Billing delays cause hassles, but hospitals still have to pay for services provided

A hospital has a contract with the manufacturer to maintain and service copying machines owned by the hospital. The contract calls for the hospital to pay a set minimum monthly fee plus a per-copy charge for all copies made over a set amount. The supplier doesn't furnish any paper products. Recently the hospital received an invoice for 17 months' service. When contacted about this large bill, the supplier told the hospital that it had inadvertently dropped the hospital from its billing computer and had failed to bill the hospital each month. The hospital protested the pressure that this billing practice put upon its budget and asked for an adjustment. The supplier refused to make any adjustment in the amount but did agree to accept the arrears in monthly payments over a year with no interest charges. In this dialogue below, Dr. Decker discusses the legal issues involved in this situation.