My son was hospitalized in 05 and the bills were sent to the ins. co. with me (his mother) as the pt. My ins. co started to pay but then received bills in my sons name. There were many double billing errs. After some time, this mess was rectifyed. My ins. company paid the allowed amts on all hospital and doctor bills and we paid our co-pay.
Time passed, about 8 months, when my son got a call from a collection agent stating he owed more money. When we attempted to get a copy of the billing statement the MD office stated that it had been sent to collection; we should contact them. We have made numerous calls and are always put on hold for an extended perior of time or sent to a full voice mail box. We would pay the amt. if we only knew what we were paying. What recourse do we have? Chris
2007-01-12 17:12:02 · 7 answers · asked by chris k 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Asking a lawyer is the best to do : http://index-go.com/find-a-lawyer.asp
2007-01-12 20:51:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Dumas is right on this one....
Chris, if you follow my instructions this will be resolved easily and quickly. But you need to follow me exactly!
Your first problem is that when dealing with medical bills the law prevents the doctor from disclosing information to the collection agency. So it's not even worth the time talking to the collection agent.
And I can understand the doctors problem. Insurance billing is a terribly complicated issue, and many doctors are forced to hire professionals just to figure it out.
But ultimately it is the patient's responsibility to ensure the bill is paid. Here is what you do:
1) Get the collection agent off your back. Send them a "demand to validate" letter. By law, they MUST supply you with a detailed statement of your bill. This means contracts, bills, receipts, and everything that was used to calculate what they claim you owe them. Remember my first paragraph? Since the doctors office is (by law) prevented from disclosing this, the collection agency will not be able to fulfill the validation demand. Therefore you shut them down completely and they will leave you alone.
Also include in your letter a "cease and desist" demand so they will no longer call you or write to you (except to send you proof of the debt). DO NOT include any explanation of your side of the story, or confirm this is your debt. Simply state that you are disputing it.
2) If you haven't done this yet, check your credit report at http://www.annualcreditreport.com and verify that this debt was not posted to any of them. If so, send a dispute letter to the credit bureau and demand that it be removed.
3) Now the tricky part....do a 3 way call with the insurance company and the doctors office. Get everyone together and figure out what the problem with billing is and who is responsible (it will most likely be the insurance company). Inform them that if this is not resolved, and it effect your credit, they can all be sued under the Fair Debt Collections Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act for a variety of charges. Don't let these jokers off the phone line until it's resolved.
I've helped several people out with similar problems....in all cases it's because the doctor and insurance company are not communicating between each other. Doctor sends insurance form....insurance company holds it a month then returns it for some minor error. After 8 months of this dance the doctor is tired of it and decides to go after the patient..
By the way...how old was your son at the time the services were rendered? Under 18? Point out to all of these parties that he was a minor at the time of service and has no legal obligation to pay these debts. That will get them off your son's case.
2007-01-13 04:55:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It sounds to me like the collectors don't have much interest in taking your call because you've got a small debt. Collectors are paid commission, so if you owed a large amount, they wouldn't want to miss an opportunity for some big money by keeping you on hold. Even though your insurance company paid and you covered the co-pay, you probably are still being held responsible for late fees tacked on by the hospital's billing office and interest that the collection agency has added.
The best thing you can do is to stay on hold until you can talk to someone. Eventually, someone will talk to you. When you call in, you may want to say that you want to take care of your debt today. They may be more likely to take your call if they think they're going to get a quick buck.
By law, a collection agency has to provide you with the summary of charges that was sent to them by the hospital if you request it. They also must provide you with proof that you received the service and agreed to pay for any procedures that insurance would not cover. If you can't speak to anyone at the agency, send them a letter (via certified mail) requesting this information within 30 days. You may want to look up the third party debt collection laws for your state so that you know your rights and can reference them in your letter.
You can also dispute the charges both through the collection agency and the credit bureau. I recommend both, first through the agency and then through the credit bureau.
Good luck. I know how frustrating collection agencies can be...I work for one.
2007-01-12 19:16:36 · answer #3 · answered by Janie O 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Get a copy of your credit report. You can challenge the items as an Insurance error and get them removed.
Write them a letter and get delivery confirmation. That way, they will get ahold of you. By law, they have to show you what the original bill was.
This happened to my husband and I had to do all of the work. The collection agency told me to pay it and get reinbursed by the insurance. Don't do that, you won't get paid back!
If it is on your credit, call the insurance with the date of service and have them investigate why it wasn't paid. Once they pay it, call the collection agency and ask for them to update your credit immediately. Then call the credit report agency and tell them to challenge it as a paid account. After 30 days if there's no update they will delete it! It sounds like alot of hassle...and it is but it's worth the time.
It takes some time, but eventually they will get it together. Good luck!
2007-01-12 17:20:14 · answer #4 · answered by FrazzledMom 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ok this is something that can sometimes be frustrating just because you are dealing with brain dead drones, in a sweat shop. But I digress...
First get a copy of the fair debt collections act. and keep it close next time they call. They don't want to hear you recite the law anymore than you want to hear them demand money for unknown bills. Second, load them up with paperwork. By law they must investigate the validity of your claim within 30 days or drop it. I was sent to collection by a M.D. over a lousy $50. I was in the hospital and it couldn't be explained by anyone. So I sent a letter of dispute. If I owed it I would gladly pay it. But I wanted to know what I was paying for. Three months later I called to inquire about the debt. It was sent back and dropped. Too much trouble for them to even mess with. But hey, 50 bucks buys dinner for either me or a doctor that may or may not be entitled to it.
2007-01-12 17:24:36 · answer #5 · answered by Kari 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Contact the Better Business Bureau.
http://www.bbb.org
They helped me out with collections (who gave me the same kind of run around) and cleared my credit report. You can file the entire report and follow-ups completely on-line.
2007-01-12 17:21:10 · answer #6 · answered by punchy333 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
contest the bills.Dennie owing them and demand they give you copies. get a court order if need be.
If they turn them in to the Credit burrows while being contested they can get into trouble.
2007-01-12 17:17:17 · answer #7 · answered by Robert F 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋