Man Charged for Not Paying Full Medical Bill, Police Say

A man who has been a New York transit employee for 25½ years has been charged locally because he still owes more than half of a $39,130 bill for surgery done on his daughter three years ago by an area medical group, according to court records.

A criminal complaint says Bruce Johnson, 48, of Albrightsville (Carbon County) received full payment from his insurance company but paid only $18,000 to the Northwood Surgery Center of Lower Nazareth Township and refuses to pay the balance.

The complaint, filed by Colonial Regional Det. Michael Munch, gives the following timeline:

—May 7, 2010. Northwood Surgery Center, 3729 Easton-Nazareth Highway (Route 248), treats Johnson’s daughter, whose age was not given. The bill is $39,130. The complaint does not specify the nature of the surgery.

—October 2010. Johnson deposits into his account a check for $39,130 he received from Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield. The complaint says the check “was to be forwarded” to the surgery center.

—December 2010. Johnson makes an $18,000 payment to the surgery center.

—Surgery center staff “repeatedly” contacts Johnson, requesting he pay the balance, $21,300. “Johnson refused to pay,” the complaint says. It does not say why Johnson has refused to pay.

The complaint was filed May 23. An arrest warrant for Johnson was approved the same day.

An information sheet in Johnson’s file lists as his place of employment “N.Y. Transit” in Brooklyn and says he has worked there for 25½ years. It’s not clear if that is the same organization as the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) that serves the New York area.

He was charged with theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, a level-three felony.

He was arraigned at 3 a.m. Thursday by on-duty District Judge Robert Hawke of Lehigh Township and released on $15,000 unsecured bail.