Author Topic: Hospital Bill that will not die!!!  (Read 1625 times)

Duke03

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Hospital Bill that will not die!!!
« on: November 08, 2018, 07:49:56 PM »
2.5 years ago my wife had my daughter.  A month later we got two bills one for $179 and one for 170.00.  We went up to the hospital and said we wanted to pay both bills in full.  They combined the accounts and I paid an even $350.00 got my receipt and walked out the door.Heck they even over charged me $1, but didn't notice it at the time.  Almost 2years later we get a letter in the mail from a collections agency saying they bought the debt and want to collect.  I called them to explain we have a receipt which I faxed them and informed them that if they attempt to put anything on our credit I'd sue them.


We go back to the hospital to see what's going on and they claimed it must be a mistake and they'd look into it and get back with us....of course we hear nothing. 6 months later my wife has to have a surgery and is pre paying her portion of the bill and specifically ask if they have figured anything out.  They claim she is showing a zero balance.  A month after the surgery the hospital sends us a refund check because we over paid for this surgery.  Now last week we got another letter from a different collection agency saying they are trying to collect the $170.  Same spill I fax them the receipt showing I paid the bill and told them not to contact me again.  My wife and I go back up to the hospital again to try to figure this out.  Now they claim that even though we have a receipt showing we paid they aren't 100% sure the payment went thru and want me to produce a bank statement or credit card statement showing it as paid.  I told them this unacceptable.  I don't even know which credit card I used to pay the bill and they admitted they don't keep records of card numbers that long.  I churn credit cards for sign on bonuses so there is no way to even remember what card I was using 2.5 years ago let alone that I still have it.  I always cancel them after 1 year and the annual fee is due.  I just find it funny the hospital wants me to produce documents that they themselves can't produce.  All I keep hearing is that we think maybe your payment didn't actually process..... My reply is always the same.  Well how did I get this receipt that shows it processed on such and such date at this time down to the exact second... 

 I pay all my statements in full every month and honestly I wouldn't even notice a $350 charge of being there or not.  Some months due to work expenses and time of year I could easily pay balances of 7k to 10k so $350 wouldn't even register on the radar.  I also brought up the fact to the hospital that my health insurance has paid them over 40k in the last 3 years so trying to come after me for a $350 bill that I've paid seems very trivial and I let it be known that if this issue doesn't get resolved we'd never step foot thru the doors again.  They blew this off like it was nothing....  Anyone have any ideas of what to do next?

Abe

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Re: Hospital Bill that will not die!!!
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2018, 08:05:11 PM »
Ask them to produce proof that they were not paid, since you have a receipt that you did pay. It is not your responsibility to ensure "the payment went through", after getting a receipt. On the receipt there should be a credit card number (or last 4 digits) that you can use to identify the account. If that statement shows the payment, send both the receipt and the statement to the hospital as proof. If they continue to cause problems, inform your State's Department of Health and Human Services that the hospital inappropriately sent your bill to a debt collector despite receiving payment. Also inform the hospital's billing department about this, and that you will not be paying. That may get them off their butt and figure out on their end what happened.
« Last Edit: November 08, 2018, 08:07:21 PM by Abe »

COEE

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Re: Hospital Bill that will not die!!!
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2018, 08:18:04 PM »
You have a receipt, and you've provided them a copy.  You don't need anything else.  It's their responsibility to run the credit card properly.

I would pay a lawyer $300 to write a letter telling them that if they ever contact you again, that you will sue them for improperly sending you to collections and 2.5 years of harassment.  Also threaten to report them to the fair trade commission.

Play hardball with hospitals and medical institutions.  Fight back.  Most people roll over and take the abuse because they are too overwhelmed to fight them.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!