Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/23/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Salem Regional Medical Center does not offer online billing. All of their billing tells you to go online. However, you can not do anything online for billing. You have to call and wait for them to call back. When making a payment plan you have to call in and get every single bill added. You can not pay online. You have to mail in or call a payment in. I have a payment plan set up and still get final notices for bills. When I called about it I was told all of my bills are on my payment plan. However, I got a letter that they sent me to collections for not making payments. If I was able to do it online like all of their stuff says I could have seen bills not being paid despite them telling me I was fine. Now I am in collections. They have been telling me for years they will get their online system fixed and have not. Yet keep advertising for online billing. Its a lie and false advertising.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/03/2025

  Salem Regional Medical Center acknowledges receipt of Complaint ID: ******** and sincerely regrets the frustration and inconvenience the individual has experienced with our billing processes. We take all patient feedback seriously, and we are committed to providing clear,accessible, and accurate financial services.
  We understand the patients concerns regarding our online billing capabilities. We sincerely apologize for any confusion caused by our current communication regarding online payment options. We recognize that our current online portal does not fully support all billing functionalities.Specifically, we are aware that patients with accounts linked to both the hospital and our employed physician group (****************************) may encounter issues where the "Make Payment" button does not appear, and a message stating "Note: If you don't see the 'Make Payment' button on your screen or have difficulty paying your bill online, you can pay your bill by calling ****'s ***************************** at **************" is displayed instead. We are actively working on significant upgrades to our patient portal and billing system to enhance transparency and provide comprehensive online services. While these improvements are a priority, we acknowledge that the current limitations have caused frustration, and we apologize for not meeting the patients expectations in this regard.
  Regarding the patients concern about needing to request every account be added to the payment plan, we do have to request that since we cannot assume the individual wants all accounts on a payment plan. We are particularly concerned to learn about the discrepancy between the assurances given regarding the payment plan and the subsequent collection notice. Our investigation shows that the accounts linked to the **************************** were not included in the payment plan. We will pull these accounts from collections and reach out to the patient to add these to the payment plan.  
  We are dedicated to improving our patient experience,and feedback like this is invaluable in helping us identify areas for improvement. We appreciate the opportunity to address this complaint through the Better Business Bureau.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/08/2025

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

  Regards,

  ***** *********

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/30/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  see Attached document

  Business Response

  Date: 05/30/2023

  We appreciate the concerns raised by the individual regarding the charge for an injection into the hip bursa in September 2022.  The individual was concerned because the injection was charged as a surgical procedure and noted that satisfactory resolution would be to bill according to an injection charge without surgery. The bill was reviewed, and the hip injection was coded with CPT 20610. CPT
  (Current Procedural Terminology) codes are uniform codes provided by the
  American Medical Association to describe medical procedures and services. The CPT 20610 description is “arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection, major joint or bursa
  (eg. Shoulder, hip, knee, subacromial bursa); without ultrasound guidance.” The charge for the injection is correctly coded. Injection coding can be confusing, because they are considered "surgical procedures" for billing purposes. Of note, the total charge of $684 was actually less than the charge for a bursa injection she sent from the comparison hospital ($730 in December 2022). 

   

   

   

  Business Response

  Date: 06/08/2023

  Salem Regional Medical Center has submitted a response and/or proposal to resolve this complaint. The details are as follows:
  
  
  
  

   Our response, based on the person’s request to see an itemized accounting of the charges:

  We would be happy to have a patient accounting representative review the breakdown of charges and provide a copy to the individual.  The number to contact for this is (330) 332-7601.

   
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/08/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID 20119782, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of my decision appear below.
  
  
  While I would like to see the breakdown, the fact that $239.12 was for a tendon injection as per Southwoods billing. I may need to turn this in to Medicare to let them see the issue as it appears to me I am being over charged as that is not the procedure I had done at Salem Regional Hospital. $45.88 is the amount charged for the bursa injection. 

  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  Kathy Paden