Can a collection agency report an account before billing medical insurance? I have dual insurance with 100% coverage and collection agencies have reported me with unpaid accounts before billing secondary insurance. When insurance pays the bill in full they upgrade the report to a paid collection. Most will delete the record but it is a hassle. Is it true that if you have insurance and the provider either does not bill or bills incorrectly that you do not have to pay?
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I would not think so.
I always have to pay.
Collections is a natural way for medical providers to collect.
Hospitals DO have to treat anyone who seeks treatment.
We all say medical is free to the indigent. This is not wholly true . Medical providers have the legal right to ruin credit on any and all person that do not pay fast. Expect to get collections from any and all medical providers fast. One of the biggest holes in hospital balance sheets is getting the bill to someone before they move and claim I never received a bill.
That is the largest line out there. So I have to prove my spot.
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If the account is found to "should have been paid by insurer" and the medical provider did not file insurance properly one would think the medical provider would have the account removed from your report.
NOTHING in credit reporting or collections is written in stone. One would think that all the creditors and bureaus and consumers could work this all out. But multiply, millions of creditors by millions of consumers, by 3 bureaus and it is a wonder anything works.
By and large most credit reports closely reflect a consumers past and current credit.
But strange things happen to real people in the hundreds of millions of different credit spots each day.
So check, recheck, and know your rights. Sounds like you are doing just that.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Collections Agency Billing Insurance, paid collection
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4 comments:
I work in insurance so I am very familiar with what you are talking about. To put it in a nutshell-unless you live in Texas and the provider cannot prove that they filed to your insurance within 95 days of the date of service-you get stuck paying. You are ultimately responsible for your own insurance. A provider is NOT required to file to the insurance (with the exceptions of PPO & other types of provider organizations that may require this as part of their contract). It is your responsibility to make sure things are filed correctly. I would suggest you get friendly with someone at the billing office at your clinic and just let them know what has been happening. Usually a provider is going to bill you before sending you to collections after they receive the first insurance payment. Call them then and ask them to hold off for an additional 30 days. Make sure the claim & EOB from your primary insurance is sent to the secondary. In some cases you have to do this yourself.
I am thinking of paying off some outstanding debts that are listed on my credit report. I know this is a good thing to do but I am a bit hesitant in paying because I am not sure that paying off the items will raise my credit score. I don't owe much in the scheme of things, they total less than $2000.
Do you think that paying off these debts would raise my credit score? If so, by how much? I am not sure of my current credit score but a year ago it was 527 (from experian). Below are the details.
Secured C. Card - $350 (past due)
Unsecured C. Card - $550 (charged off and listed twice, once by the creditor and again by the collection agency)
Cell phone bill - $500
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In addition, I have two more negative items on my report that I have made payments on.
Unsecured C. Card - $500 (chargeoff - I paid in settlement and is listed this way on report. Due to drop off in 2009)
Cnty. Clerk Judgment - $4200 (last payment due will be Jan. 31st, won’t drop off til’ 2013)
*I understand the importance of paying but do not want to put myself in a financial strain at this time if in the end the score won't go up. If this is going to be the outcome, I'd rather set up monthly payments with each creditor.
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I have four additional accounts, all of which are in good standing (car note, gym membership, 2 credit cards).
Thank you for your advice.
The past due now account for 350 would be my starting point. Work up the balance ladder. Negotiate with the original creditor if possible. Validate all collections and many are not legally verifiable. Epecially charge offs. Charge offs are tax deductions by the original creditor and are not legal collections in many cases. Read more on my free credit help website.
I do think you can raise your score quickly with debt validation, negotiation and payments
Great work.
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