Will HIPPA do anything for me

[BananaTheDog]

I'm trying to piece together the proceedure, and must apologize for being lost. I just got off the phone for opting out and realized maybe this won't help my situation at all. I had 5 hospital stays in 2006-2007, all covered by Medicare, but was left with two seperate deductables in 2006 of $952 each and 3 deductables of $992 each. They all appear on the three CRAs with the same CA. These collections are within the SOL and I'm wondering if I should even bother going through with HIPAA?

[Why Chat]

I'm trying to piece together the proceedure, and must apologize for being lost. I just got off the phone for opting out and realized maybe this won't help my situation at all. I had 5 hospital stays in 2006-2007, all covered by Medicare, but was left with two seperate deductables in 2006 of $952 each and 3 deductables of $992 each. They all appear on the three CRAs with the same CA. These collections are within the SOL and I'm wondering if I should even bother going through with HIPAA?

Are you saying that your 2 hospital confinements in 2006 were more than 90 days apart?? And that your 3 in 2007 were each 90 days apart?? Are you SURE??

 

Check your EOMB's from medicare and contact them to see if there is an error on the charges for the deductibles.

[BananaTheDog]

Are you saying that your 2 hospital confinements in 2006 were more than 90 days apart?? And that your 3 in 2007 were each 90 days apart?? Are you SURE??

 

Check your EOMB's from medicare and contact them to see if there is an error on the charges for the deductibles.

 

 

Yes, incredible, but true, I talked to Medicare on Monday and I'm out of luck.

[Why Chat]

Are you saying that your 2 hospital confinements in 2006 were more than 90 days apart?? And that your 3 in 2007 were each 90 days apart?? Are you SURE??

 

Check your EOMB's from medicare and contact them to see if there is an error on the charges for the deductibles.

 

 

 

Yes, incredible, but true, I talked to Medicare on Monday and I'm out of luck.

OK, sorry, I meant 60 days not 90.

 

Did you apply for any assistance when you were admitted on any of these occasions?? Many hospitals have a sliding scale based on income for the deductible.?

[BananaTheDog]

Yes, incredible, but true, I talked to Medicare on Monday and I'm out of luck.

 

 

I just checked my dates of service I think you might be right on one of them, dates of service are 1/5/06 thru 1/9/06 and the next is 4/2/06 thru 4/6/06, I think that just squeeks by right? And I think you were originally right, I'm quite sure they told me 90 days on the phone! How do I proceed, with Medicare or by disputing?

[BananaTheDog]

I just checked my dates of service I think you might be right on one of them, dates of service are 1/5/06 thru 1/9/06 and the next is 4/2/06 thru 4/6/06, I think that just squeeks by right? And I think you were originally right, I'm quite sure they told me 90 days on the phone! How do I proceed, with Medicare or by disputing?

 

 

Okay it's 60 days, so I guess I'm SOL and I don't mean statute wise?

[Why Chat]

I just checked my dates of service I think you might be right on one of them, dates of service are 1/5/06 thru 1/9/06 and the next is 4/2/06 thru 4/6/06, I think that just squeeks by right? And I think you were originally right, I'm quite sure they told me 90 days on the phone! How do I proceed, with Medicare or by disputing?

 

 

 

Okay it's 60 days, so I guess I'm SOL and I don't mean statute wise?

 

Well, I think you should start by filing a protest with Medicare on any that are within 60 days, especially if you had any other out patient services during the interim. You should file an appeal for both years to waive the additional deductibles on the basis of financial hardship.

 

As to the HIPAA letter program. You will need to do SOMETHING to start the process while you are disputing/appealing the charges with Medicare. This will save you from being sued, or at least provide you with a legitimate defense.

 

Opt out

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

If you have moved within the past few years TRY to get the old addresses deleted, make sure you contact any closed GOOD accounts and update your address with them.

 

Send each CRA where this account(s) are appearing on your reports this;

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

 

The other issue would be if your repeated hospitalizations were a result of medical error or malpractice. If, for instance you had surgery and 70 days after your initial surgery they found they had left a sponge in that needed removal, you would not be liable for the added costs. In addition, you never answered the question about applying for assistance when you were hospitalized.

[BananaTheDog]

"In addition, you never answered the question about applying for assistance when you were hospitalized. "

 

 

Thank you for your attention to this Whychat, I called the hospital and they say they only have the sliding scale for those without insurance, I called Medicare and they said hospitalizations must be within 60 days to be covered by the same deductable. I opted out this morning, but think I may have already messed up by giving the OC (hospital) my new address so they could mail me my dates of service statements, how bad of a mistake was that?

[BananaTheDog]

"In addition, you never answered the question about applying for assistance when you were hospitalized. "

 

 

Thank you for your attention to this Whychat, I called the hospital and they say they only have the sliding scale for those without insurance, I called Medicare and they said hospitalizations must be within 60 days to be covered by the same deductable. I opted out this morning, but think I may have already messed up by giving the OC (hospital) my new address so they could mail me my dates of service statements, how bad of a mistake was that?

 

 

Okay, this is what I came up with as far as waivers go, but I think I have to petition the OC for it not Medicare ----------->

 

 

http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/docs/alertsandbul...aldiscounts.pdf

[Why Chat]

"In addition, you never answered the question about applying for assistance when you were hospitalized. "

 

 

Thank you for your attention to this Whychat, I called the hospital and they say they only have the sliding scale for those without insurance, I called Medicare and they said hospitalizations must be within 60 days to be covered by the same deductable. I opted out this morning, but think I may have already messed up by giving the OC (hospital) my new address so they could mail me my dates of service statements, how bad of a mistake was that?

 

 

Okay, this is what I came up with as far as waivers go, but I think I have to petition the OC for it not Medicare ----------->

 

 

http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/docs/alertsandbul...aldiscounts.pdf

 

No, you WANT the hospital to send you your statements. Are you saying you never received a billing statement from the hospital?? Yes, you should have applied to the hospital to waive your deductibles when you first went in, or at least the 2nd time.

 

Call the hospital back and ask them to also send you the forms to apply for a waiver of your deductibles.

 

Send the dispute letter out, follow all the instructions.

 

Send each CRA where this account(s) are appearing on your reports this;

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

[BananaTheDog]

"In addition, you never answered the question about applying for assistance when you were hospitalized. "

 

 

Thank you for your attention to this Whychat, I called the hospital and they say they only have the sliding scale for those without insurance, I called Medicare and they said hospitalizations must be within 60 days to be covered by the same deductable. I opted out this morning, but think I may have already messed up by giving the OC (hospital) my new address so they could mail me my dates of service statements, how bad of a mistake was that?

 

 

Okay, this is what I came up with as far as waivers go, but I think I have to petition the OC for it not Medicare ----------->

 

 

http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/docs/alertsandbul...aldiscounts.pdf

 

Okay, so far, have

 

1. Opted out

2. Contacted OC (Hospital) and they are sending me Deductable Waiver forms

3. Prepared three CRA pre HIPAA letters (On light blue w/clouds stationary in purple, italic font).

 

Last question, and then it's the waiting game, I have 11 total collection accounts reporting due to these same hospitalizations, 5 big ones, the inpatient ones, and 6 smaller ones, Medicare Part B covered but left remaining deductables and sent to CA. All with the same CA. TU and EX had the full account numbers listed on the reports, but EQ has the last four numbers XXXXed out, should I send the Pre HIPAA letter with the last four numbers Xed out? Much Thanks!!!

 

No, you WANT the hospital to send you your statements. Are you saying you never received a billing statement from the hospital?? Yes, you should have applied to the hospital to waive your deductibles when you first went in, or at least the 2nd time.

 

Call the hospital back and ask them to also send you the forms to apply for a waiver of your deductibles.

 

Send the dispute letter out, follow all the instructions.

 

Send each CRA where this account(s) are appearing on your reports this;

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

[BananaTheDog]

Okay, so far I have---------->

 

1. Opted out

2. Contacted OC (Hospital) and they are sending me Deductable Waiver forms

3. Prepared three CRA pre HIPAA letters (On light blue w/clouds stationary in purple, italic font).

 

Last question, and then it's the waiting game, I have 11 total collection accounts reporting due to these same hospitalizations, 5 big ones, the inpatient ones, and 6 smaller ones, Medicare Part B covered but left remaining deductables and sent to CA. All with the same CA. TU and EX had the full account numbers listed on the reports, but EQ has the last four numbers XXXXed out, should I send the Pre HIPAA letter with the last four numbers Xed out? Much Thanks!!!

[Why Chat]

Okay, so far I have---------->

 

1. Opted out

2. Contacted OC (Hospital) and they are sending me Deductable Waiver forms

3. Prepared three CRA pre HIPAA letters (On light blue w/clouds stationary in purple, italic font).

 

Last question, and then it's the waiting game, I have 11 total collection accounts reporting due to these same hospitalizations, 5 big ones, the inpatient ones, and 6 smaller ones, Medicare Part B covered but left remaining deductables and sent to CA. All with the same CA. TU and EX had the full account numbers listed on the reports, but EQ has the last four numbers XXXXed out, should I send the Pre HIPAA letter with the last four numbers Xed out? Much Thanks!!!

In your initial dispute letter you list ALL medical accounts as they are shown on THAT report that you are disputing.

[BananaTheDog]

Okay, so far I have---------->

 

1. Opted out

2. Contacted OC (Hospital) and they are sending me Deductable Waiver forms

3. Prepared three CRA pre HIPAA letters (On light blue w/clouds stationary in purple, italic font).

 

Last question, and then it's the waiting game, I have 11 total collection accounts reporting due to these same hospitalizations, 5 big ones, the inpatient ones, and 6 smaller ones, Medicare Part B covered but left remaining deductables and sent to CA. All with the same CA. TU and EX had the full account numbers listed on the reports, but EQ has the last four numbers XXXXed out, should I send the Pre HIPAA letter with the last four numbers Xed out? Much Thanks!!!

In your initial dispute letter you list ALL medical accounts as they are shown on THAT report that you are disputing.

 

 

Okay, all three letters now have ALL medical accounts listed, will I also need to include a copy of DL, utility bill etc.... ?

[r2-d2]

It is not necessary to send a copy of your DL, utility bill, etc. at this point.

[BananaTheDog]

It is not necessary to send a copy of your DL, utility bill, etc. at this point.

 

 

Good thing 'cause I just got back from the post office without including them... waiting game now, wish me luck and I'll continue this thread in a month or so, it would be a nice Xmas present to have allllllllll those baddies gone

[BananaTheDog]

So I have the Application for Community Assistance the OC sent me. In it, it asks if I applied and was denied for Medi-Cal (Californias term for Medicaid). My question is, if I disclose that I was single with no dependants at the time and on that basis did not apply for Medi-Cal (My SSDI payment exceeds the low income limit) but now I am married with 4 dependants and the sole provider, aside from my wifes unemployment, will that allow the OC to deny my application and file suit? The OC never gave me counciling on that fact that such programs were even available in the first place

Edited November 15, 2009 by stefang31

[Why Chat]

So I have the Application for Community Assistance the OC sent me. In it, it asks if I applied and was denied for Medi-Cal (Californias term for Medicaid). My question is, if I disclose that I was single with no dependants at the time and on that basis did not apply for Medi-Cal (My SSDI payment exceeds the low income limit) but now I am married with 4 dependants and the sole provider, aside from my wifes unemployment, will that allow the OC to deny my application and file suit? The OC never gave me counciling on that fact that such programs were even available in the first place

Tell the truth. Give the data that was correct at the time of your initial and subsequent admissions. As to Medi-Cal, I am unaware that you would not have qualified as a single person with no dependents. You certainly SHOULD have been offered the opportunity to obtain assistance under WHATEVER available programs, ( including VA assistance) that you qualified for at the time.

[BananaTheDog]

Here's what's happened this morning when I pulled CCT. Transunion has deleted 9 medical baddies!!! But the thing that is puzzling me is that the other big ones remain. The two for $992 and the three for $952 still show. All the low dollar collections have been deleted. The highest dollar amount collection they deleted was $399. I'm wondering, WhyChat, if having called the hospital (OC) and given them my new mailing address so they could send me the financial assistance paperwork could have had something to do with that.

 

Also, TU dispute status still shows 10 of 15 items complete, I'm hoping they delete the rest, and just didn't get to them yet, but curious, why only the high dollar ones.

 

NO COMPLAINTS AT ALL!!!!! Praise to your Pre-HIPAA process so far! Incredible

 

 

Also, the remaining undeleted accounts I previously disputed online, before reading Newbies section, about two months ago, and they came back "Meets FCRA requirements". Uh-oh.... ?

Edited November 21, 2009 by stefang31

[BananaTheDog]

"Also, the remaining undeleted accounts I previously disputed online"

 

After going back and checking, these are the exact 5 accounts I disputed online and they came back Meets FCRA requirements. These are the only ones that did not get deleted. How bad did I screw myself when I did that dispute, is there anything to be done?

[BananaTheDog]

.

[Why Chat]

"Also, the remaining undeleted accounts I previously disputed online"

 

After going back and checking, these are the exact 5 accounts I disputed online and they came back Meets FCRA requirements. These are the only ones that did not get deleted. How bad did I screw myself when I did that dispute, is there anything to be done?

Wait until the time limit for the CRA responses are over, if they have verified those 5 accounts that you previously disputed it is likely that those accounts are being "flagged" as previously disputed.

 

Wait until you resolve the issues with the hospital on your pending applications for relief.

 

THEN; send the medical DV to the reporting CA(s) on those remaining 5 accounts.

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

and the follow up dispute to the CRA(s)

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

[BananaTheDog]

Oh dear, I screwed this thing up now... I had a previous online dispute going with EQ about a collection that I had written and gotten a goodwill letter to work, it was an online dispute. So yesterday I got an email from EQ asking if I'd accept the results electronically, I thought it was for that dispute, but it wasn't, it was for the HIPAA dispute, and every single medical baddie was verified as "Belongs to you". They were able to get out of having to send me who they verified with and all the other details by me waiving and accepting electronic results, what do I do now Whychat????

[BananaTheDog]

ttt

[BananaTheDog]

ttt

 

Still hoping for some advice.