Northwell Health is on the hook for more than $1 million after New York Attorney General Letitia James claims they were deceptively advertising their emergency rooms as COVID testing sites, then charging patients for an ER visit.     According to James’ office, Northwell has issued more than $400,000 in refunds to patients and must pay a $650,000 fine to the state.  The investigation found that three locations in New York City and on Long Island posted signs between March 2020 and March 2021 advertising ER departments as COVID testing sites. 

James said in a release, “Today we are putting money back in New Yorkers’ pockets after Northwell Health misled them. New York patients should not get surprise fees, and I encourage anyone who thinks they’ve been taken advantage of through deceptive advertising to file a complaint with my office.” 

Northwell told News 12 in part in a statement, “These locations also posted signage, written consent forms and other messaging intended to advise patients upfront that they would receive services as emergency department patients. Northwell also implemented broad billing controls that, in the overwhelming majority of cases, succeeded in preventing patients from being billed for COVID-19 testing.”    Northwell says it fully participated with the attorney general’s office and admitted to no wrongdoing as part of the settlement.