collection calls is unconscionable,” Underwood said.

State law requires that hospitals furnish forensic rape examinations to any sexual-assault survivor without charge and instead bill the state Office of Victim Services directly. Or the sexual-as- sault survivor could voluntarily opt to assign the costs to private insurance.

Providing free and confidential exams bolsters the likelihood that a survivor will provide the evidence that helps cops identify the sex abusers and rapists.

The probe of hospitals’ improper billing of sex-assault victims follows last year’s settlement with Brooklyn Hospital in Fort Greene, which was launched after Underwood’s office received a complaint that a victim was billed seven separate times for a forensic rape exam administered in the hospital’s emergency room.

That prompted the AG’s office to launch a statewide investigation, which found “pervasive failures” to advise patients of their payment options, and widespread illegal billing of sexual-assault survivors.

The ongoing probe has already revealed at least 200 unlawfully billed exams at the seven hospitals that settled.

Under the terms of the agreements, the hospitals must implement written policies to ensure that sexual-assault survivors do not receive bills for their rape examinations in the future, and provide full restitution to any improperly billed sexual-assault survivors.

The hospitals will also pay penalties of $10,000 to $15,000.

Victims-rights groups were appalled by the findings. NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault executive director Mary Haviland said she thought it was an “isolated case” when the group informed the AG’s office about a survivor who had been wrongly billed for an exam.