What are my rights? (Medical bills and collections)

[Sugar Magnolia]

Backround...ds had therapy for a few months (Speech) our insurance messed up and did not pay a lot of his sessions ($2000). We had an acct with the hospital go to collections, but it got cleared up right away.

Thusrday we got a later saying we owed them (hospital) more money. It said I had 7 days to contact them or our acct. we go to collections again. I called right away and they said they would put our acct on hold while I dealt with the insurance. Well, Saturda dh got a call from the collection agency saying we had to pay by Monday (tomorrow) or this would go on our credit report. I have dealt with insurance problems before, but I am confused this time. The hospital said our acct was fine, but we got a call saying, it was not. The thing is collections said they got our acct on the
20, and the letter I got was dated the 16. I am a little stressed because the collection lady was not nice and the hospital said not to worry on Thursday. I only have a short amount of time to get this all resolved tomorrow. Any advice?

[Tradd]

Sugar Magnolia,

I'm sorry you're having to go through this. No one should. It's very frustrating. The collections agency is probably just BS-ing to call your bluff and get you scared.

Do you have the name of the hospital person who told you it was all cleared up before? Any paperwork from your insurance company that shows it was paid?

I sympathize - truly. In 2004 I had extensive surgery for endometriosis, and had a ton of back & forth with the hospital & insurance on tons of stuff.

HTH!

Hope it goes well tomorrow.

Tradd

[Sugar Magnolia]

Yes, I have her name! I am just confused bc the letter I got said that I had a week to contact them and I did with in the week, but the hospital called the collections before the week was up.

[Tradd]

Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia

Yes, I have her name! I am just confused bc the letter I got said that I had a week to contact them and I did with in the week, but the hospital called the collections before the week was up.

Nothing insurance, collections, or hospital billing departments do EVER makes sense!:

I'd call tomorrow, talk to the lady who said you were all paid up and go from there. Call the MINUTE the department opens.

Good luck!

[Sugar Magnolia]

It seems (I am waiting for a call from a supervisor) that my acct was accidently sent to collections. Can I fight this if its on my credit report? I am so sick about this.

[kama'aina mama]

Don't get an ulcer over this... yes, there are errors on credit reports all the time and they can be fixed. It will particularly easy if the person you are dealing with at the hospital is willing to give you a letter clarifying that it was an error.

[Sugar Magnolia]

That's all it takes. Wow thats easy. Hopefully I can find someone who is helpful. Its like pulling nails to try and get a straight answer!

And I do get stressed way too easily. I had an ulcer when I was 21!

Thanks!

[Penelope]

Just wanted to chime in... we had some similar billing problems when dd was born. I made it a policy to *never* deal with the collection people. I told them I would personally take it up with the hospital. The hospital was the only place with the authority to fix their own mistakes. Plus they arranged very comfortable payment plans with me.

I get that you can't ignore them, but IMO if you're paying for your care, you need to pay the institution, not the bill collectors. IME they will lie and tell you horrible things to get you to pay them. Hugs!

[Sugar Magnolia]

Thanks, I spoke with the head of the hospital billing department and it was their fault. She called the collection company got everything all squared away. It so nice to deal with people who want to help!

[boongirl]

We almost had a similar thing happen to us. Luckily, I caught it in time and it missed going to collections. Our insurance (Premera Blue Cross - which is supposed to be one of the better ones : ) is now constantly handling claims incorrectly. I have to read all the explanation of benefits forms carefully to make sure they are processing them correctly and have had one doc's bills go unpaid for months (they finally caught up last month) because the claims adjusters kept saying they were processing it right and the customer service manager kept telling me they were not (the latte was correct). ARgh! It is mind-boggling!

It sucks and you may end up with this on your credit report but you can have it removed. Take a deep breath and handle the problems one at a time. Good luck!

[wonderwahine]

im having a similar problem right now, my ds's medicaid was supposed to pay out for a nebulizer we had to get him when he had a chest infection at 3mths old..........at 8mths old, they still haven't paid the bill and the pharmacy is telling us if they don't pay up soon, we are liable for the acct.

[karen ann]

Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia

Thanks, I spoke with the head of the hospital billing department and it was their fault. She called the collection company got everything all squared away. It so nice to deal with people who want to help!

Glad this is resolved for you.. Make sure you get a letter from the hospital saying everything is hunky-dory. Check your credit report in 2-3 months, and if anything to do with this is on there, start sending copies of the letter from the hospital.

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

glad you got it taken care of.