Help getting started with HIPAA

[r2-d2]

Hi. I am new, but will try to spare everyone all the boring details. I have four medical collections that I would like to get removed. I am wanting to start Why Chat's HIPAA process, but think I may have already screwed up. Awhile back, I hired a credit repair specialist (I'm an salamander, I now know) and she sent what I'm sure were standard dispute letters to the credit bureau's. I received the reports and this is what I see:

 

Experian:

Without additional relevant information in support of this dispute, you will not receive notice again on this particular dispute.

 

Equifax:

Previously verified next to all of the medical collections.

 

Transunion:

Our records indicate that your creditor previously verified as accurate the items listed below. Therefore, under the FCRA, we consider this dispute frivolous and we will not reinvestigate the items unless you provide court papers or a recent, authentic letter from the creditor that explains what information should be updated.

 

The first question is, can I still use Why Chat's process? Do I still need to send the pre-HIPAA letters, or will they not even look at them?

 

The second question is, would is still be possible for me to pay the OC and use the latter part of the process, or have I done damage beyond repair?

 

Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

[bonbonXO]

You could still use the HIPAA process but I would recommend at least waiting 60-90 days to send the HIPAA dispute to the CRA http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

 

Make sure you have opted out:

 

http://whychat.5u.com/OPTOUTINST.HTML

Delete any old address if you have moved within the last 8-10 years

 

 

Send any CRA that is reporting the medical Collection this:

 

http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

 

I have never tried this myself but some recommend disputing right around the Holidays.

Please keep all your information in one post.

[r2-d2]

I should have mentioned, I opted out before the credit repair specialist screwed me and am in the process of deleting old addresses but had a question about that. I have seen that some people have been able to call the bureau's or do online disputes to get the old addresses removed. Is this recommended or is it best to send the address deletion requests CM?

 

It has been 69 days since the last round of dispute letters were sent out, do you think it's okay to start the pre-HIPPA process or should I stop being impatient?

 

Would it be alright to call the OC's and get my account numbers and amounts owed to them right now, or should I wait to get responses from the bureau's?

 

I'll be sure to keep everything in this post. Thanks so much for the quick reply!

[Why Chat]

I should have mentioned, I opted out before the credit repair specialist screwed me and am in the process of deleting old addresses but had a question about that. I have seen that some people have been able to call the bureau's or do online disputes to get the old addresses removed. Is this recommended or is it best to send the address deletion requests CM?

 

It has been 69 days since the last round of dispute letters were sent out, do you think it's okay to start the pre-HIPPA process or should I stop being impatient?

 

Would it be alright to call the OC's and get my account numbers and amounts owed to them right now, or should I wait to get responses from the bureau's?

 

I'll be sure to keep everything in this post. Thanks so much for the quick reply!

Because your prior report disputes were from a CRO ( Credit Repair Organization) you may have problems, even if you wait until the Holidays. Your account has probably been "flagged" as being with a CRO.

 

How old are these accounts??

 

Don't contact the OC if you didn't have insurance, as that will make things more difficult to delete later.

If you DID have insurance, get your EOMB's ( explanation of medical benefits) from them.

 

The simplest way to get addresses deleted is to send a nice HAND WRITTEN letter on yellow legal pad paper saying that you have addresses that are not yours on your reports and are concerned about identity theft, ( list the old addresses-- don't try to get them ALL off, just the ones that are on your "baddies" accounts) include a COPY of your drivers license and social security card and a recent ORIGINAL utility bill that has your name and current address. Send it certified mail BUT NOT RR, hand address the envelope and stick your own postage on, as well as the certified mail sticker. If it LOOKS like it is from a CONSUMER it will get the attention you need.

 

If you have GOOD closed accounts, make sure that they are notified of your correct current address.

Edited July 23, 2009 by Why Chat

[r2-d2]

Three of the accounts are from 2005 and one is from 2004.

 

I didn't have insurance, so I won't contact the OC's. One question though, since I probably won't be able to get the account information from the CRA's how do I go about getting it so I can pay the OC's?

 

I will follow your instructions to the letter and send the address removal requests to the CRA's tomorrow.

 

What are my options now?

[Why Chat]

Three of the accounts are from 2005 and one is from 2004.

 

I didn't have insurance, so I won't contact the OC's. One question though, since I probably won't be able to get the account information from the CRA's how do I go about getting it so I can pay the OC's?

 

I will follow your instructions to the letter and send the address removal requests to the CRA's tomorrow.

 

What are my options now?

Once you have removed the old addresses the initial dispute letter to the CRA's will most likely get you a deletion.

There is NO WAY that the OC's have any current data on these old accounts, save your $$ and donate them to charity once they are deleted from your reports. If you had disputed them yourself instead of having a CRO do it they would have been off by now.

 

Send the initial dispute letter once your address dispute has worked to get the old addresses off your reports. That will likely be another few weeks so enough time will have gone by.

http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

Use the SAME method of hand writing on legal pad paper, hand address the envelope, use a combo of postage stamps, make sure you send it certified, but NOT with a RR keep copies of everything you receive and send.

[r2-d2]

Should it be a formal demand to erase the old addresses (baddies), or more of an informal request?

[r2-d2]

So I looked at my credit report today, and I noticed there is a new collection from 05/01/2009. What the hell? I've been on the straight and narrow now for over 2 years, trying real hard to get some bad items removed, and now this! I now pay, and have paid ALL my bills on time for over 2 years and I have no idea where this came from? What do I do? Can I contact the CA to see where this account came from? How do I go about doing this correctly?

 

I am in the middle of the HIPAA process right now and I don't want to do anything to screw that up. I've already opted out and am disputing addresses with EX and EQ and have already sent the pre-HIPAA letter to TU because they didn't have any bad addresses.

 

Is there anything I can do about the new collection? Please help, I don't know what to do?

 

Thanks in advance.

[bonbonXO]

Don't call the CA-

I suspect the "new" account may really be one that you disputed with the Pre-HIPAA, it could not be validated so it has already been transferred/sold to another CA.

Is the new one close to the same amount as the one of the older one you are in the process of disputing?

 

Wait until you get the full results back from the Pre-HIPAA dispute and then we can take it from there.

You may have to start Why Chat's HIPAA process with this one immediately after you get the full results back from the first group.

Have you recently applied for a Mortgage?

[r2-d2]

The new one is only a $1 more than one of the medical collections I've disputed, but I thought opting out was supposed to prevent that? I have not applied a for mortgage recently, or any kind of credit.

 

I was looking through my EOB's and I think I found the culprit. I went to the ER in January and I paid the full amount to the Hospital, but the ER has it's own billing department separate from the hospitals billing guys. They are notorious for this kind of thing. My wife is in the medical field and she has heard of the this kind of thing happening to her patients with this particular hospital. I was going to call them and make sure it is them, but what my are options if it is? Can I make them pull it from collections? I'm more than willing to pay them, I mean, I've never even gotten a bill from them! Can I call them, or is that a bad idea?

 

Thoughts?

[Why Chat]

So I looked at my credit report today, and I noticed there is a new collection from 05/01/2009. What the hell? I've been on the straight and narrow now for over 2 years, trying real hard to get some bad items removed, and now this! I now pay, and have paid ALL my bills on time for over 2 years and I have no idea where this came from? What do I do? Can I contact the CA to see where this account came from? How do I go about doing this correctly?If it is a medical account, use the HIPAA program, as I posted below,if it is some other type of account then dispute it with this;

http://whychat.5u.com/initdispltrsol.html

wait on TU until your medical dispute has cleared and do not include it with your medical disputes to the other CRA's, wait until they have cleared. In the meantime you can send the CA this; ( if it is NOT a medical account)

http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcaval.html

Change the sentence to read;

This letter is being sent to you in response to your illegal and fraudulent insertion of an unknown account on my ( list the CRA's it is on).Identified as account #xxxxx

 

 

I am in the middle of the HIPAA process right now and I don't want to do anything to screw that up. I've already opted out and am disputing addresses with EX and EQ and have already sent the pre-HIPAA letter to TU because they didn't have any bad addresses.

 

Is there anything I can do about the new collection? Please help, I don't know what to do?

 

Thanks in advance.

It would be unwise to add another dispute while you are waiting for the first one to be resolved, ( this is most likely the SAME account sold off to another CA as soon as you disputed, or another that got in before your opt out took effect.)

 

Send the reporting CA this;( if it is reporting on more than one report, send a letter for EACH CRA in the same envelope)

http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcavalhipaa.html

 

As soon as you have a response from TU on the initial dispute, send them another dispute for THIS account and send the other CRA's your disputes on ALL medical accounts ASAP.

Edited August 7, 2009 by Why Chat

[r2-d2]

So I shouldn't even bother calling the hospital to see if the bill is with them? It's the exact amount on my EOB, it's just that they never sent me a bill. In fact, they sent me to collections only 2 1/2 months after the bill was supposedly past due. I figured I could call them and figure out where the heck they've been sending the bills, and if it was to the wrong address, they would just accept the payment and remove from CA, but I guess that's wishful thinking...

 

I just received the address/alias deletion from EQ today. However, the new account isn't listed on it, just the four old ones that I already knew of. Let me back up for a second... the only way I knew about this account is because I signed up for a credit monitoring service and I got an alert that my credit score had changed. So, should I order a new report directly from EQ and then dispute all 5 at once with the normal pre-HIPAA letter? Do I need to wait for reponse from TU, or is this step independent?

 

A side question about the pre-HIPAA letter, when I sent to TU, I just listed the four accounts in one hand written letter. Is that the right, or was I supposed to write separate letters?

 

I'll wait to get the addresses deleted from EX, and then send them the pre-HIPAA letter as well? Again, do I need to wait on TU for this step?

 

In the meantime, send the reporting CA's (including the new one) this http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcaval.html with the modified sentence?

 

Thank you so much for all of your help, and advice... I really appreciate it!

[Why Chat]

So I shouldn't even bother calling the hospital to see if the bill is with them? It's the exact amount on my EOB, it's just that they never sent me a bill. In fact, they sent me to collections only 2 1/2 months after the bill was supposedly past due. I figured I could call them and figure out where the heck they've been sending the bills, and if it was to the wrong address, they would just accept the payment and remove from CA, but I guess that's wishful thinking...If you have an EOMB that shows the SAME amount as "patient obligation" then pay the hospital with the HIPAA letter insert "a". Are you SURE the EOMB says it is YOUR obligation and not that "you may be billed" or discounted amount??

 

I just received the address/alias deletion from EQ today. However, the new account isn't listed on it, just the four old ones that I already knew of. Let me back up for a second... the only way I knew about this account is because I signed up for a credit monitoring service and I got an alert that my credit score had changed. So, should I order a new report directly from EQ and then dispute all 5 at once with the normal pre-HIPAA letter? Do I need to wait for reponse from TU, or is this step independent?

 

A side question about the pre-HIPAA letter, when I sent to TU, I just listed the four accounts in one hand written letter. Is that the right, or was I supposed to write separate letters? correct all 4 MEDICAL accounts in one letter

 

I'll wait to get the addresses deleted from EX, and then send them the pre-HIPAA letter as well? Again, do I need to wait on TU for this step? No, send the "pre" anyway even if Ex doesn't delete your old addresses

 

In the meantime, send the reporting CA's (including the new one) this http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcaval.html with the modified sentence?

 

Thank you so much for all of your help, and advice... I really appreciate it!

[r2-d2]

Called the hostpital today and found that I have a zero balance with them, so you are correct, this must have gotten sold to a new CA...

 

So let me make sure I understand exactly what I need to do right now, in this order...

 

1. Order new credit reports from EQ and EX so I have the account number for this new collection account.

2. Send both of them a handwritten pre-HIPAA letter with all 5 medical accounts listed.

3. Send the CA's the dispute here http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcaval.html with modified sentence from previous post. I send this CMRR, right?

4. Don't do anything with TU until I receive their full response, then send dispute for new collection.

 

One last question, 3 of the medical collections are with the same CA... do I send them one letter with all accounts listed, or separate letters?

[r2-d2]

Told my wife that the collection wasn't with the hostpital and she didn't beleive me because she can see on the EOB that the bill wansn't paid (I'm in IT, so all this medical stuff is foreign to me). She called the hospital herself and found out that it IS this hospital that sent me to collections. They've been sending the bills to an address in another city... what the hell? Anyhow, I haven't been able to get their billing guys on the phone yet, but as soon as I do, hopefully they will be willing to send me all of my account information so I can pay them using HIPAA insert "a". Is this the correct way to go about this now that I'm certain they are the ones that sent this new account to collections?

[r2-d2]

Just got off the phone with the hostpital and they said they would pull it from collections if I paid them over the phone. I didn't beleive them and told them to send me something in writiing saying that it would be removed from collections if I pay it. I'll wait to get that in the mail. If it clearly states that they will remove from collection if I pay the bill, is it safe to do so?

 

I will post the letter I receive from the OC when I recieve it.

[r2-d2]

I received a response to the pre-HIPAA letter I sent to TU and below is their response:

 

Re: Verification documents not available.

 

We store information in our records as it is supplied to us by your creditors. When information is disputed, we are required to investigate and record the current status of the information. We do not provide dispute verification responses received from creditors. If you need documentation or written verification concerning your accounts, then please contact your creditors directly.

 

To me, this sounds like they didn't really do anything and just deal with the CA directly. Is this sufficient for proving a relationship between the TU and the CA's? Can I proceed with sending the medical DV to the CA's?

 

Can I proceed with sending http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcaval.html to the reporting CA's? I send this CMRR right? Then, as soon as I receive the green card, dispute with the CRA's again?

 

If someone could confirm that I'm on the right track, I would appreciate it.

[Why Chat]

I received a response to the pre-HIPAA letter I sent to TU and below is their response:

 

Re: Verification documents not available.

 

We store information in our records as it is supplied to us by your creditors. When information is disputed, we are required to investigate and record the current status of the information. We do not provide dispute verification responses received from creditors. If you need documentation or written verification concerning your accounts, then please contact your creditors directly.

 

To me, this sounds like they didn't really do anything and just deal with the CA directly. Is this sufficient for proving a relationship between the TU and the CA's? Can I proceed with sending the medical DV to the CA's?

 

Can I proceed with sending http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcaval.html to the reporting CA's? I send this CMRR right? Then, as soon as I receive the green card, dispute with the CRA's again?

 

If someone could confirm that I'm on the right track, I would appreciate it.

Yes, you are on the right track, you need to send the medical DV to the reporting CA.

 

The "relationship" you need to document is between the reporting CA and the OC, not the reporting CA and the CRA, we already KNOW their relationship.

 

Your wife is understandably confused about the EOB proving that you owe the $$, and you may very well owe it, however, without establishing a documented relationship between the reporting CA and the OC, any payment to the OC will have NO effect on the entry on your reports.

 

You may wish to wait until you have the results of your dispute to Eq and Ex before sending the medical DV, as if they also "verify" without your having obtained any documentation from the reporting CA, then you will need to send the SAME medical DV to the CA for each of them. If so, you can put all 3 medical DV's in one CMRR envelope, that way each CRA will have their OWN copy of their OWN letter referencing THAT CRA for the follow up letter.

[r2-d2]

Thank you WhyChat!

 

I haven't even sent the pre-HIPAA letters to EX or EQ yet, but I'm going to get them out tomorrow. I guess I'll wait to get their reponses before I send the medical DV's to the CA's so I'm not doing double work.

 

I will follow your instructions as everything seems to work better that way, but if you have time, could you explain something to me...

 

If I pay the OC for this new bill that I definately owe and they agree to remove the collection from my reports (in writing of course), why wouldn't that work? If I pay them, then the account shouldn't have gone to collections anyway and the CA wouldn't be able to verify, right? Like I said, I'm going to follow your instuctions, I'm just not clear on why this wouldn't work and would like to be more educated about the process.

 

Thanks!

[Why Chat]

Thank you WhyChat!

 

I haven't even sent the pre-HIPAA letters to EX or EQ yet, but I'm going to get them out tomorrow. I guess I'll wait to get their reponses before I send the medical DV's to the CA's so I'm not doing double work.

 

I will follow your instructions as everything seems to work better that way, but if you have time, could you explain something to me...

 

If I pay the OC for this new bill that I definately owe and they agree to remove the collection from my reports (in writing of course), why wouldn't that work? If I pay them, then the account shouldn't have gone to collections anyway and the CA wouldn't be able to verify, right? Like I said, I'm going to follow your instuctions, I'm just not clear on why this wouldn't work and would like to be more educated about the process.

 

Thanks!

An OC has NO control over what the CA is reporting, all they can do is notify the CA that the account has been paid, in which case the CA would likely report it as a paid collection.

 

The OC does not and can not report directly to any CRA it would be a violation of the medical privacy rules.

[r2-d2]

Thank you again WhyChat. I really appreciate your patience.

 

I've decided to disregard what the OC sends me in writing and will dispute it along with the other accounts. I ordered new credit reports so I have the account number of the new collection. So this is what I'm going to do...

 

1. Send pre-HIPAA letter to EX with the 5 medical accounts listed

2. Send pre-HIPAA letter to EQ with 4 accounts listed (they are not reporting the new one)

3. Draft and send another pre-HIPAA letter to TU with just the one new medical account - Is this really necessary? Can I just send the medical DV to this CA?

 

Being that my account has been flagged as a CRO, I'm pretty sure EX and EQ are just going to blindly verify like TU did... thoughts?

 

If this is the case, can I just go ahead and send the medical DV's to the CA's now (one letter for each CRA in the same envelope), or should I just wait until I get the responses from EQ and EX, then send them all at once?

[Why Chat]

Thank you again WhyChat. I really appreciate your patience.

 

I've decided to disregard what the OC sends me in writing and will dispute it along with the other accounts. I ordered new credit reports so I have the account number of the new collection. So this is what I'm going to do...

 

1. Send pre-HIPAA letter to EX with the 5 medical accounts listed

2. Send pre-HIPAA letter to EQ with 4 accounts listed (they are not reporting the new one)

3. Draft and send another pre-HIPAA letter to TU with just the one new medical account - Is this really necessary? Can I just send the medical DV to this CA? NO, send another "pre-HIPAA" to TU AFTER the first dispute to TU is settled

 

Being that my account has been flagged as a CRO, I'm pretty sure EX and EQ are just going to blindly verify like TU did... thoughts?

 

If this is the case, can I just go ahead and send the medical DV's to the CA's now (one letter for each CRA in the same envelope), or should I just wait until I get the responses from EQ and EX, then send them all at once?

If you have sent the initial medical dispute letter out to the CRA's, AND FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS, you will possibly get better results, wait for the response.

 

The "font" and no RR is designed to PREVENT the dispute being identified as being from a CRO.

[r2-d2]

I don't think I could have followed the directions any better than I did... I handwrote the letter on yellow legal paper, didn't send it RR, and used a combination of stamps.

 

I already received the response from TU regarding the first pre-HIPAA letter... it said that they don't provide verification documents.

 

So now I'll send another pre-HIPAA letter for just the one new medical account being reported to TU. I will also send the first round of pre-HIPPA letters to EQ and EX. Wait for all the responses to come back and then send the medical DV's to all the CA's, one for each CRA so they have their own letter when I have to follow up later.

 

I guess I don't understand why I'm sending pre-HIPAA letters when they are just going to tell me that they don't provide verification documents, but I'll do it anyway.

[idon'twanna]

Hi R2-D2,

 

I'm in the middle of disputing some medical collections and it seems that the response you got from TU is typical of them (based on what I've read on this board). They seem to send out a knee-jerk letter then within a few days they send another letter with their actual results. It seems that many people have had this experience with them, so I would expect, in your case, that you might get another letter from them very soon.

In my case, the "verification documents not available" letter came the very same day as the "deletion" letter.

 

Good luck!

[bonbonXO]

Idon't wanna is correct, this is not the FULL results, This is TU-goofy way of acknowledging your dispute.