New York hospitals illegally billed rape survivors for their rape kits, then sent debt-collectors after them / Boing Boing
▻https://boingboing.net/2018/11/30/insult-to-injury.html
New York State Attorney General Barbara Underwood has concluded that seven New York hospitals illegally billed rape survivors for their rape kits, at least 200 times, for sums ranging from $46 to $3,000, and then sent collections agents after survivors who could not pay.
New York law requires hospitals to bill the state’s Office of Victim Services for rape kits; in addition to ensuring that rape kits are available regardless of ability to pay, the rule clears an impediment to reporting rape: women who bill their insurance for rape kits may fear stigma from their employers or families.
The seven hospitals did not comply with the law, nor did they inform the survivors of their rights — another legal obligation.