Dear Editor:

In response Ms. Nitcholas' letter of a few weeks ago, I too have had the same situation completely surprise me. My family and I have been patients of both Dr. Keller and now Dr. Kerbacher since our move to Fairfield in 1987. I literally have never had a billing or insurance issue until ETMC decided to no longer offer laboratory services at the clinic.

I would think that by now, most ETMC patients know that any lab work is now completed at the hospital lab. I am required to have blood work done quarterly and my last two trips to the hospital were billed to me at a rate of four times, YES, four times that of the bill I received from my lab work at the clinic. To add insult to injury, my insurance company considers the ETMC hospital "Out of Network".

I was assured, by the ETMC billing office in Athens, that a discount would be applied to my bill equal to that of the In Network insurance contract with the clinic. That has not happened. I simply do not understand, nor can I get an explanation from ETMC as to why the clinic is "In Network" and the hospital is

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"Out of Network". Should I require a hospital stay, I will be forced to find an In Network facility elsewhere. How much sense does that make?

Additionally, I am also being forced to find a personal physician elsewhere that uses an In Network lab, giving up a 20-plus year history of medical care from the ETMC staff. The care we receive here at the Fairfield ETMC is superb. The clinic, ER, the hospital, and the staff are second to none for small community facilities, but I would think that the hospital management and the hospital board would revisit their decision regarding the laboratory, as remember, hospital board members are elected.

The ETMC system has been a large part of our life here in Freestone county. I ask that the management of ETMC, re-evaluate the recent decisions made regarding the lab and the network and return to the superb service provider they have been in the past.

One final item. To all of our fellow Freestone county residents, please check with ETMC and your insurance carrier in an attempt to avoid these problems before they happen.

To the medical staff: KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

Sincerely, Mark Palmquist Fairfield