Complain about a product or service

Heart Attack Victim Hounded For $5 Co-Pay

Receptionist tries to collect as patient is carried out by paramedics

February 5, 2008

• Russert Death Has Americans Questioning Their Health • Many Cardiac Patients Don't Know Heart Attack Symptoms • Women Less Likely to Spot Heart Attack Warning Signs • Worst Time to Have a Heart Attack? • Children Face Increased Heart Risks • Heart Attack Victim Hounded For $5 Co-Pay • Heart, Stroke Death Rates Show Steady Decline • High Heart Attack, Stroke Risk in Aspirin-Resistant Patients • Calcium Supplements May Increase Older Women's Heart Risk • Hospitals Slow to Start Defibrillation • Heart Attack Symptoms May Differ in Women • Winter is Prime Time for Heart Attacks • Men More Likely To Change Unhealthy Habits Than Women • Study Evaluates U.S. News Hospital Ratings • Study: Obese Heart Attack Patients More Likely to Survive • Long-Term Aspirin Use May Reduce Heart-Related Deaths in Women • New Guidelines on Women's Lifetime Heart Risk • Women's Heart Risk Factors Need Updating • Midday Napping May Reduce Heart-Attack Risk • Women's Heart Disease Often Goes Undetected • MRI May Provide Early Warning Of Heart Attack • A Good Night's Sleep Essential to Heart Health • Simple Blood Test Might Warn Heart Attack & Stroke Victims • Cutting Job Stress Cuts Heart Risk • Hospitals Vow to Improve Heart Attack Response Time • Older Painkillers May Increase Heart Attack Risk • tudy Finds Aspirin Still Tops in Heart Attack & Stroke Prevention --- • More Health News ...

Barbara Antonelli, a 76-year old widow from Staten Island, New York, went to her doctor complaining of chest pains. Her doctor diagnosed a heart attack and called 9-1-1.

Paramedics, who quickly arrived on the scene, placed Antonelli on a gurney, inserted a breathing tube, and were about to wheel her to the ambulance so she could be rushed to the hospital.

But not so fast.

The doctor's office receptionist told Antonelli she owed a $5 co-pay for the office visit, and she wasn't leaving until she paid.

At least, that's Antonelli's story, as told to the New York Daily News.

"You can't even get a book of stamps for that price. I was outraged, she fumed to the Daily News. "It was the most heartless, unthinkable thing to do. They were putting money on top of a person's life."

Antonelli says she had to rustle through her purse to find a $5 bill before she could head for the emergency room. "I could have dropped dead," she told the paper.

The Staten island Physician Practice, the office where the incident occurred, isn't disputing the main elements of Antonelli's story. The doctor who called the ambulance said the overzealous receptionist would be reprimanded, but he would not divulge her name.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.