MID-HUDSON – Red Hook resident Ben Blatt has spent the last four months trying to figure out why a routine, physical therapy session left him nearly a thousand dollars in debt.
Since 2023, the 47-year-old father of one, who works full time as an art fabricator, has been managing complications related to Lyme Disease with the help of a physical therapist at Access Physical Therapy and Wellness in Kingston.
“My therapist has been a miracle worker and essential to my recovery,” said Blatt. “But, then, one day last year, I received this bill.”
The bill was from Montefiore: University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine and showed a balance of over $800 for his most recent, 30-minute physical therapy session.
The same session at the same facility previously cost Blatt $0 with his Oxford United Healthcare insurance.
“I thought it must be a billing error,” said Blatt.
He reached out to Access who told him this was a new contracted rate in effect, since Montefiore partnered with them in 2025. His bill included hospital outpatient facility fees that didn’t exist before the partnership.
What followed were weeks of unreturned phone calls, emails and fruitless attempts on Blatt’s part to connect with Montefiore, his insurance company and state regulators, to understand why the contracted rate for his service went from $196 to $1,800 in less than a year.
Blatt says he was never informed in advance that the billing structure had changed or that hospital outpatient facility fees would apply to insured visits.
New York Public Health Law § 2830 requires hospitals and health systems to provide patients with written notice of such an increase at least seven days in advance of a scheduled visit.
On February 6, Blatt filed a complaint with the New York Attorney General’s Office and then reached out to Mid-Hudson News to ask for help resolving the matter.
Last week, Mid-Hudson News called Montefiore to investigate further. Within two days of our first inquiry, Montefiore emailed Blatt an updated bill. They reduced his balance to just $125—the self-pay, out of pocket rate–but with no explanation.
Montefiore responded to our inquiries through an outside public affairs representative, who sent us a link to their website and the following statement.
“We strive to ensure all patients are always made aware of any upcoming changes to their care. Patients were in fact informed about our collaboration with ACCESS PT in advance through multiple channels, including signage in English and Spanish placed in the locations prior to the go-live of our relationship in February 2025. Additionally, patients were verbally informed and required to complete an electronic signature acknowledging the collaboration.
Montefiore said they could not confirm whether Blatt had signed an acknowledgement.
Although Blatt is relieved to have his debt forgiven, he believes the public should be aware of this protective law.
“Hospitals continue to acquire small community clinics, hitting patients with astronomical facility fees through insurance billing structures, even though we see the same providers in the same locations without any upgrades to those facilities that we’ve trusted for years,” said Blatt. “Most people have no idea this is happening until the bill arrives.”
Montefiore says it is “collaborating” with Motion PT Group, which runs outpatient clinics in Fishkill, Newburgh, Carmel and other locations throughout the Hudson Valley and owns Access PT in Kingston.
Blatt says he is waiting for a response to his complaint with the Attorney General’s office.