Medical Bills from 2008 & 2013

[bnafsheh1@gmail.com]

Hi,

A friend of mine used this website when he was clearing up his credit a few years back and said that it would be a good start for me. 

I have some medical bills from 2008 & 2013/2014, that I didn't even remember incurring. Pure oversight on my behalf. They never appeared on my credit report until a month ago. I called the hospital and ask if they were able to lower the amount owed so that I can pay this off, and the only thing they are willing to do it take off 20% if I pay it all at once over the phone. Now, I work in the healthcare field and am well aware that these bills were written off a long time ago and the hospital was reimbursed with federal funds. Therefore, anything collect on it would be just "gravy". 

I haven't reached out to the collections agency listed on my credit report as of yet, but I figured I post here and see if someone could give me some advise. I appreciate the feedback. Thank you!

 

[inegoti8]

Dispute these accounts first with all 3 bureaus. Medical bills are very easy to have deleted. Dispute as “not my account/no knowledge”. It doesn’t matter if you’ve already spoken to the hospital or not. Do not pay dime until you also confirm that these debts are within statute of limitations. 

[fisthardcheese]

At the very least, the 2008 bill should be beyond the statute of limitations in all states by now.  It also is beyond the 7 year limit to report on your credit reports.

The 2013 bill is SOL in MOST states, but check your state's SOL for debt collection (contract debts).  If that also is beyond SOL for your state, then I would not pay anything or agree to any payment plans or partial payment as it may be setting yourself up to make things worse.

Are these only showing up on your credit reports or have you also gotten any letters or calls about them recently?