Riverside County Health Officials warn of vaccine billing error

Riverside University Health System Medical Center and Community Health Center’s patient accounts department has been notified of the COVID-19 vaccine and/or testing appointment billing error and wants to assure community members that all vaccinations and testing appointments are given at no cost to the community. On March 8 through March 22, some patients who received COVID-19 vaccinations/and or COVID-19 testing at the Riverside University Health System Medical Center, or at a Riverside University Health System’s Community Health Center, received bills for the service. Invoices were sent out to patients due to a system error. A total of 5,815 patients were impacted. On March 22, all erroneous charges have been removed, and affected patient’s accounts have been appropriately updated. Additionally, on March 22, the patients’ account department fixed the technical error, ceasing further impact on any future patients. "We truly apologize for any inconvenience this error has caused," said Joe Zamora, Chief Finance Officer for Riverside University Health System Medical Center. "All COVID-19 vaccines or tests are free of charge to the community." Affected patients should soon receive communication in the form of a call, text or letter confirming that they were sent a bill in error and that their account was fixed. The Riverside University Health System’s customer service department will ensure those who paid the bill are swiftly reimbursed. However, if a community member has received a bill and did not receive communication about it being corrected, please call the Riverside University Health System’s Customer Service Line at 951-486-5367, Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.