Patient Billing Update

Published on: March 27, 2026

Samaritan Medical Center wants to provide clarity for patients who have questions about billing statements they received from older dates of service. This situation arose during our recent transition to a new billing partner. We recognize this has caused confusion and concern for some patients, and we sincerely apologize. Samaritan Medical Center is actively working with Kopp Billing Agency to ensure this does not happen in the future. 

Below is more information about the situation and how we plan to move forward.

Why did this happen?
Samaritan Medical Center recently transitioned to a new billing partner, Kopp Billing Agency, to improve the billing process and provide patients with more timely and accurate account information, plus a better customer service experience. During the transition, outstanding balances from our previous billing vendor that had not been sent to patients were transferred to the new billing system.

Why did you change billing vendors?
Samaritan Medical Center transitioned to a new billing partner to improve the patient billing experience. Under the previous billing partner, some accounts were not consistently billed or followed up on, which resulted in some accounts not being addressed for extended periods of time. Transitioning to Kopp Billing Agency will allow us to better track services, resolve balances appropriately and accurately, and provide clearer communication with patients about their accounts.

Why was my account directed to a collections group? 
A number of bills, which had older dates of services but had not previously been billed, were mailed to patients. As part of our standard billing process, we instructed our new billing vendor to send two statements and allow 60 days for payment. In some cases, these accounts were referred to a collections agency if payment did not occur within 60 days.

Collections is a standard part of managing outstanding balances and does not mean patients are being penalized in any way. Our collections vendor works closely with patients to pay outstanding balances as best they can, including providing payment plan options that are tailored to individual financial situations.  If you have been sent to our collections partner CBS Medical Billing and Consulting, you will need to contact them directly at 315-782-1400.

What is Samaritan Medical Center doing to fix this?
Samaritan Medical Center is actively working with Kopp Billing Agency to prevent billing delays and ensure all bills are sent promptly with insurance claims processed first.

What should I do if I have more questions or my statement seems incorrect?
If you received a statement that you believe may be inaccurate, please contact Samaritan’s billing support team directly at 315-786-4900 or [email protected], or Kopp Billing Agency at 315-779-4007 so we can review your account and resolve the matter.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we complete the implementation of our new system and correct any affected accounts. Any accounts impacted by this issue will be reviewed and adjusted as necessary.