I made payment arrangments for a hospital bill acquired in May 2008. The agreement was that I send no less than $20 monthly. I have since done so. Last month I received a letter from a collection agency for this bill (a couple days after they cashed the check for that month). Unfortunately I do not have the payment agreement in writing, but do have proof of monthly payments. Once I received the letter from the CA I sent a dispute letter asking for verification of the debt and proof of their relationship with the hospital. They sent verification, including the exact procedure I was being billed for, but not proof of a relationship with the hospital. The hospital therefore violated my hipaa rights, correct? Now, the CA has since listed this with 2 of the three credit bureaus. What can I do to fix this situation?
bump
I cant discuss the Credit Repair side, as I am a noob there still.
I am however the IT Director at a hospital.
Personally, I would call the OC business office directly, and
immediately ask to speak to a supervisor. Explain that
you had been making payments and didnt miss any
and you're wondering why you were sent to collections.
It sounds like an honest mistake.
Protip for the future situations:
Get your agreement in writing. Without paper, its your word
against theirs. In this case tho, your history of payments should
help you convince them that they had no reason to send you to
collections and they should retract it.
Again, I cant speak on the credit side, but what I just described
happens at my facility now and then. The people processing your
claims/bills/etc are all human and mistakes do happen. It only
takes 1 typo/transposition of a number...
WhyChat should have much better advice on the credit side.
I'm just trying to give you some insight into how the business office
at hospitals work.
Note: I DO NOT KNOW HOW CONTACTING THE OC IN THIS MANNER WILL
AFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO DISPUTE IT IF YOU CANNOT GET THIS HANDLED
WITH NICE WORDS AND GOODWILL. FYI.
I am however the IT Director at a hospital.
Personally, I would call the OC business office directly, and
immediately ask to speak to a supervisor. Explain that
you had been making payments and didnt miss any
and you're wondering why you were sent to collections.
It sounds like an honest mistake.
Protip for the future situations:
Get your agreement in writing. Without paper, its your word
against theirs. In this case tho, your history of payments should
help you convince them that they had no reason to send you to
collections and they should retract it.
Again, I cant speak on the credit side, but what I just described
happens at my facility now and then. The people processing your
claims/bills/etc are all human and mistakes do happen. It only
takes 1 typo/transposition of a number...
WhyChat should have much better advice on the credit side.
I'm just trying to give you some insight into how the business office
at hospitals work.
Note: I DO NOT KNOW HOW CONTACTING THE OC IN THIS MANNER WILL
AFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO DISPUTE IT IF YOU CANNOT GET THIS HANDLED
WITH NICE WORDS AND GOODWILL. FYI.
QUOTE (identitycrises @ Oct 19 2009, 01:37 PM) 
I made payment arrangments for a hospital bill acquired in May 2008. The agreement was that I send no less than $20 monthly. I have since done so. Last month I received a letter from a collection agency for this bill (a couple days after they cashed the check for that month). Unfortunately I do not have the payment agreement in writing, but do have proof of monthly payments. Once I received the letter from the CA I sent a dispute letter asking for verification of the debt and proof of their relationship with the hospital. They sent verification, including the exact procedure I was being billed for, but not proof of a relationship with the hospital. The hospital therefore violated my hipaa rights, correct? NO, not as long as you owe $$ on the accountNow, the CA has since listed this with 2 of the three credit bureaus. What can I do to fix this situation?
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Send the CRA's the initial dispute letter
http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html
The hospital probably did NOT make an "error" this is the standard procedure once they have the account on the books for a period of time- usually 18 Months to 2 Years or whenever the usual and ordinary amount that would have been paid by insurance has been received, it gets put into a "batch" of delinquent accounts that are given to a CA.
You can certainly call the hospital as Sonic has suggested, but don't be surprised if they tell you to pay the balance to the CA. DO NOT CONTACT the CA again except with the HIPAA letter.
Come back here TO THIS THREAD for further questions and advice
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