HIPAA Process...Am I On The Right Track?

[Aaron719]

First of all I want to say that I am brand new to the forums here at WhyChat, and I think its a great website full of very

useful information. Unfortunately I was a little late finding this information and ignorant about the situation I am in

until a few days ago.

I have a medical bill that went to collections in March and showed up on my report in May. It is for $50 (co-payment) and

it definitely is mine. I am in the middle of getting my paperwork together to visit a lender for a mortgage (my first

house).

I noticed the collection on my report about a week ago; I panicked a bit when I saw it had lowered my score from

740 to 635. So I immediately started searching for answers, what I initially found wasn't much so I just started acting on

what I knew because I wanted this to be gone as soon as possible. So I called Experian (The bureau's report I saw it on)

to get more information on who the collection was from, dates, the OC, whatever I could. She asked me if I

wanted to dispute it and she could tell me more (like the account #) and I said yes. Now this is all before visiting

WhyChat. So to shorten this up a bit; I have done the following in this order:

1) Called Experian

2) Disputed collection (didn't know I had to wait 60 days to dispute again)

3) called OC (obtained CA's info and paid the bill with a credit card over the phone, TO THE OC, I have not received a

receipt yet but it has been withdrawn).

4) The next day CA contacts me, I call them back and they read off all of my info, I tell them that the debt is paid in

full to the OC, and if this can be removed from my report. They say they will contact the OC to verify payment and obtain

directions on what to do next.

5) Now I find WhyChat and start to study the process and see where I'm at in the process. Discovering that I missed some

steps already

6) I decided I was at the step of sending the HIPAA Letter to the OC.

It's been 2 days since I mailed the HIPAA and now I'm just waiting for a response. My real questions are: Do I need to do

anything else? Did I do something horribly wrong? And is there a particular office or department I should have sent the

letter to?

Thanks

[Why Chat]

WOW!!

 

First of all this is the medical debt forum at Creditboards, NOT the "Why Chat" forum.

 

Second, you have paid the OC who will notify the CA and the collection account on your report will be changed to a "paid" collection.

 

 

There is absolutely nothing that can unwind what you have done, and I can't even tell if you did anything wrong as I don't know the date of the medical service.

 

I suggest you take a deep breath, stop whatever communication you were planning to do and get your act together by following the basic steps.

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

 

When you are applying for a mortgage a lot of JDBs ( junk debt buyers) love to poison reports so they can get paid without question --that is why you should opt out before doing anything else.

 

If this $50. account is the ONLY "baddy" on your credit report, then whatever you have done or not done is not going to make a lot of difference.

 

Once you get results from your last communication/dispute to the CRA ( is the account on only one report??) then come back to this thread and we will all try to help you get everything completely cleared up.

[Aaron719]

I just opted out and obtained all three reports from annualcreditreport.com. I have taken screenshots of my addresses as well as report reference numbers. this collection is only reported to Equifax and Experian. I had already disputed the collection with Experian and that came back verified. I have not yet disputed with equifax.

 

So correct me if I'm wrong; I now follow the steps to remove old addresses from all three reports?

 

Just as a side question; Can you answer how long you think this process will take for my particular situation?

Also... why must I opt out and cancel past addresses if the collection is mine and its a medical collection that falls under HIPAA? Shouldn't I just legally be able to have this removed?

[Aaron719]

I've mailed the "old address deletion" letters to all 3 bureaus. Its been 2 days since I mailed them. Can I send the initial dispute letters to experian and Equifax (the only 2 bureaus that report the debt)? Also remember that I've already disputed the debt with experian online 10 days ago. So they won't accept another dispute on the same item so quickly will they? Even with it changing to paid?

[Why Chat]

Go ahead and send the WRITTEN dispute letter to Eq and Ex.

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

 

It may seem counter intuitive to dispute something that you already paid and have disputed on the phone, however the credit reporting system is basically an illogical system that punishes people for paying their debts by having them report as "paid".

You would THINK that a "paid" collection would be better than an unpaid one for your credit scores, but it is NOT as it is still derogatory, and is more recent.

 

It is POSSIBLE that your actions in paying the OC quickly and having the CA call you back MAY get the CA to remove the account from your reports, but in order to protect your future ability to dispute a "paid" collection, you need to establish a paper trail of communications.

[Aaron719]

So I Just received a letter from the collection agency dated May 13 basically stating that I have a debt with them and that it needs to be paid; If not paid then disputed within 30 days. I think the letter says something about calling them to verify the debt or something along those lines. Sorry I'm at work at the moment. It sounds an initial contact letter; a lot like a letter that they would have sent me back when it first went to collections (something I never received).

 

Anyways, I'm using my own logic when I say this: Seeing as this letter from the CA is dated the same date as the day the OC recieved my HIPAA letter and about a day after they had called me and said they would contact the OC about the paid debt and see what they wanted them to do about it.

 

Im Just wondering couldn't I send the verification letter to the CA and be done? They wouldn't be able to verify the debt and therefore would not be able to legally report the debt.

 

I know this isn't the exact process just curious.

[Why Chat]

It will do you no good to contact the CA or send them a verification letter now. You have no idea FOR SURE if the CA who contacted you is the SAME CA that is reporting, or even the SAME CA the account was sent to from the OC.

 

As to a CA not being allowed to legally report a debt they can not verify--- HA HA HA

 

If that were the case there would be no need for this forum, no need for the HIPAA letter program and thousands of people would not be losing millions of $ in extra lending costs because their credit was poisoned by CAs who had no right or authority to report.

[Aaron719]

The letter is from the same CA that's reporting the collection and they are/were in direct contact with the hospital. Can sending the verification letter to the CA hurt me in any way?

[Why Chat]

The letter is from the same CA that's reporting the collection and they are/were in direct contact with the hospital. Can sending the verification letter to the CA hurt me in any way?

Yes, if you send them a letter then they will have had a direct communication from YOU in writing regarding the payment you made,this will allow them to report it ( correctly) as a "paid" collection. You will have cemented it to your reports.

 

A paid collection is worse for your credit than an unpaid one as it is still derogatory, but since it is updated to a more recent date it will LOWER your scores.

[Aaron719]

I understand, that makes sense. Well I have mailed the dispute letters to Experian and Equifax (the only two reporting). Thank you for working with me so far and answering all of my questions.

[Aaron719]

Update: I just received a letter in the mail from Equifax dated May 31, 2013 regarding my written dispute of the collection account and it came back as verified and unpaid. I have yet to receive a letter from Experian directly referring to my written dispute of the collection, only a letter about my written request to delete old addresses; which was attached to a Experian credit report dated June 3rd.

 

Experian has agreed to delete one of my old addresses but not both. Equifax agreed to delete both.

 

Now I'm a little unsure of what to do next... Do I wait for Experian to reply? Do I send the OC health care provider the HIPAA letter? Do I send a letter to the CA?

 

The CA hasn't responded yet, or atleast I haven't received it yet. As a reminder, I paid the OC at the very beginning of this process, actually right before I started the process (My own mistake). I also sent the HIPAA letter to the OC at the very beginning, after payment, mistakenly thinking thats the step I was on (another mistake of mine).

[Why Chat]

Wait until you receive a response from Experian.

 

Have you sent the medical DV to the CA-- or did you send them something else??

 

When you come back with your result from Experian please list all the letters you have sent, including dates and the responses you received .

[Aaron719]

I haven’t sent anything to the CA.

Actions I have taken so far in chronological order and the responses I received:

May 7 – Paid the OC in full

May 10 – Received receipt from OC Medical Provider

May 10 – Mailed HIPAA Letter to OC Medical Provider

May 13 – Received a letter from CA stating, and I paraphrase: The collection is placed with them… The balance is $50… If I need help contact them… Unless I notify this office within 30 days that I dispute the debt, the office will assume it’s valid…This is an attempt to collect a debt. Payment options.

May 17 – Delete old addresses letters are mailed to all 3 bureaus.

May 21 – Initial Dispute Letters are mailed to Experian and Equifax (The only two reporting).

May 24 – Trans Union response; both old addresses are deleted.

May 27 – Equifax Response; both old addresses are deleted.

June 3 – Experian Response; One old address is deleted.

June 8 – Equifax Response; Collection is verified and unpaid.

I’m currently awaiting a response from Experian on the dispute letter.

[Why Chat]

I haven’t sent anything to the CA.

 

Actions I have taken so far in chronological order and the responses I received:

 

May 7 – Paid the OC in full

May 10 – Received receipt from OC Medical Provider

May 10 – Mailed HIPAA Letter to OC Medical Provider

May 13 – Received a letter from CA stating, and I paraphrase: The collection is placed with them… The balance is $50… If I need help contact them… Unless I notify this office within 30 days that I dispute the debt, the office will assume it’s valid…This is an attempt to collect a debt. Payment options.

May 17 – Delete old addresses letters are mailed to all 3 bureaus.

May 21 – Initial Dispute Letters are mailed to Experian and Equifax (The only two reporting).

May 24 – Trans Union response; both old addresses are deleted.

May 27 – Equifax Response; both old addresses are deleted.

June 3 – Experian Response; One old address is deleted.

June 8 – Equifax Response; Collection is verified and unpaid.

 

I’m currently awaiting a response from Experian on the dispute letter.

OK, you sort of mixed things up!!

You say you mailed a HIPAA letter to the OC AFTER you paid them??

 

Send the CA the medical DV-you are still within their 30 days

http://whychat.5u.com/GUIDE%20HIPAA%20PROGRAM.html

 

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

[Aaron719]

Ok so I'm preparing the medical DV letter for the CA. I should be preparing the "unpaid collection" version; is this correct? Since they are reporting it as unpaid and their letter to me claims its unpaid.

 

Also I'm not sure what is meant by this statement in the directions: "Do a separate letter for EACH CRA that the CA is reporting to, make sure the account #'s match the report. You can MAIL them all to each CA in ONE envelope with one CMRR"

 

How many letters am I supposed to prepare, and who should they be sent to?

[Why Chat]

If the CA is reporting to all 3 CRAs and if you have disputed the account to all 3 CRAs and all 3 verified, then you send 3 letters to the CA 1 for each CRA so that you can send each CRA the follow up letter with a copy of the medical DV with THEIR identification. You do NOT want any CRA to know that you are also disputing the account with the other CRAs.

 

 

"This letter is being sent to you in response to your
recent fraudulent verification of an unknown medical account on my (name of CRA) report"

[Aaron719]

I got a scheduled email today from Experian stating that my credit score has changed and to check it. So I log in to see that it has risen from 625 to 725. Consequently I check my report to find that the collection has been changed to "paid, closed" and reporting that it appeared in June rather than March. Is this the outcome I'm looking for? Because, I would much rather it not be on there at all. Also I mailed the medical DV to the CA early this morning when the post office opened.

[Aaron719]

Update:

 

I mailed the medical DV letter to the CA on the 10th or 11th of June. I haven't received any reply from the CA other than a letter dated 6/12 that I received around 6/27. All the letter said was: "This is confirmation that the above listed account has been paid/settled in full. If you have any questions, please contact us." The tracking number shows that the CA received the medical DV letters. Do I send out the, "followup dispute letters to the CRA's"?

 

The collection is now reporting "paid, closed" with both EX and EQ (never reported to TU).

 

My FICO scores are reporting as EX: 640, EQ: 648, TU: 724. My FACO scores are all around 725.

[Why Chat]

Update:

 

I mailed the medical DV letter to the CA on the 10th or 11th of June. I haven't received any reply from the CA other than a letter dated 6/12 that I received around 6/27. All the letter said was: "This is confirmation that the above listed account has been paid/settled in full. If you have any questions, please contact us." The tracking number shows that the CA received the medical DV letters. Do I send out the, "followup dispute letters to the CRA's"?

 

The collection is now reporting "paid, closed" with both EX and EQ (never reported to TU).

 

My FICO scores are reporting as EX: 640, EQ: 648, TU: 724. My FACO scores are all around 725.

Yes the instructions are quite clear, you send the follow up disputes as soon as you have proof of receipt.

http://www.whychat.5u.com/GUIDE%20HIPAA%20PROGRAM.html

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