LabCorp write-offs?

[FtWorthAtheist]

 Does anyone know how long it takes for LabCorp to write-off a past due bill?

Many years ago, I was trying to help my mother with her bills while she was medically incapacitated.  I tried to pay a huge stack of LabCorp bills and the LabCorp website would accept payment for most of them but not for some.  When I called in about the rest I was told they'd been written off due to the age of the bill and I could no longer pay them.

I get LapCorp testing done regularly within a fertility clinic.  In June 2021, an error was made and something got coded incorrectly, and I got a bill for testing of a vaginal swab when it was actually a blood sample that was taken.  However, I can't get LabCorp to correct the bill in spite of hours wasted on the phone trying, and I've basically given up on that front.  They transfer me all around and always end up referring me back to the doctor's office, but the doctor's office always refers me back to LabCorp.  So I have refused to pay this one $138 bill until they correct it even though I've continued to pay the other bills they've sent me for the bloodwork they've been doing in the fertility clinic over the last 3 years.  However, when I try to use LabCorp facilities outside the fertility clinic for non-fertility stuff, they always demand payment of this past due $138 balance upfront before they will provide other testing.  It's become a pain to get other doctors to send me elsewhere, but I don't want to pay the erroneous bill based on principle.

I've been hoping eventually they will write-off the erroneous bill like they did my mom's bills, but after 29 months they're still demanding payment.  Does anybody know if there's a point at which they will write-off the erroneous bill, and if so when that is?

[lhamo]

I hope this doesn't come across as snarky, and it doesn't answer your original question, but is it really worth it to keep holding out on principal? 

How many hours of your life energy has this already sucked up?

If it were me, I'd pay the $138 to be rid of the problem. 

[reeshau]

Them writing it off doesn't mean you're off the hook.  It means it's sold off to a collections company, which will ding your credit score, and subject you to more aggressive communications.

If there is no cost or insurance difference, or maybe even if it is, I would just roll my eyes and move on.

[use2betrix]

Should the bloodwork you received be more or less expensive than the vaginal swab you didn’t receive?

I don’t really understand the logic that you won’t pay the bill because of the incorrect coding and their incompetency, but…. You want to keep going to them?

[bacchi]

Them writing it off doesn't mean you're off the hook.  It means it's sold off to a collections company, which will ding your credit score, and subject you to more aggressive communications.

If there is no cost or insurance difference, or maybe even if it is, I would just roll my eyes and move on.

I thought medical collections no longer affected credit scores?

OP - There's some internal timeline. It could be 36 months or it could be 60. Have you sent them a snail mail letter disputing the debt, return receipt?

[rantk81]

If you are tired of dealing with it, but want to stick it to them out of principal (and willing to spend some time to do it):

1. Document all your attempts at contacting them to resolve the issue.
2. Gather all documents that prove with 100% certainty that you are correct
3. Pay the the old bill via check, with a letter explaining why the bill is wrong, and request that fix the billing issue.
4. If they cash your check and they don't fix the billing issue, take them to small claims.

[reeshau]

Them writing it off doesn't mean you're off the hook.  It means it's sold off to a collections company, which will ding your credit score, and subject you to more aggressive communications.

If there is no cost or insurance difference, or maybe even if it is, I would just roll my eyes and move on.

I thought medical collections no longer affected credit scores?

OP - There's some internal timeline. It could be 36 months or it could be 60. Have you sent them a snail mail letter disputing the debt, return receipt?

Ah, yes.  That's true for bills under $500.

[bacchi]

If you are tired of dealing with it, but want to stick it to them out of principal (and willing to spend some time to do it):

1. Document all your attempts at contacting them to resolve the issue.
2. Gather all documents that prove with 100% certainty that you are correct
3. Pay the the old bill via check, with a letter explaining why the bill is wrong, and request that fix the billing issue.
4. If they cash your check and they don't fix the billing issue, take them to small claims.

3. Write "Paid in Full" on the paper check; the amount should be what you'd owe if it was bloodwork. With the letter explanation, including a list of your past attempts to fix the issue, the debt is in dispute.

See https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/consumer-protection/banking-and-loans/paid-in-full-check-memo.html. IANAL, your state may not have such laws, etc., etc.

[FtWorthAtheist]

I'm very against giving in and enriching companies that have ineffective customer service.  It's partially because I used to do customer service when I was younger, and I've directly experienced policies that cause ineffective customer service.  They do not get a win from me due to their incompetence, and yes I'm willing to inconvenience myself to make sure they don't.  It is more than worth it in terms of personal satisfaction because I'm pretty stubborn.  Any collections person who dares to call me will be subjected to my displeasure and then hung up on if they persist.  I feel if everyone did this bad companies would end up having to fix their customer service.

AT&T once charged me for local phone service I didn't order instead of the high speed internet I did order that was never provided.  I spent a couple lunch breaks on the phone with them and then gave up; that hit my credit for a short period of time.  Comcast sent me to collections for not returning or paying for the cable modem even after I showed them a receipt proving I had purchased my cable modem and not from them.  A former apartment complex promised to pay for damages to my vehicle's side mirror after their poorly maintained gate (that broke weekly) malfunctioned and knocked the mirror off my car; later they refused due to the price of the mirror, so I refused to pay that amount of my last utility bill through them. 

Once I sense I am wasting my time pursuing resolution, I stop calling them, but they will never get the money they are trying to charge me and I am proud to stand up to them.  My credit has had some blips due to this, but they've typically fallen off well before 7 years.  I  don't think I've ever had more than one at a time so it's never been a problem for me.  One of my mortgage companies asked me to pay one and I refused so they asked me to write a note to their underwriters about it, but my FICO was 780 and they still approved my mortgage refinance without paying. 

I haven't sent a letter disputing the debt because I did that in the past and all it seemed to do was waste time and postage; the company just sent me back a copy of the invalid bill, then sold the debt to a different company that did the same thing after I sent them a dispute.  I wish there were better options for labwork, but some of the benefits programs my employer uses give me prepaid lab orders that can only be used through them.

[reeshau]

To give you some hope:

We got on a new ACA plan in 2020, and got a new primary care in-network doc, who sent us to his in-network hospital for lab work.  Only, that lab was out of network (Quest).  So we were billed $600 each, instead of the expected $50.  Later that year, the US passed an anti-surprise biling law, but Texas has had one since 2016.  I called the insurance company to complain about it, and they did fix it.  It took 3 months, and the call took some time to explain, but there wasn't a wall of denial / inaction / other wrong action.

Long ago, we also had a doctor's office that sent us a bill, because they had tried to bill my wife to Medicare.  We are not Medicare participants, and this was not our first visit there.  They are in a different state, but were in-network.  Reversing their error involved 3 BCBS affiliates: the one in their state, the one in our state, and the one in the state of my company's headquarters, who administered their healthcare plans.  There was more than one call that said: "Yes, I can see the error.  But I don't have the access to change it."  Took several phone calls, but nobody was antagonistic, and it got resolved.

We still get explanations of benefits for the insurance company we left in 2022, adjusting and discussing visits for my son in 2021.  It's never our concern, and I'm sure it's automated.  But the system is complicated, even without a customer's input!