I've had about 6 accounts go into collections. They are all hospital bills. I thought at the time my insurance covered the majority of those visits seeing how I had coverage but I guess they didnt. My credit has been severely ruined b/c of these accounts dispute the fact I have a mortgage, auto loans & credit cards all in good standing. I want to settle the collections accounts but I'm curious on the repercutions of settling. The oldest account is from 2002 & the newest one being in 04/2006. They are relatively small totaling only about $2500. What recommendations do you guys have? I really dont feel I should pay something my health insurance should have paid. But I want to fix this since I've ignored it for so long. I'm clueless when it comes to this stuff! Please Help!!
2007-01-23 07:07:42 · 4 answers · asked by karma_0125 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
You don't feel you should pay something that your insurance 'should have paid'.
Unfortunately you dropped the ball - if there was confusion as to whether or not your insurance should have paid something, the time to do somethign about it was then - not expecting it to magically disappear just because you 'thought they would pay it'.
Settling them completely will at least make it to where when you apply for a loan or something that you can at least say 'they are all paid off'.
With that said - if you start making payments on them, it will bring them current, and can actually hurt your credit more. But at if you really want to fix it, at least its the first step towards getting rid of them.
Sorry to be so harsh - at least they are doctor bills, and don't collect any interest!!
Good luck!!
2007-01-23 07:15:08 · answer #1 · answered by superfunkmasta 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should probably get a lawyer's advice. My guess is that if they are already in collections, your credit is going to be affected whether you pay in full or not. So, if they are willing to take less money, and you can confirm that doing so will end the matter, it might be in your best interest.
But, if you say that your insurance should have paid, why are you not taking it up with them? Do you mean in your opinion they should have paid, or does your policy state that you received covered services which they just did not pay? You can appeal that and once that is taken care of, your credit can be restored.
2007-01-23 15:14:27 · answer #2 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. Pay the bills. Pay them now. If you don't have the full amount, call the creditors and work out a payment plan. You are only hurting yourself at this point.
2. If you feel you should have been covered by insurance, appeal. Call the insurance company with the details of the charges, they will tell you your policy details. If it was denied in error, they will reimburse you.
2007-01-23 15:12:30 · answer #3 · answered by dancin thru life 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have two options: talk to your insurance company and find out why they didn't pay the claims or just pay them yourself.
2007-01-23 15:12:04 · answer #4 · answered by leaptad 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋