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Medical billing issues

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posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 11:56 AM
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I had a very large medical bill.
I made a payment plan and finally reached the final payment.

Yay for me, I gladly made that last payment. I was so very happy, until..........

I got an invoice saying it had not been paid. (seriously the last payment) So I called the hospital billing and the guy said they changed over system and "everything is messed up". He asked me to please wait a month and call back if it has not posted by then.

So a month goes by, nothing posts. I call, and they still can't see the payment. So here is the weird part.
I have absolute proof that payment was made. It was made by my Health savings plan electronically. It has a timestamp, a date, even a routing number, and even shows it was approved/cleared.
Seriously, like the absolute best proof of payment one could possibly have.

I have sent (physically mailed) the actual receipt, I have sent the electronic receipts, I've sent proof from my HSA screenshots, and I am still getting late notices and bills for that single final payment. It has been escalated by the billing people to those higher up.

(btw. I worked in "controlled" electronic and physical library of sorts for my career, and I keep flawless records. There is zero chance it was an error on my part as I went through every single invoice and double checked the amounts paid) The last payment was also a unique amount as it was a final payment.

So does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do from here. Anyone familiar with medical billing? We are on Month Five at this point. I just want this invoice cleared up and posted as paid. I have never trusted medical or dental billing, but this is just getting ridiculous. There have been several times I have been double billed, and was able to easily and very quickly clear it up.



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 12:00 PM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

Look up Consumer Affairs or Consumer Protection in your state. Often times they can help advise you of what to do, based on the industry you are dealing with and the situation. I had some luck with this when I had landlords who were doing illegal things.



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 12:03 PM
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Don't worry, you wont be having to deal with them much longer, they will send it to collection to cover up their mistake shortly and then you will have to deal with a collection agency. Then, of course, the collection agency will try to make a deal with you to give them some money on a payment plan or they will take you to court. Judges do not know how to look at receipts so they will send you to one of those agencies that help negotiate then they will tell you you need to make a settlement because the worker cannot comprehend this happening either. Back to court and the judge again looks at the evidence and says you do not owe anything. But meanwhile your credit score was reduced and your house and auto insurance went up because of temporary information that was on your credit report. It doesn't seem to matter if you are right or wrong, questioning a computer program seems to always negatively effect us.



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 12:07 PM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

In the industry myself, and been in your spot a few times. I have a quite different approach that worked for me...you've done everything else. It's worth a shot!

Take every receipt, statement , bill etc....copy all...send it by registered mail requesting and requiring a signature and notice to you it was received.

Send it to the LEGAL Department of the billing institution with a small explanation and that if not expedited immediately...you'll file suit.

When I did it? Got a call and signature of receipt 1 day later, that office called me, and in 2 days...I got a paid in full statement.

Worth a try, you know?! Good luck

M.S./EMT
edit on 9-1-2019 by mysterioustranger because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 12:09 PM
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originally posted by: mysterioustranger
a reply to: JAGStorm

In the industry myself, and been in your spot a few times. I have a quite different approach that worked for me...you've done everything else. It's worth a shot!

Take every receipt, statement , bill etc....copy all...send it by registered mail requesting and requiring a signature and notice to you it was received.

Send it to the LEGAL Department of the
billing institution...with a small explanation and that if not expediting immediately...you'll file suit.

When I did it? Got a call and signature of receipt 1 day later, that office called me, and in 2 days...I got a paid in full statement.

Worth a try, you know?! Good luck

M.S./EMT


Thank You!!!! I will try that. Isn't this crazy, that this is the very last bill, I mean, c'mon!!!!



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 12:09 PM
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originally posted by: JAGStorm
I had a very large medical bill.
I made a payment plan and finally reached the final payment.

Yay for me, I gladly made that last payment. I was so very happy, until..........

I got an invoice saying it had not been paid. (seriously the last payment) So I called the hospital billing and the guy said they changed over system and "everything is messed up". He asked me to please wait a month and call back if it has not posted by then.

So a month goes by, nothing posts. I call, and they still can't see the payment. So here is the weird part.
I have absolute proof that payment was made. It was made by my Health savings plan electronically. It has a timestamp, a date, even a routing number, and even shows it was approved/cleared.
Seriously, like the absolute best proof of payment one could possibly have.

I have sent (physically mailed) the actual receipt, I have sent the electronic receipts, I've sent proof from my HSA screenshots, and I am still getting late notices and bills for that single final payment. It has been escalated by the billing people to those higher up.

(btw. I worked in "controlled" electronic and physical library of sorts for my career, and I keep flawless records. There is zero chance it was an error on my part as I went through every single invoice and double checked the amounts paid) The last payment was also a unique amount as it was a final payment.

So does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do from here. Anyone familiar with medical billing? We are on Month Five at this point. I just want this invoice cleared up and posted as paid. I have never trusted medical or dental billing, but this is just getting ridiculous. There have been several times I have been double billed, and was able to easily and very quickly clear it up.




Unfortunately, there is not a lot you can do on your end other than keep flawless records.

The big issue though is you need to stay on them to make sure it doesn't somehow get sent to collections and then reported to the three credit bureaus. I wish legislation would be passed that requires any creditor to notify the borrower or show proof of collection attempt PRIOR to reporting to credit bureaus.

Working in personal finance, I've seen all kinds of issues where a simple phone call or letter would have notified a borrower of a small insignificant bill. I've literally seen people's credit scores ruined over less than $10...

A common one is someone pays off a credit card, not realizing that there might be a few days of accrued interest. So they pay off the card, but there is still say $5.00 of interest that wasn't captured by the final payment. The credit card company then reports a 30 day late payment because they never get another payment as the borrower thinks the card has a zero balance.



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 12:11 PM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

Depending on which state you're in, you could sue for harassment. Especially when they start calling you repeatedly.

Call them and keep going up the chain until someone does something. Refuse to be ok with someone telling you that you're good. Go as high as you possibly can. Tell them you're also recording for your records to prove in court should it come to that point.



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 12:14 PM
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originally posted by: StallionDuck
a reply to: JAGStorm

Depending on which state you're in, you could sue for harassment. Especially when they start calling you repeatedly.

Call them and keep going up the chain until someone does something. Refuse to be ok with someone telling you that you're good. Go as high as you possibly can. Tell them you're also recording for your records to prove in court should it come to that point.


They have not called me at all. Just that single invoice sent in the mail.



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 12:56 PM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

The hospital is used to that steady payment coming in, they do not want to see it end.




posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 02:37 PM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

Send them certified letters demanding proof of the debt a couple times and warn them if it goes to collections you will sue them in small claims under the fair debt collection practices act and fair credit reporting act. Let it go to collections after a few warnings. When it hits your credit report file a small claim. Win back 1200 per violation, upto your state max in small claims, and it will get removed from your credit report as part of the judgement.



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 02:50 PM
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originally posted by: drewlander
a reply to: JAGStorm

Send them certified letters demanding proof of the debt a couple times and warn them if it goes to collections you will sue them in small claims under the fair debt collection practices act and fair credit reporting act. Let it go to collections after a few warnings. When it hits your credit report file a small claim. Win back 1200 per violation, upto your state max in small claims, and it will get removed from your credit report as part of the judgement.


Thank you! I will look into this.



posted on Jan, 9 2019 @ 08:40 PM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

I have some sample letters ive sent to clear up a similar situation. I also made it clear in my letters that if the item appeared on my credit report i would file a small claim without hesitation and i would request to recover all the fees associated in filing the claim once it was filed, even if they wrote off the collection before the court date. The cost of filing is something like $150. Make sure you get something on paper saying this debt has been "settled in full" if they do withdraw from the claim.

In Iowa small claims the defendant cannot request a jury trial. This is so the defendant cannot make it unaffordable for you to bring your claim to court -- so no one wants to fight over a tiny bit of money if its questionable. When this happened to me the defendant (billing company) was out of state and it would have cost them a fortune to send an attorney to fight me. The down side is you can only sue for upto $6,000.

You are entitled to a free credit report from transuinion, experian and equifax, once per year. A few months after it shows, or after your judgement even, request your credit report from all three. Any items that are negative you can dispute, even if they may be legitimate you can challenge it, alleging you believe the debt is falsely reported. Once you dispute the item, the creditor has 30 days to respond to the dispute to validate the debt. If it takes more than 30 days it will drop off, at least temporarily (until its reported again). The debt from medical bills will slmost certainly not be reported again however, but anything legit that doesnt get validated is fair game depending on your state laws. If you happen to be in delaware, the statute of limitations are very short... like 2 years unless it is a prommisory note. Most states its 7 to report, 10 to collect.

DISCLAIMER: IM NOT AN ATTORNEY. Im just an average guy that spent a lot of time fighting a company over ~$350 out of principal in that I did not owe it. Most people would have probably just overpaid.


edit on 9-1-2019 by drewlander because: (no reason given)

edit on 9-1-2019 by drewlander because: (no reason given)


(post by carlr removed for a serious terms and conditions violation)

posted on Jun, 17 2019 @ 07:54 AM
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originally posted by: JAGStorm
I had a very large medical bill.
I made a payment plan and finally reached the final payment.
From a Canadian perspective, this is all crazy talk. I totally sympathise with your circumstances, but you all deserve better! Health care should be the #1 issue in the upcoming election!




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