Ok, here it is from the DOL website: For purposes of this regulation, the term: (a) Financial institution means any office of a bank, savings bank, card issuer as defined in section 103 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1602(n)), industrial loan company, trust company, savings and loan, building and loan, or homestead association (including cooperative banks), credit union, consumer financial institution, located in any State or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or the Virgin Islands. ____________________________ It would seem that the hospital is not defined as a bank, sooooo a CA that is working for or has purchased medical debt cannot be forwarded ANY information about you that may in any way link a medical history to you. ***I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on tv. I just know how to read! LOL Let's keep this discussion up. I am liking this.
Yeah, but Butch, if the way I read this: Section 1179 of the Act makes the above provisions inapplicable to financial institutions (as defined by section 1101 of the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978) or anyone acting on behalf of a financial institution when "authorizing, processing, clearing, settling, billing, transferring, reconciling, or collecting payments for a financial institution." is that the collection agency is acting on behalf of the hospital, which is not a financial institution. So the protection from HIPAA does not go "downstream" to the CA. And if the CA purchases the debt outright, then they definately cannot be provided anything by the hospital. Am I reading this wrong?? As an afterthought, I am going to ask what we are doing at work since we do use a CA. I will let you know.
I'll be delighted to work with you on this. Go to Sharonkay.org and see what they say. Just don't buy thier book.
Ten Quick Tips on How to Validate or Reduce Healthcare Charges Thank you for inquiring about the Sharon Kay Foundationâ??s Medical Debt Credit Protection and Repair Manual. Our purpose is to educate Americans on our healthcare rights as individuals and help those in need of reducing their medical debt burden. In a recent report to Congress, Medicare determined that least 11% of medical bills it audited were improper or fraudulent. Please read our 10 easy steps on how to reduce outstanding and future debt associated to healthcare services in the United States: 1. VALIDATE ALL THE CHARGES ON YOUR MEDICAL BILL. If you can only do one thing, do this: Verify all charges and make sure that the services documented were rendered and the products listed were delivered. Request a copy of all fees and explanations from all healthcare providers for services including date, time, and whom services were performed by. If charges or services do not match - there could be a mix up in your billing, making some of the debt invalid. There are all kinds of things that can affect how a medical service is charged. For example, depending on the healthcare service code the billing department put on your charge, you can get charged much more for the same service. Find out what that code really means. Find out if what the doctor actually put on your medical record as documentation actually supports the increased fee for this service. This practice, known as â??upcodingâ?, is mentioned by Medicare as a frequent cause of improper billing. 2. DETERMINE WHAT THE GOING RATE IS FOR MEDICAL SERVICES IN YOUR AREA. In medical billing lingo, determine Usual and Customary Fee Reimbursement. With your medical bill in hand, contact your State Board of Insurance. They will know the usual and customary fee reimbursement schedule for your city and state. Insurance companies pay based on usual and customary. For example, if your doctor charges $100 and usual and customary is $80 then your insurance will pay depending on benefits, 80% of $80 not $100. The remaining balance is your responsibility. Use your insurance as your auditor - only pay for services based on usual and customary fees, using their report as supporting documentation. 3. REQUEST A COPY OF YOUR CREDIT REPORT. Did you know that medical charge-offs CANNOT be put on your credit report without your express written authorization? It is an outright misconception that the Assignment of Benefits (the document which requires the signature of the person responsible for healthcare payments if the insurance company doesnâ??t pay) acts as an authorization for the collection company to release healthcare related information (e.g. medical bills) to credit reporting agencies. It doesnâ??t. Authorization must be obtained by and between the individual whom the healthcare services pertain to and the collection company trying to resolve the outstanding debt. If this authorization has not been obtained, notify the credit reporting agency, your healthcare provider, and collection companies in writing. Inform them that they are in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Request to have these marks removed immediately. 4. REQUEST A SECOND OPINION from healthcare provider of your choice. Second opinions allow you the opportunity to validate the necessity of services rendered or to be rendered. If the second opinion is different, this shows discrepancy. Documenting this decreases the validity of the services. 5. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE and request a list of organizations that assist individuals enduring financial hardship due to healthcare related situations. There are organizations in every city and state that can help reduce the amount of outstanding medical debt. It simply takes a letter for most and they will help with small contributions. Multiple small contributions can make a difference. 6. REQUEST TO SHOP AROUND FOR ANCILLARY SERVICES, if time permits. Ancillary services are typically healthcare services referred out of your doctorâ??s office such as M.R.I., CT scan, Physical Therapy, and medical equipment. You are the consumer and these services are offered by many whom are competitive in pricing and will offer added incentives, such as transportation or resources for the indigent. 7. LOOK AROUND FOR HOSPITAL CHARITIES that support the financially challenged with life threatening conditions. Some hospitals can remove outstanding balances for services previously rendered with in their facility or facilities based on your previous year income and other outstanding medical debt. These programs were created to help those that are faced with medical problems. 8. GET HEALTH INSURANCE. Insurance coverage will definitely help reduce household healthcare cost and protect you from further debt associated to healthcare. Believe it or not, insurance coverage is more cost effective today than ever before. The work associated with validating healthcare transactions accounts for a large portion of insurance companies cost. In most states insurance coverage begins immediately. There may be restrictions on coverage issues regarding pre-existing conditions, but there are many to choose from. But be vigilant - remember to keep your insurance provider in check. Insurance companies come and go, or get bought and sold. Do not let yourself be the surprised one, keep tabs on your insurance providers. If your employer is responsible for these benefits, keep tabs on them as well. If your company declares bankruptcy and cancels your insurance, you may not qualify for Cobra if you get laid off. 9. COMMUNICATE AND DOCUMENT. Communication is a must to resolve any problem, especially a healthcare related debt. Document any and all communications. Documentation is your best tool for defense. If itâ??s not documented, you arenâ??t required to pay. Request as much information as you can, regarding your healthcare services past and future. Knowledge is power. 10. BUY THE BOOK â??MEDICAL DEBT CREDIT PROTECTION AND REPAIR MANUALâ?. If you havenâ??t experienced it before, dealing with healthcare billing departments, insurance companies and collection agencies can be quite exasperating and time-consuming. Let our BOOK do the work for you. We understand the hassleâ??s associated with resolving healthcare related debt. These steps have been proven to work. All the steps will reduce your household healthcare cost and six of the steps can stop harassing phone calls. Remember: you are the consumer and you have rights! Use them or lose them.
Butch, I understand what you are saying but, doesn't that only apply to medical billing? I'm not sure if your release orders from an emergency room would apply...And if it does, I think more people should be aware that their personal medical histories are available to CA's.
Even though it is a paid collection....doesnt the CA have to place the item "in dispute"...cause if they do (which is my understanding so far in reading..cant tell cause too much information in brain ...starting to jumble) I got them for at least on violation
The FCRA requires that if the CA is notified of a dispute they MUST place that item in dispute on your report. If you notify the CRA of a dispute they must do the same. So it works either way. The FCRA makes no distinction between a charge-off that has been paid to one that has not. Moreover, just because you "PAID" an alleged debt does not mean you've acquiesced to the debts validity. In fact quite the opposite. (c) The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer.
How is this for a follow-up letter (I have modified one I found sorry I dont know the orginator) Re: Account #123456789 To Whom It May Concern: This letter is being sent in order to notify your offices that you are in direct and willful violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. On July 13, 2002, I sent a letter to your offices. In that letter I stated, clearly, that I would require complete validation of this alleged debt that you claim to have collected. When I paid you, I relied upon the belief that you would do the honorable thing and remove the derogatory comments from my credit bureau files as you promised me everything would be taken care of if I paid this alleged debt. I am quite confident that both you and a court of law will agree that such is a perfectly reasonable assumption for an average debtor to make. So I paid you the fifty dollars to take care of the situation. In response to my letter dated July 13, 2002, I received a letter stating that this account was mine and you also sent a computer print screen of your system, an itemized list of services rendered, and my signature on a hospital dismissal form stating that I understood the directions to tend to my injury. This is not considered legal validation. You have yet to provide me with competent evidence that I owed this alleged debt to you or Bloomington Hospital. You have not complied with the courtsâ?? ruling in the case of Spears vs. Brennan wherein the Honorable Kenneth Johnson determined what would be considered legal and ample validation of a debt (Case No. 49A02-0003-CV-169. Your offices have failed to provide that to me in my request for validation of this alleged debt. Your offices have also reported this account to all Credit Reporting Repository during the legal validation period without marking it as being disputed by the customer which makes you in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Due to the blatant and willful violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, I am currently in the process of filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and the State Attorney Generalâ??s Office. If you fail to validate and continue to report,it will result in my consideration of taking legal action against Crappy Collections, Inc. for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, for Defamation Of Character and for Negligent Enablement of Identity Fraud. You must fill out the Collection Agency Declaration (attached) and return it, along with copies of all requested documentation, within 5 days of your receipt of this letter.
Jen, I too have a passion for the privacy issues of your medical record having been provided to a CA -- a statement counts! Since they obviously already have accessed your protected information, I think you should ask them for a copy of the authorization form you signed allowing them to receive it. You could add the violation of privacy to the listed complaints you are filing. All authorizations aren't blanket authorizations and this is just what the new laws are intended to prevent, the blanketting and willy-nilly disregard for your privacy and protected information. Even without the benefit of the new laws, I've included a similar phrase for those CA's that have provided me with summaries and/or computer printouts detailing my treatment and had the tradelines subsequently deleted. Just a thought. Here's a link to a previous thread on medical privacy: http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?threadid=26415 Even if we don't have credit concerns or problems specific to medical issues, I think the privacy issues alone are huge and we should all be diligent in being aware of exactly what we are signing, nodding with you jrjr. Sassy
Yes thank you rblues...I was multitasking at work while I wrote this letter....always why I run it here first since I have always disliked English and grammer class.
Any opinions on this strategy or any other opinions on a different approach?? Jenasea9 ===================== You don't need to change anything on the estoppel letter except the 60 days to how ever many days it's been. There is nothing wrong with the estoppel letter just as it is so why change it and screw it up? If you haven't received what you demanded in the Val. letter then you haven't heard from them period. What did they send you by CRRR mail?
