Insurance delayed payment! Can I have the collection account removed? Like many others, I am trying to remove a paid collections account that is hurting my credit score. Here's the story: The debt was sent to a CA in 3/04 and paid 3/04. The debt was sent to a CA after my insurance delayed payment for several months. Since the procedure was covered, they eventually paid but not until a CA was called in. Now I have this on my credit report and don't know the best way to handle it. I never paid the debt off, the insurance company did. Thanks for your time
Even though you have insurance, you are still responsible for the underlying debt. But ccbob has sound advice.
Enigma is correct. Generally when you go into the hospital, among the millions of forms and disclosures you sign is one that contains a statement to the effect that you accept financial responsibility for the charges incurred. That said, the hospital's billing office is the place to start raising holy hell (politely, at first, of course). Try to get them to take the account back from the CA. That might be difficult now that it's been paid, but you need to get the hospital on your side the up-hill battle will just be that much steeper. You'll be making their life difficult and they'll have nothing to gain by helping you (as the bill has been paid). So, I'd start by appealing to their goodwill. You could threaten legal action, but be careful with that strategy as that will be expensive (in time, money or both). Good luck.
I'm guessing I should avoid dealing with the CA directly? And what do you guys think about the HIPPA method in this case?
The CA works for the hospital, not for you so, no, don't waste your time with them. Go to the hospital with which you have a business relationship.
Ok, see what you think about this. According to the "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act", the CA can not communicate with anyone other than the person obligated for the debt. Since the insurance company paid the debt, communication between CA and insurance company had to take place. Therefore, the debt is not mine or the CA violated the FDCPA. So would I still go to the OC? In my opion, making the CA aware of this fact would make the most sense, but then again there's a lot of things that don't make sense to me I don't know, I'm just bouncing my theory off you guys. This forum has been very helpful. THANKS A TON!!
The insurance company isn't "obligated" to do anything that isn't stated in their (your) contract or agreement (terms & conditions, or whatever that document is called). So, I'd be sure to read that before claiming any sort of wrongdoing. I'd guess, as I mentioned above, that somewhere, somehow, you signed some hospital form that said YOU were the one obligated to pay the bill and any insurance payments were between you and the ins. co. But, you'd have to read your documents to know if that is, in fact, the case.
The key point is that it's their obligation TO YOU, not to the hospital. As far as the hospital is concerned, YOU are obligated to pay the bill. That you have some arrangement with a 3rd party is not the hospital's concern. Insofar as the hospital is concerned, you were billed and you paid them late. To prevent this, the hospital expected you to pay them in a timely fashion. If you are then due money from the insurance company, that's your problem, not theirs. I'm not saying that the insurance company has no obligations, just that they have no obligations to the hospital. All the paperwork the hospital has (I'm guessing) says that you are responsible for the debt so you are the one they are contacting. IMO, this approach won't get you very far. YMMV
