American Collections has me in tears

Next time the collector calls demand a full itemized statement of all services provided, the date they were provided and the cost and then end the conversation. You will need that information to work with your insurance provider. When the collector starts bitching and demanding payment tell them you will have no further conversations until this information is provided to you in writing and hang up. You could send a debt validation letter and maybe get this information in return aswell.

can't you pay them a few bucks a month, and change your phone number?

Since this bill was from a hospital, I would call the hospital's business office (where the billing is done), explain that this bill has gone to collections and a copy was never sent to you and ask that one be sent to you ASAP. You have the right to this information. Tell the hospital that you are being pressured to pay, but you have never seen a bill.
And depending on your son's insurance policy, it is possible that he could have met his cap, which is the max an insurance policy would pay--but you need to check with the insurance carrier for that information. And if this is indeed true, this would likely be stated on the explanation of benefits that the insurance carrier would send you when they take action on your son's claim.
Good luck and let us know what happens, OK?

kscornell is right. Also, with your dispute letter enclude a partial cease communications by saying that you'll only communicate in writing via the mail. Send return receipt. If they call again after getting the letter, sue them. Don't let those clowns get to you (that's what they try to do sometimes). All collectors can do is blow smoke and, some, generally break the law.

I'm so sorry ur going thru all this on top of ur son's illness! Do as stated above and call the hosptial for this account that was turned over to collections and ask for a full itemized bill! U can also send these clowns a debt validatoin letter demanding a break down of charges and dates of services. You can find this in the do it yourself part of the forum and just re word it to fit ur needs!
Good Luck and plz keep us updated and come here anytime u need support!
We're all on ur side!
Ang

I am the benefits representative at my company and I know that the collection agency cannot accept insurance information to re-bill, however, they should have the information on the bills, they are just being ignorant and stupid! Contact the hospital that the service was done at and they will give you an itemized statement if you call their billing department and request it. I would definitely do as Ang suggested and submit a validation letter to the CA just to see what information they actually have that may be able to help you. Call the insurance company (sometimes you can access online) and get copies of ALL EOB's on your son, they will accomodate you on this, trust me! Then you will know what bills they are talking about and what the insurance decision was regarding each one. Most insurance companies have a CAP on a lifetime benefit but usually it is like $1 million, I seriously doubt you have met that, since they exclude any portion of the bill that is considered "non negotiated" fees. That means that if they charge $500 for something but have signed a contract stating that you only pay $150 through your insurance, then the billing physician or hospital eats the remaining $350 and it does not get deducted from your CAP. Anyway, just a bit of information from all the issues I deal with on a daily basis, LOL!!!! 650 employees I do this for! YIKES...gotta love it.

Exactly right Bflow--and if this is true with her insurance group, wouldn't this information be spelled out on the EOB? So the hospital would waive this on the bill--and it never should have gone to collections in the first place.
Several things trouble me about this situation. First, why would the bill have gone to collections without coming to her first--and why wasn't this information spelled out on the EOB. She definately needs to call the hospital ASAP on this one and ask for a validation letter.

Yes, she should have gotten an EOB with everything on it...how much was billed, how much the insurance paid, whether she was responsible for the remaining amount or not, etc. I would call the insurance company that you had at that time and request them.

I have another thought, this may help.

You mentioned that the CA has called you, did they send you anything in writing? Here's what I am thinking--you were told that it is now too late to dispute this. collection agencies are required to notify you in writing of your rights within five days of initial contact with you. Most do not do this. That notice must inform you that you have the right to dispute the debt or any portion thereof, in which case the federal law that we call fdcpa requires them to stop all collection efforts until they provide you with the proper information. This validation will include the bills you are looking for, or it will not be legal validation of the debt.

I can certainly understand how difficult this all must be, but the important thing to remember here is that the laws are there to protect you, and not to protect them. There are definite repercussions to violating the FDCPA, and I think you will be interested in hearing about that...we'll get to that in a second.

I would recommend this---send them a letter. This is known as a debt validation letter, or DV. The DV letter informs them that you request proper validation of the debt as proof that:

1--the debt really is yours
2--the amount they claim you owe is substantiated
3--they have the legal right to collect on this debt.

This letter needs to be sent certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can prove that they got it. Also, you may consider informing them in this letter that, in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they are to cease any and all telephone communications with you, and only contact you via the mail. This is known as a cease and desist, and according to the FDCPA they must honor it.

Ok, I mentioned violations a bit ago...when they told you that you could no longer dispute, they lied. That is a violation. If they do not honor your cease and desist, that is another one. If you send them this letter and they continue to try to collect without sending you validation, that is another violation. All of these violations are something you can actually sue them over....and they will have to pay you $1000 for each violation of this law.

Great information skydivr--
If you currently still live in an area where you have to continue to use this hospital, I would work on this immediately as the hospital has the right to not service you anymore if you have outstanding collections. I know this through my job. Just like any other bill you could owe, they don't give you more credit if you charged off on them before. Especially if you live in a small area like I do. We only have one hospital. So, I would definitely get moving on this one.

Everyone is exactly right here,
But I still think that at least one crucial piece to this story is missing. It really bothers me that she never got a bill before being thrown in collections--and the hospital isn't being more proactive in this case. Especially since part of her claim is being billed to state insurance, and in my experience, any hospital does not want to tick off insurance from any government entitity, be it Medicare or any other governmental insurance. Just my two cents....

Yea but hospitals have there own way of doing billing! We're fighting one now... they make NO sense and seems to me they must have a bookkeeper's nightmare! The heart hospital my hubby goes to, one of the best in the nation, has the MOST screwed up bookkeeping systems i've ever seen! We just got something from them saying if a bill is not paid by a certain date that they will turn it over to collections! (it's already been paid in full) ARGHHHHH! They drive me insane!
Hubby was so upset that he said from now on, when we recieve a bill from them we will NEVER pay it in full again, he said even if it's $35.00 we will send 5 or 10 bux a month and let them pay a cashier $15/per hour to post this payment! They really annoy me! And we've been dealing with this for over 10 years now!
SIGHS!
No wonder health care is SO expensive, the way they handle their billing dept! sheeesshhhhhhhhh
Good Luck though and i'm sure this will all work out!
Ang
P.S. My daughter got a similar call like this and all i did was sent a dv letter and dispute it on her credit report and it was gone! POOF! ;)

Very true, Ang. One of the reasons that the health care system is in crisis in this country is due to antiquated billing systems like the example in this case. We need one standard way to bill for all health care providers, and while I'm on the subject, we need universal healthcare for everyone--so you don't have to chose to pay rent or the MD bill!

I agree ks but it's NEVER been a choice for us... they get what we can send and in the past it's never been a problem but here as of late, they want thier money YESTERDAY! Some are even starting to charge interest charges! YIKES!
Ahhh well my mortage comes first and our basic necessities, medical is last on the list, well except for the monthly payment for insurance! They get what i can send them....
Ang

Thanks so much to everyone. I sent out a letter on Friday, and photocopied it with my scanner before I sent so i could have documentation. My son has a procedure at the hospital tomorrow, so I'm going to find the billing office or medical assistance person in that hospital to help me on this and give me copies of the bills. I never received anything, OR anything from the debt collector-- only this one phone call. I always stay on top of my son's bills because he has several medical issues-- and normally I owe NOTHING since he has 2 insurances. It's normally so easy dealing with it all because our insurance really does pay. That's what's nice about it and why I was so SHOCKED to have gotten this call... almost a YEAR later!! Someone really dropped the ball on this one, and now they are hounding me suddenly. The lady at American Collections is so mean and nasty and I made sure I put everything in the letter-- and how she contradicted herself each time I said something. it makes no sense!
If I have to set up a payment plan, then I'll give them 50 bucks a month for the next 68 months! HUH!

Really hoping I can get some answers this week, last week they made me so stressed about this!

It will all work out in the end. We have some physicians clinics that we own (my hospital) and they're billing is sooooo screwed up that a lot of our employees that go to our company physicians have gotten sent to collections. Of course, when they call the insurance company, they are told that it has been processed and paid but somehow the billing office has gotten so behind that they have either lost checks or they are sitting somewhere unopened at this point. It is a huge mess. Maybe that is all that has happened here. I am hoping for the best for you in this situation. It will all work out in the end, just be persistent. It could all be a misunderstanding. Keep us posted.

And before u pay anything to anyone or even admit to owing this debt, dispute it, make them PROVE what they say u owe! Dont' just take their word for it and then in the end someoen else ends up calling u years down the road saying u now owe them!
It is always best to get a debt validated and make the CA prove they own it!
Good Luck and i'm sure this will all be straightened out and plz know that ur son will be in my thoughts n prayers as he goes thru his procedure tomorrow!
Ang

Right Ang, Definitely validate the debt.
Praying for you and your son as he has his procedure done tomorrow.

Let's all keep priorities straight here. The important thing is that your son is OK and makes it through tomorrow--and then you can work on straightening out that bill. Good luck to you and let us know that things are OK tomorrow!

Thanks everyone! My little guy is one years old, was a preemie born 3 months early. He has a trach and g-tube currently, but in time will grow out of it. Tomorrow he is getting a new g-tube. All should be fine, but thanks for the prayers, we can always use them ;)