Medical Bill Debt
Date: Mon, 05/16/2011 - 19:40
Hi,
I have a unique situation, I used ER services last year from a medical center in FL. I have full medical insurance from my employer and I provided all the details to the Hospital. Now after 8 Month , on April 26 a collection agency called me about a debt of 7000 dollars as the medical bill resulted from Emergency services.
Apparently the insurance company denied the claim as a third party claim because of lack of documentation from my side.
Now the unfortunately thing in the whole situation is that neither the Hospital nor the insurance company had my correct address on file. So all the bills sent by the hospital were basically undelivered and I did not receive any request for documentation from the insurance company either. And even though they all have my cell number on file no body called me to notify of the same.
During the 8 months I received no phone call from either the hospital or the insurance company or the collection agency about the debt. Until April 26 I was unaware of this debt. The collection agent now says I have till 20th may to pay the debt or the account will be reported as charged off to my credit report.
So I called the insurance company and provided them the necessary documentation and they are now re-processing the claim. But the collection agency is not ready to wait and is threatening me that the account will be reported as charged off in my credit report. Even though I gave them the assurance that the insurance company is reprocessing the claim asap.
What should I do now, I do not want to pay the collection agency for sure. I will rather pay all my bills to the Hospital and then deal with the insurance company later. What I am not sure if the insurance company will issue a payment against the claim to my account after i settle the bills. I guess I am going to call my insurance tomorrow and find that out.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated
regards,
Sumeet
I have a unique situation, I used ER services last year from a medical center in FL. I have full medical insurance from my employer and I provided all the details to the Hospital. Now after 8 Month , on April 26 a collection agency called me about a debt of 7000 dollars as the medical bill resulted from Emergency services.
Apparently the insurance company denied the claim as a third party claim because of lack of documentation from my side.
Now the unfortunately thing in the whole situation is that neither the Hospital nor the insurance company had my correct address on file. So all the bills sent by the hospital were basically undelivered and I did not receive any request for documentation from the insurance company either. And even though they all have my cell number on file no body called me to notify of the same.
During the 8 months I received no phone call from either the hospital or the insurance company or the collection agency about the debt. Until April 26 I was unaware of this debt. The collection agent now says I have till 20th may to pay the debt or the account will be reported as charged off to my credit report.
So I called the insurance company and provided them the necessary documentation and they are now re-processing the claim. But the collection agency is not ready to wait and is threatening me that the account will be reported as charged off in my credit report. Even though I gave them the assurance that the insurance company is reprocessing the claim asap.
What should I do now, I do not want to pay the collection agency for sure. I will rather pay all my bills to the Hospital and then deal with the insurance company later. What I am not sure if the insurance company will issue a payment against the claim to my account after i settle the bills. I guess I am going to call my insurance tomorrow and find that out.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated
regards,
Sumeet
Yes, you have to contact the insurance company regarding this is
Yes, you have to contact the insurance company regarding this issue. Some times the collection agencies creates extra pressure on the consumers to collect money. If the account has really been assigned to the CA, then you need to deal with them. You can also contact the hospital authority directly and request them to withdraw the account from the CA. Then you can deal with the hospital authority directly. Try to settle the debt before the account gets charged-off.
