Legislators vow to pay rape kit bills

State leaders vowed today to try to find money to pay the hospital bills of patients examined for physical evidence after a rape.

The News & Observer reported today that the vast majority of the 3,000 patients given rape kit exams in emergency rooms over the last year had to shoulder some of the cost of the test. Some are left with several hundred dollars in charges after their private insurance pays or a state program designed to help the uninsured pays out its cap of $1,000.

"There was never an intent to leave women or men with this burden," said Rep. Alice Bordsen, a Democrat from Alamance County who is chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee on Justice and Public Safety. "We have to address this."

Bordsen said she intends to have her committee address the issue this spring when the state General Assembly reconvenes. She hopes to find a way to carve out additional money in short order.

Bordsen said she was surprised to learn that hospitals bill victims for the services. She said private hospitals shouldn't be forced to bear the cost either.

"This is law work. This is a criminal investigation," Bordsen said.

The state offers meager help paying for rape kit exams only to those without health insurance. Even some who qualify for state help end up picking up part of the tab. The program reimburses $1,000 per patient; the average cost of rape kit test is $1,600.

Patients who are privately insured are billed for their co-pay and deductibles. Often, those bills reach several hundred dollars.

One Chatham County woman owed nearly $400 that her parents' insurance wouldn't cover after she was examined at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford in September. On Tuesday, after learning of her case, Central Carolina Hospital executives agreed to forgive her debt and promised to review their policy of billing patients who report they are sexually assaulted.