New York Attorney General Letitia James says that her office has secured over $6.9 million in refunds and $7 million in canceled debt from CityMD, a popular urgent care provider with over 140 locations in New York, for patients who were wrongfully billed for COVID-19 testing at the height of the pandemic.
An Office of the Attorney General (OAG) investigation revealed that CityMD improperly billed its patients for COVID-19 tests, sometimes issuing bills up to two years after services were provided and even threatening to escalate overdue bills to debt collection.
James said CityMD issued these bills despite knowledge of state and federal laws that protected patients from being billed for COVID-19 testing during the pandemic.
As a result of OAG’s enforcement, CityMD has canceled more than $7 million in outstanding COVID-19 testing bills for over 87,000 patients and refunded nearly $7 million to over 215,000 patients who already paid.
“New Yorkers should never have to worry about unexpected medical bills, especially during a public health crisis,” said Attorney General James. “CityMD’s actions added unnecessary stress and financial burdens to patients seeking essential COVID-19 testing at the height of the pandemic.
“I am proud to have secured millions of dollars in refunds for impacted individuals, and I encourage anyone who believes they’ve been a victim of fraudulent medical billing practices to file a complaint with my office,” she added.
James said the OAG opened an investigation in October 2022 after receiving numerous complaints about CityMD charging patients for COVID-19 tests.
She said that the investigation revealed that between March 2020 and November 2022, CityMD billed and collected payment from thousands of New Yorkers for COVID-19 testing services, with many bills being issued nearly two years after the service date.
James said the OAG also found that CityMD continued this practice despite knowing that New York and federal law prohibited health plans from charging co-pays and deductibles for medically necessary COVID-19 testing and related services or visits during the public health emergency.
Based on CityMD’s website and assurances by staff when tests were performed, the attorney general said patients understood they would not face out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 testing services.
She said CityMD did not include a clearly posted cash price for COVID-19 testing services on its website.
James said many patients who tried to report concerns or complaints regarding testing bills to CityMD found it difficult to contact the company.
When these patients were able to reach CityMD, she said the company often refused to amend previously issued COVID-19 testing bills.
As a result of the OAG investigation, the New York Attorney General said CityMD had issued $6,910,986 in refunds to 215,819 patients and recalled $7,026,668 in outstanding medical bills for 87,334 patients.
She said CityMD mailed and emailed all impacted patients a letter notifying them of the refunds and debt cancellations and posted notices on its website and social media.
Moving forward, James said CityMD must ensure its COVID-19 test billing practices comply with the law, provide transparent pricing for COVID-19 testing services on its website, and continue cooperating with OAG to address any COVID-19 testing-related consumer complaints.
She said CityMD will pay the State of New York $95,000 in penalties and has agreed to pay an additional $5,000 per violation for any future violations or failure to implement the required programmatic updates.
James said if a patient believes they have been a victim of misleading billing practices, they should contact the OAG Health Care Bureau online or call 1-800-428-9071.
