Tanya in KS Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 While I was out today, helping a friend move. Dear hubby came home for lunch and received a call from a collection agency. It was in regard to a bill from March 2007 when our oldest daughter was hospitalized. I have NEVER seen a bill to begin with. It was my understanding that our primary insurance (blue cross) then secondary insurance (medicare) took care of it. I have NEVER received any bills for this!!!!!!!!!! Now they want the payment TODAY. I plan to contact the hospital tomorrow morning. What is my recourse??? Any advice would much be appreciated. I am wondering if we are not being scammed in some way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Tayna, don't let them bully you. Explain this is the first you are hearing of it and need to research it further. I would keep them involved as you contact the insurance companies. That way they see you are on top of things and not trying to blow them off. The same thing happened to me about a year ago and we cleared it up rather quickly by doing what I mentioned above. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Here in CA IIRC you cannot be billed for medical treatments for the first time after one year has passed. I might still pay it, but I certainly would want to know my rights. Also, you should pull your credit report and see if this collection is showing up and put in a letter of explanation. Otherwise just the fact that something went to collection could count against you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magistramom Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Don't fret, yet. It could simply be a double bill or it could be that BCBS or Medicare has not paid their portion yet, hence you've been billed. Don't be afraid to go into the hospital billing office for advice. They can often clear up a bill boggle with a couple glances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnieinCO Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Plus, make sure you are responsible for the charges they are claiming you owe. Sometimes they try to get you to pay charges that are not your responsibility or are not allowed under the contract the insurance company has negotiated. I would talk to the insurance companies first and then the hospital billing department. Connie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Everything everyone has stated so far! I will add that once you have checked w/ insurance companies, if it is a legitimate charge- go through the hospital, not the collection agency. Ignore the CA's bullying tactics. Just keep telling them you are dealing w/ the hospital directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sherry Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Hi - Be careful giving out info. to someone over the phone! I had a similar call a year or so ago saying we were delinquent on a bill and they asked for all kinds of personal info. I didn't give them anything because, when you call, they ask you all kinds of things to prove you're 'you', but I had no proof of who I was talking to! Ours was a credit card issue, so I called the actual credit card company to verify whether or not they had initiated the call from a collection agency. As it turned out, someone had stolen a credit card number that we hadn't used in over 10 years and charged a bunch of stuff on the card. I also had a situation after my daughter was born where the pediatrician's office notified us a year later that we hadn't paid a portion of our bill from the delivery. Since everything was covered by my husband's and my insurance, I couldn't imagine how we owed money. As it turned out, they had somehow mixed up our records with someone elses, and we didn't really owe anything. Hopefully, you'll also find that it's just a bookkeeping error! Good luck - Sherry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Get the name and contact info of the collection co. and then check the BBB on them to make sure they are legit. Don't let them bully you. Do everything by mail so you have a record in writing of all contact. If they call simply tell them you will "need that in writing" but don't give them your address because if they are for real they will have it. Yes, demand everything in writing. Also demand proof in writing that this bill is legitimate. I got a letter once from Verizon stating that I owed a certain amount. We did have Verizon at the time and I couldn't imagine that we owed them money and they didn't contact us personally or add it to our existing phone bill. Anyway, I contacted them by mail stating that I didn't believe the charge was legitimate and to provide proof that I owed the amount. I never heard from them again. Just a couple of days ago I got a letter stating that we owed almost $300 for two CAT scans done for my dd's kidney stone back in August. At the time we were covered under the state's medicaid program and everything is covered at 100%. Also, the letter went to an old address when the hospital that did the procedure had our new address. It was all very curious. I wrote them a letter asking them to provide proof the debt was legitimate. Even on the back of the letters they send it says that if you don't think the debt is valid, you have 30 days after you receive their letter to ask them to provide supporting documentation of their claim. I think some of these companies get old bills whether paid or not and try to scare people into sending them money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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