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| Name | Sexual assault victims can face large medical bills |
| Video Uploader | Video From LOCAL 12 |
| Upload Date | This Video Uploaded At 20-11-2014 13:07:03 |
| Video Discription | YOUR DESCRIPTION HAS REACHED THE LIMIT OF CHARACTERS ALLOWED AND WAS CUT. UNDATED (CBS News) -- A week before Christmas 2013 Christine, a sexual assault forensic nurse from suburban Chicago, went out for a night of dinner and drinks with friends. It was a night that forever changed her life. "I don't remember anything after leaving the dinner portion," Christine told CBS News. "I woke up naked and I don't remember anything else after that." She was a victim of sexual assault, and would feel victimized again by the hospital where she received a forensic medical exam, commonly known as a rape kit. At her request, CBS News is withholding Christine's last name because she was the victim of a violent crime. "The next day I got my first bill for my copay," Christine said through tears. "The bills just kept coming after that." The bills should have never come. Illinois has a voucher system that pays for medical expenses not covered by insurance incurred up to 90 days following a sexual assault. Since 2005, the federal Violence Against Women Act has prohibited sexual assault survivors from being billed for the forensic collection of evidence, including copays. VAWA requires that the exam, at a minimum, include assessing physical trauma, determination of penetration or force, a patient interview and the collection of evidence. But, sexual assault victim advocates say, the medical guidelines for the rape exam goes beyond what the law provides for. Who pays for that treatment varies by state and at times, county by county. Victims' advocates in 13 states told CBS News that there were issues with billing for services related to a sexual assault forensic exam in their state. Stretching coast to coast, those advocates described a hodgepodge of laws that for some victims means a rape kit and the associated medical treatment come at a price. "When you keep getting revictimized once a month you get a reminder in the mail, hey you were raped, hey this happened, you know, it's hard to move on," said Christine. For Christine, the horror of her assault was made worse by the medical bills that kept coming. She was unable to get out of bed for months. The hospital threatening to send her to collections if she didn't pay was the very same hospital where she'd worked on crafting a sexual assault response protocol. "It becomes extremely devastating for them and oftentimes triggers reliving the assault itself or the forensic-medical exam," said Sarah Layden, Director of Advocacy Services at Rape Victim Advocates in Chicago. RVA says it receives as many as six calls a month from survivors of sexual assault who wrongly receive bills. The organization says the errant billing happens at hospitals across the state and at some with regularity. "It is very common for a survivor to get a bill," Layden said during an interview with CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave. "We have a full time staff advocate who spends the bulk of their time helping clients resolve bills." The Illinois Department of Public Health says in a statement to CBS News it investigates complaints of patient billing. It requires hospitals found to be out of compliance to provide "evidence of its billing policy and how the hospital will make its system better moving forward." Earlier this year, reports surfaced of rape victims in Louisiana receiving large medical bills after seeking a rape kit at state-owned LSU Hospitals. Operations of those hospitals had recently been turned over to a private company that ended the state's practice of writing off those related charges. "For two nights in a row, I was raped and sexually assaulted, most of which I don't remember," a college student, whose name was withheld, tol |
| Category | News & Politics |
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