statusquo Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 short version...Lots of medical bills a year ago... insurance just processed claim 2 months ago. 45 days ago, collection account shows up on my credit report showing the balance. I owe it and will pay it, I just didn't have a chance.They did not notify me of impending collection and neither did the original creditor, it just showed up on my report. I want it off. Do they have the right to collect without notification first.Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agin Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 I have spent no time researching this subject so I can not qoute laws. In 2004 my wife developed a chronic illness and I had to quit work to look after her. We got buried in medical bills and I tried to send at least $5 a month to each and that worked until we ran out of resereves. When it got down to having lights or paying the $5 x many DRs. The DRs we had a prior relationship with forgave everything. It took almost 3 years to get my wifes disability and when we did I went to every CA and worked out a deal, some were very willing to take 15% to 25% and the worst I paid was 50%. The best thing you can do if you are wanting to work on this is open a line of comunication with each of them. I wonder if medical bills are harder to collect on as they were very quick to negotiate.Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cporemsk Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 According to my friend Regis Sauger, author of Get Out Of Credit Prison, most doctors, hospitals and dentists have you sign a release form that allows them to put you into collections the minute you don't pay your bill. When you're sick, this is often the last thing you're paying attention to.As the "Agin" pointed out, EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE. The bad news is that the minute you go into collections, there is a derogatory item on your credit report. The good news is that collectors are often willing to negotiate your debt for cents on the dollar. (Be sure to have them promise to remove the item in return for payment, and get it all in writing before you send any money!)Another strategy is to reduce (or dispute) the amount owed. Get Out Of Credit Prison has a great chapter on Medical Collections, which points out that your medical BILL is different than your medical RECORDS, which are protected by HIPAA privacy laws. Doctors and hospitals notoriously overcharge their patients, through error and habitual "rounding up" of charges.When a CA comes after you, you have the right to have them prove the debt. But how can they prove the debt without viewing your confidential medical records? If there is no proof of debt, there is no debt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansocon Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 I sympathize with you. My wife had a surgery one year ago and I just got a check from the insurance company last week. They took several months to get around to paying some of the providers. I stayed in communication with their billing depts to keep things out of collections and they cooperated. They get it that insurance companies like to pay slowly if they can....especially on individual policies.Unfortunately you are past that point, but I would still call the original creditor and see if they can help get this taken back from collections even if I had to talk to the Doctor. If they can't or won't help, you're probably going to want to go the pay for delete route and I would try to avoid paying late fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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