I was recently admitted in an emergency room where I was treated and release in one day. A few weeks later I received a bill from the hospital and then a letter from my ins company stating what was paid and what I owe to the hospital. A few weeks after that I received a bill from the doctors that performed the work on me. I then received a statement from my ins. with what I owe and what they paid. The last statement I received from the INS company read as if the bill was completely covered and I only owed money to the hospital. So I ignored the Doctors bill as I thought it was from the hospital and not the Doctors billing separately. About 30 days later I receive a phone call from a collections agency stating I owe 1400 dollars to their client. I never received a phone call or a second bill warning me it was going to collections or anything. We sent a letter with return receipt stating that we do not deal with collection agency's and we will only deal with the original debt company. I called them they stated that I have to deal with the collections agency. I then sent the doctors a check for $100 and they then sent that to the agency to be cashed. I have not heard a single thing in response to the $100 sent them, not a revised bill or anything. What options do I have here?
First of all make sure that you obtain a copy of that cancelled check, and then just wait. Maybe the writtem communications between hospital/doctor/collection agency and you are just in a turtle speed gear.
Has the CA sent you anything (like the documents and information required by the FDCPA)? You might have a cause of action, if not.
Medical billing is an industry unto itself! I'm still trying to figure it out! But, medical billing is like to trying to catch the "greased pig", you have to get your arms around the whole thing. This means calling all the parties involved, and getting their accounting, and the reasons for their accounting. Sometimes an insurance comapny does not actually pay, and the "bill" you receive is an estimate of benefits. So, dig in, call the parties involved and dig in. I would call the collection agency and alert them that your are "investigating" and not to report this to your credit reports. Most are pretty understanding about these situations. And don't overlook the obvious here, read the terms of your medical insurance policy, before you call your med ins company. They make mistakes too!
