7 On Your Side: Fixing an $81,000 medical bill mix-up

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Any trip to the doctor or hospital can be expensive, with bills piling up quickly.

One local man was told he owed tens of thousands of dollars, and even though his insurance paid their part, the hospital still came after him for money.

Caring for an aging parent is no picnic, but this bill was going to break the bank. And for years, no one could figure out where the breakdown was coming from or why.

Vince Attanasio's four daughter love to reminisce about when their big-hearted, loveable dad was younger.

"He was the hit of the block," daughter Donna Rosone said. "On Mischief Night, he would come out with the egg and chase the kids all around the neighborhood."

Sadly, Attanasio lost one of his legs to diabetes, when the other got infected, his doctor tried to save it by sending him to a hyperbaric chamber to promote healing.

"We used to take him to there," daughter Candace Mastropierro said. "And you'd have to sit there...half hour, 45 minutes.

Attanasio went from Care One in Teaneck to Englewood Hospital every day for the treatment.

The chamber cost a whopping $2,700 per visit, and Attanasio's other leg had to be amputated anyway. Then came the shocker, as he was billed for the entire amount -- $81,000.

His daughters tried to resolve it.

"Care One was supposed to work with Englewood Hospital or vice versa to work out a payment agreement, and it was never done," Rosone said.

Medicare said they weren't liable, and while the wait dragged on, collection notice after collection notice arrived in the mailbox. The aggravating sky-high hospital bills kept coming, and the daughters say Care One stopped communicating.

The sisters say the company stopped answering calls for the dilemma, dating back three years this June.

So 7 On Your Side got in touch with Care One and the hospital, and within days, the situation was resolved.

"'I apologize for the inconvenience and the added stress to you and your family,'" Rosone said.

Care One left a message assuring collections would be called off, and Englewood Hospital called to say the open $81,000 account was closed and paid in full.

"Thank you, 7 On Your Side, for easing my burden," Attanasio said.

And that made for one happy family and giddy girls.

"You did in...a week what we couldn't do in three years," Rosone said.

Englewood Hospital apologized for any confusion, with a representative saying it regrets that Attanasio's bill was outside typical processing time. Care One blamed a communication breakdown between the parties involved and promised to help repair any damages to any credit ratings.