What to do with interest charges from CA on med bill?

[CoRocketMan]

Hello,

I've read through the HIPAA process, but am unsure what amount to pay the OC (doctor).

The debt is about 3 years old.

 

(For two related accounts with the same CA) The OC original charge is $800 but the interest from the CA is close to $280.

The OC told me they will not accept $800 as payment in full, and will sign over any check to the CA. (Of course I would restrict any endorsement per the advice here). They love their CA and believe they deserve to make money (barf). The OC will clearly not settle for anything less than the original amount, plus whatever the CA wants to charge.

 

I've only contacted the CA in writing for DV and to stop phone calls.

The debt came back validated.

The CA had tried to serve me on multiple occasions and is now trying to serve me via certified mail using the OC's name as sender (mail fraud?). I won’t pick it up at the PO.

The SoL may be 3 years in CO, but I am not sure...that could be why they recent effort to serve me several times recently over a relatively small debt.

 

I've considered suing for HIPAA violations in that the OC sent unnecessary medical information to the CA (poorly redacted information was clearly visible on the copy sent to me by the CA), and the names of the OC's as reported to the CRAs clearly indicate a possible medical condition. I've written them (OC, CA and 3 CRAs) to correct the situation, and warn them of legal action...no response.

 

Main Question: If I pay the OC, can I pay the $800 and ignore the interest from the CA? I don't think the OC will consider the account paid in full, but I'd really like to give the "Freedom Unlimited" to the CA.

This leads to a more interesting situation in which the CA may only be attempting to collect their own interest charges on a paid medical debt….can they legally retain medical billing information in this case?

Thanks for all the great info on this site!

 

 

- 1 year into credit repair and not making much progress.

[CoRocketMan]

....More info from above.

The agreement I signed with the OC was a standard HIPAA disclosure and agreement to pay, there is nothing in the agreement about paying costs, interest or fees for collections. Therefore, I am thinking I am not bound by any agreement btw the OC and the CA.

 

The CA did not buy the debt, but is on contract to collect it.

 

Also, date of last activity (payment) on account is 10/09/06. Sent to CA Feb '07. Not sure which date applies to SoL. I read SoL in CO is 3 yrs service, 6 yrs note.

 

What does one do if the OC does not deposit, or returns the check? Does refusal to accept payment fly as a defense in court? (I know paid and past SoL are affirmative defenses)

 

 

Thanks,

CoRocketMan

[idon'twanna]

Hi CoRocketMan,

 

Have you opted out?

first link here:

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

 

Cleaned up old addresses on your CR's?

 

Once that is taken care of, then you can send the pre-Hipaa dispute letter to the CRA's.

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

 

Only after you've done that should you be concerned about paying or not paying (whichever is the appropriate route in your situation - and I leave that to one of the experts (Why Chat!) to guide you, because I have no clue ...).

 

As far as DOLA and SOL ... I've read in other posts here that the important date for medical collections is the date of service.

 

Anyway, just trying to give you some stuff to do while you wait for the people who can guide you through the trickier parts of the protocol to arrive.

[DragonFlyer]

Did they break down the fees, interest, etc. to show what was added to your original balance?

 

You may want to review Fields v. Wilber for some case law.

 

Going to bed...I'll let WhyChat chime in, but I thought I would add that little tidbit of info.

[CoRocketMan]

>Did they break down the fees, interest, etc. to show what was added to your original balance?

The CA is adding the fees and interest, but no formal statement provided. only a total in a collection letter. I received the detailed bill copies from the CA, provided by the OC during the Validation process. It shows a charge off of the unpaid balance as the last line item...no interest or fees.

 

I have yet to Opt Out, but will do so quickly (I did the phone thing a while back, not realizing it was different)

 

I have not cleaned up addresses yet, as I really don’t see why it is important to THIS process. But if it is somehow important to the process I could.

 

I have not done the pre-HIPAA letter, and this is where I am confused: I already did Validation, and the CRA's verified the line items, i've just sent off MoV letters to the CRA's. The CA sent me plenty of information from the OC...so, don't I already have enough documentation of their relationship? (And the billing dept at the OC confirmed the name and number of the CA).

If I read the following correctly for the second letter:

"It will ONLY work if the claim is either INACCURATE, or you remit the valid correct amount due with the letter, and ONLY if you have confirmed a CURRENT relationship between the OC and the CA. "

 

I know the valid amount (interest is the remaining question) and I have confirmed the relationship btw the OC and CA

 

My concern is that I'll get served / sued before I can complete the entire process. So, If I am pressed for time, a.k.a got served, while waiting for first response from CRA, can I goto the second letter and submit payment?

 

Thanks for the help!

CoRocketMan

[CoRocketMan]

*Bump*

Still waiting on responses to open questions on interest charges from CA, and if it is OK to pay OC.

Thanks,

CoRocketMan

[bonbonXO]

If you have actually been sued, you need to file an answer, otherwise you will get a default judgment, first make sure there IS an actual case filed with the Court, some CA's will lie ( SURPRISE!!) and give the impression they have sued when they have not. Why Chat ttp://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=409788&pid=3874713&st=0entry3874713

By not picking up certified mail it means you already know what the correspondence concerns, this is not a good way to prevent being served.

 

The CA and the OC have already established a business association, IMO this is typically what you need to use the HIPAA letter to the OC with insert "a," in your case you would pay $800.00. A BANK cashier’s check or a Money order is considered cash; an OC can't refuse cash payment.

 

However the HIPAA letter to the OC is step 5 (depending on how you look at it) and you really haven't started Why Chat's HIPAA process, which is partially based on a solid paper trail.

Do you have an Explanation of Medical Benefit (EOB) that states you owe the Hospital or medical provider $800.00? You are not responsible for CA, charging interest unless you get hit with a default judgment.

 

If you find there is really an open case against you, I would pay the OC with the HIPAA letter insert “aâ€http://whychat.5u.com/hipltr.html

 

and dispute with the CRAs at exactly the same time http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

 

Make sure you follow all the instructions even if they seem a little odd, personalized stationary, colored fonts, hand addressed envelope etc.

 

There are very few times when you should deviate from Why Chat's HIPAA process by intentional mix up the steps, but if there is really a pending suit against you that is what I would do.

 

What does one do if the OC does not deposit, or returns the check? Does refusal to accept payment fly as a defense in court? (I know paid and past SoL are affirmative defenses)

 

You would use a copy of the Bank Cashier’s check and copy of green card, I paid, What they do with the money after that is up to them.

If you find there no pending suit against you, follow idon'twanna advice from post #3 .

Edited September 20, 2009 by bonbonXO

[CoRocketMan]

Great Reply bononXO, you confirmed my hunches.

In answer to your Question on the EOB...I don't have one, I was uncovered at the time.

 

I'll get back to work on the process when back in town in couple weeks, and I'll make sure to post the results when they happen.

 

The timing should work out; I should have my MoV responses from the CRA's very soon. I'll just have to make sure I dispute the line items on a different ground (different from "not mine") so they are not automatically rejected as duplicate disputes.

 

 

Thanks a lot,

 

CoRocketMan

[CoRocketMan]

Updated 2011-05-15:

 

Been a long time since I worked on this, but here is the update and hopefully end result (I hate it when threads are left hanging).

I successfully ran out the SoL and any judgments by early 2010, so all collection activity went quiet. Once I returned to my credit clean-up efforts this year, I made a written agreement to settle for roughly 70% of the original amount and a removal of the line items by both the collector and the OC. On another item (non med) I also used the standard 1-2 punch, phone recordings, long paper trail of violations, etc. to settle for 30% original amount, no 1099, and complete removal of line item. Only one more to go!

That line item removal is the key. They don't want to do it, may fail to do so, you gotta keep hounding them. Record everything.

Thanks for all the help on this site, it is invaluable.