Thread: BIL Just received collection notice this week on medical bill, advice please

I was speaking with my brother in-law regarding my credit repair project posted on here a couple of days ago and the good advice I was receiving and he told me he has a recent credit issue and asked me based on the advice I've received what I thought. I told him I had no clue but I'd be happy to post on here and see of I could get him some advice.

He has a medical bill (hospital) of about $4,000 that just went to collections last week. He had no communication with the hospital regarding the bill during their attempt to collect and received a letter from a CA this past week that they were attempting to collect the debt. He confirmed the debt is no longer with the hospital as he called them about it and they said there was nothing they could do as it had been turned over to collections.

He has no way of paying this amount so what are his options? Reading on this forum it doesn't look like debt collectors really like to go on payment plans so is his only option to tell the collection agency he cannot pay and let them take him to court? Based on some information I read somewhere (may have been here) I told him not to call the collection agency, only communicate in writing and to wait until I post her to see if we can get him some advice.

Does he have any options with this being such a recent debt and not having hit his credit report yet (letter states it will hit 30 days from the letter was dated 5/7/2012)? He's asked me if I could loan him the money but I really want to avoid doing that, however, going through my own clean-up right now part of me wants to help him so he's not having to clean-up like I am down the road. Options?

Thanks in advance!

It's really a shame that this just went to collections. Hospitals are usually accommodating when it comes to structuring payment plans, but once it gets into the hands of the CA things become so much more difficult.

Anyway, I doubt the hospital has sold the debt already. If they haven't, I would reach back out the hospital and try to work my way up the ladder to a supervisor of some sort in their billing department. If you can get to someone who has the authority to pull the account back from collections so you can work directly with the hospital to make payment, that would be ideal. The first person you talk with will almost always say it can't be done, but it can.

BIL called hospital and was able to speak with the dept. manager and she said there was nothing she could do for him as it has been turned over to collections. I too wish and wonder why he didn't just reach out to them and ask for payment plan, duh!

So, what's our next step? Will the CA take a payment plan and not report to CRA while he's paying? Or, if I decide to loan him the money can offer CA a settlement offer in exchange for them not reporting to CRA? If yes, what % should he offer and should he just modify one of the existing goodwill letters to fit his needs? Thanks again for all the help.

There really is no hard and fast route that it will take or won't take.

There are some CAs that logic will defy trying to figure out why they do anything that they do. Then there are others that will actually think things over logically.

Something that I've done in the past when I was never billed by the hospital (because I never wanted *THAT* hospital to touch me with a 2000 mile pole) is escalated the dispute higher within the company that runs the hospital.

After receiving my letter which included things like the fact that in essence the hospital held me hostage in the ER, despite repeatedly telling them that I was not giving them permission to treat me, they realized that billing me for treatment that they never actually provided, because it was refused, and being forced upon me anyhow, probably wasn't in their best interest, just in case I would pile on a sue them for false imprisonment, kidnapping, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and the CA who they hired for many other things... :) (Any wonder why the CA jumped back off of that file faster than anything... - hint this CA may be stupid (as in, stupid enough to be the recipient of one of the largest FTC suits, in history), but they're not *THAT* stupid.)

Were there any service issues with the hospital stay?

Does he even know anything about the particular hospital bill that it's about?

Explore why he didn't get anything from the hospital, did they just not send bills, did the bills get mailed to the wrong address?

Trying to find the contact information to the CEO of the hospital, or for a hospital 'chain' may help you to get it to someone who can make a different decision than the manager.

Spoke w/BIL over the weekend. He is going to write CA a letter offering them 50% to settle debt if they will agree not to submit to CRA's. Asked if I'd loan him the money and told him only if he lowers his first offer to 25%. Said he would. For some reason he's reluctant to place additional calls to the hospital, not quite sure what that's about. I even offered to call on his behalf and he declined. Anyone have a suggestion on a letter template I could use to settle a debt that has not yet been reported to CRA?

Thanks in advance

BIL is now receiving calls from CA. Based on what I've read here I told him not to take the calls, that we need to write the letter and send it certified mail. I've also read it's best to send these types of letters towards the end of the month as the account managers have monthly goals they're trying to hit and your chances of them accepting at the end of the month vs. beginning are somewhat greater. Any truth to this?

Lastly any recommendations on a letter template to start with would be greatly appreciated. Probably need to get the letter in the mail by tomorrow for them to receive and reply in time.

Originally Posted by smr2001

BIL is now receiving calls from CA. Based on what I've read here I told him not to take the calls, that we need to write the letter and send it certified mail. I've also read it's best to send these types of letters towards the end of the month as the account managers have monthly goals they're trying to hit and your chances of them accepting at the end of the month vs. beginning are somewhat greater. Any truth to this?

Lastly any recommendations on a letter template to start with would be greatly appreciated. Probably need to get the letter in the mail by tomorrow for them to receive and reply in time.

Yes, I would recommend avoiding a conversation on the phone. I would avoid using templates too for your letter.

Write the letter in your own words and keep it simple. Make your offer in exchange for nothing being reported to the CRAs, and send it CMRRR. Good luck, and keep us posted on how things play out!

Well CA rejected his offer saying that the hospital already wrote of several thousands of dollars. I looked into this and what they wrote off was a contractual amount per-negotiated with his insurance company, had nothing to do with his account going to collections. Hope this makes sense, bottom-line, the amount they're collecting IS what he owed. They said they'd put him on a 6 month payment plan but he'll incur fees and interest AND it will go on his CR?

They will report this to the credit reporting agency's on July 1. Anyone have any suggestions? HELP!!!

Now this is what *I* would do, if it were me personally... I will say that I am probably more aggressive than most...

I would argue that the CA (please say that they put into writing, "we won't negotiate, the hospital already wrote off several thousands of dollars") as you found out that was a legally obligated adjustment to comply with their contract with the insurance company.

My angle would be to actually attack CA with a FDCPA lawsuit for making a false and misleading representation that "the hospital already wrote off several thousands of dollars" (due to the collection)... CC:ing the highest people at the hospital, that if this account is not recalled, *I* would pursue legal actions against the hospital for the misrepresentation of their legal contractual obligations to the insurance company, for performance of their duties under the binding and legal contract with the insurance company, as being related to the alleged delinquency of the account.

This (a) gives the OC a reason to want to recall the account, (b) hangs the CA out to dry to be sued for an account that they no longer have, so they're in the position to lose $1,000 and gain nothing.

Originally Posted by smr2001

Well CA rejected his offer saying that the hospital already wrote of several thousands of dollars. I looked into this and what they wrote off was a contractual amount per-negotiated with his insurance company, had nothing to do with his account going to collections. Hope this makes sense, bottom-line, the amount they're collecting IS what he owed. They said they'd put him on a 6 month payment plan but he'll incur fees and interest AND it will go on his CR?

They will report this to the credit reporting agency's on July 1. Anyone have any suggestions? HELP!!!

I like the idea of continuing to push this further up the ladder at the hospital. If the debt hasn't been sold, I still think you can convince them to pull it back from collections if you were to get the right hospital admin/executive involved. In the meantime, you can keep pushing back on the CA too. You've still got time. I wouldn't agree to any type of a payment plan either. Pay it off in a lump sum, but you might have to raise your offer if you're only at the 25% mark right now.