urgent help needed a.s.a.p

Firstly, you need to send them a cease and desist letter telling them to quit calling and that you will only deal with them by mail. You can try to contact the hospital, but, they may or may not allow you to pay them. When you send the cease and desist, send a validation letter to them also. You may want to also send one to the hospital so you can see exactly what you do owe. Then you'll know how to proceed.

 

Do a search here for validation letter or I believe it is in the letter section.

 

http://consumers.creditnet.com/stra...116241&highlight=validation+letter#post116241

Try that.

 

How much is the debt? Did you sign a hospital admittance form? Did you have insurance at the time of service? Is it the inside collection agency for the hospital or is it an outiside third party collecting on behalf of the hospital? If this stuff is not being reported, you may have a chance to negotiate the payment of the debt..How old is the debt? There are so many variables involved. If you are not concerned please disregard my questions...

 

GHONEYHONE, I didn't notice a mention in the letter that LKH pointed you to, that indicated they should stop calling you and communicate strictly by mail. Just a suggestion, if its not already in the letter you may want to add it so that they stop calling.
Tuit

 

I used to work for an HMO, and I also held a health insurance producer's license.

Most likely, the insurance company's contract with the hospital (if the hospital was a participating provider) would specify that they must accept the insurance's payment as payment in full, minus your copayment and/or coinsurance.

Copayment = the regular $ amount you'd pay, say for a Doctor's visit or a prescription.

Co-insurance means if the insurance is supposed to pay 80% you pay 20%. However, in that case, the insurance would pay 80% of what it deems "usual and customary" charges, not necessarily whatever amount the hospital feels like charging. So you're only on the hook for 20% of the usual & customary charges.

Any amount over the usual & customary charges, you are NOT responsible for. If they try to "balance-bill" you (which is a very common practice across the country), they're violating at the very least their insurance provider agreement, in addition to any state regulation that governs such transactions.

NJ has a dept of Banking & Insurance, (NJDOBI) which can put the fear of God in those people. You should have a similar state agency to which you can appeal about the hospital's practices.

So in addition to the advice you've gotten above, you can contact your state's insurance regulator as well as your insurance company to find out where you stand.

Rina -- Conquering through Christ...and Creditnet

 

You can find the cease and desist letters in the letters section of this board. #3 is probably the one you want to use. Just modify it to your own situation.

 

I have a question.... My daughter had all kinds of blood work and ultrasounds done on her kidneys. the bill is $1200, and a CA is They aren't reporting yet, I have sent 2 validations and the estoppel (they keep sending a printout when I asked for a sig.) I KNOW they don't have a signature on this visit, what should I expect? If anything?
KHM

 

There are many factors here.

Is your insurance an HMO?

Were the services provided at a participating hospital and by participating ancillary providers?

Are these hospital and/or ancillary charges? Ancillary charges come from providers that work in the hospital, but are allowed to charge separately.

If your insurance required pre-authorization, and indeed preauthorized the services, see what I've already written above.

Sometimes hospital and ancillary providers try to get slick by bundling additional charges for unauthorized, additional services. If so, they're stuck with it & have to prove they followed procedures.

They can't force you to sign your rights away at the time of service. Be vigilant and do not sign those tricky papers they foist upon you that make you promise to pay over and above what the insurance deems usual & customary.

Rina -- Conquering through Christ... and Creditnet

 

I was in the process of switching insurance companies, but when she had the visit there was not insurance what-so-ever. There are multiple charges, doctors, blood tests, ultrasounds, doctors fees ($650 alone for 20 mins. of his time). I KNOW they are my charges, but I also know I have never signed for anything on ANY of my kids visits.
KHM

 

Report 'em to the insurance company....there is a contractual violation there. The insurance company carries a "big stick."

-Cliff

 

What insurance company? We didn't have insurance at the time.
KHM

 

Since you had no insurance, you can ask them to give you a self-pay discount (sometimes they'll give you up to 50%).

Wether or not you get a discount, they can also set you up on a monthly repayment plan (usually interest free). This is easiest when you try to establish it soon after you get billed.

This is actually quite routine, and it would beat the alternative, which is to sic collections people after you to recover a fraction of their cost.

Even if you wouldn't qualify for a program such as Medicaid, you may be able to prove hardship. In that case the hospital would be more inclined than the ancillary providers to either write off the entire amount, or give you a reduced fee.

Whatever you're promised, make sure you get it in writing, to make sure that it won't get negatively affect your credit report.

Rina -- Conquering through Christ... and Creditnet

 

The creditor needs to go after the insurer not the insured.

 

What are you talking about?! They had no coverage at the time of service.

Rina --Conquering through Christ... and Creditnet