Reader Question: Medical Bill In Collections With No Warning

Medical Bill in Collections (cont.)

A Second Opinion

I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything in my answer, so I turned to attorney Robert Brennan for a second opinion. He has extensive experience in debt collection and credit damage lawsuits, and he shares advice on his website SoCalCreditDamage.com. (He’s also the coauthor of the California edition of my ebook, Debt Collection Answers: How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights.) Here’s what he said:

In this situation, she likely signed an agreement making herself personally liable for any charges not covered by insurance when she received the medical treatment. So, she’s most likely on the hook.

Most debt collectors have an “insurance desk”, where they have a specialist collector who specifically tries to get insurance coverage for the debts. Usually these individuals are dealing with medical insurance companies. If she had any kind of insurance, including possible public benefits, she should first contact the “insurance desk” at any involved debt collector and put them to work trying to collect from the insurance company.

My third prong of attack would simply be to negotiate. Obviously make the debt collector prove the debt: have the collector provide the documentation showing that your client actually incurred it. If not, then she did not incur it and it should not be credit reported. If she did incur it, in writing, then she should probably work out a repayment plan, unless, of course, there is insurance or it’s past the statute of limitations.

[Related Article: Medical Relief Act: Why I’d Vote For It]

Beyond that, have your client look to her state’s statute of limitations. In California, it’s four years for breach of written contract, two years for breach of oral contract. It varies state to state. Her debt may be past the statute of limitations, in which case she does need to pay it legally. However, recall that creditors and debt collectors can report a delinquent debt for seven years + six months following the date of first delinquency (with the original creditor), so the statute of limitations would not prevent the credit reporting.

You may also want to read Credit.coms article, Medical Bill Nightmares, for more information on how to handle medical bills you can’t afford to pay.

Have you had a medical bill sent to collections without warning? If so, please share your story with us in the comments section below.

Image by reegone, via Flickr