Collections

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Topic Author
matthew46
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat May 27, 2023 5:15 pm

Collections

Post by matthew46 »

I am seeking advice on my options for dealing with a collections agency.

I received a bill dated April 3,2023 from Credence Resource Management for $1,800 for an account with American Medical Response. This is for an ambulance charge when my 12-year-old son had his first seizure and went to the ER. I never received this bill and the charges were not submitted to our insurance, which would have covered the charges. All the other myriad charges from that day (ER, CT scan etc.) were submitted and covered. In fact, I paid another bill to American Medical Response the following year for another ambulance service for my son and was never told of any outstanding charges on our account.

I sent a certified letter to Credence requesting proof of this debt that was received on April 17 by Credence. Today, May 27, I received a letter from Credence (dated May 18) confirming receipt of my request to verify the debt along with the original bill from American Medical Response--which is from 12/04/2021.

I have confirmed with my insurance that they never received this bill and I believe they said it can not be resubmitted because too much time has past.

Am I stuck paying the full amount for this? Did Credence respond to my request for verification soon enough? Can this amount be submitted to my insurance company? Should I attempted to negotiate this debt down directly with Credence? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
mhalley
Posts: 10432
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:02 am

Re: Collections

Post by mhalley »

My understanding is that you have no ability to file the claim after the time limit has passed. I would negotiate with the debt collector, and insure you have in writing you will have no fico consequences. Start out with say 20 cents on the dollar, with a goal of no more than 50 cents.
Topic Author
matthew46
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat May 27, 2023 5:15 pm

Re: Collections

Post by matthew46 »

Thank you for the response. Would you recommend negotiating via certified letter?
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Stinky
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Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:38 am
Location: Sweet Home Alabama

Re: Collections

Post by Stinky »

Welcome to the Forum!

On the second ambulance ride for your son -

Did your insurance pay for part of that? If so, who submitted the bill to your insurance - you or the ambulance company?
Retired life insurance company financial executive who sincerely believes that ”It’s a GREAT day to be alive!”
ScubaHogg
Posts: 3573
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2011 2:02 pm

Re: Collections

Post by ScubaHogg »

mhalley wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 10:08 pm My understanding is that you have no ability to file the claim after the time limit has passed. I would negotiate with the debt collector, and insure you have in writing you will have no fico consequences. Start out with say 20 cents on the dollar, with a goal of no more than 50 cents.
Does the provider have any legal obligation to send the patient a bill in any kind of timely fashion? Is there a statute of limitations on bills, so to speak?
“Conventional Treasury rates are risk free only in the sense that they guarantee nominal principal. But their real rate of return is uncertain until after the fact.” -Risk Less and Prosper
Topic Author
matthew46
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat May 27, 2023 5:15 pm

Re: Collections

Post by matthew46 »

Stinky wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 10:38 pm Welcome to the Forum!

On the second ambulance ride for your son -

Did your insurance pay for part of that? If so, who submitted the bill to your insurance - you or the ambulance company?
Thanks for the welcome!

Insurance company did pay a portion of my son's second ambulance ride. I hadn't reached the deductible so the amount owed is more than I would have owed for the first ambulance ride (as I had met the deductible already that year).

The ambulance company submitted the claim for the first ride.

Thanks again.
Topic Author
matthew46
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat May 27, 2023 5:15 pm

Re: Collections

Post by matthew46 »

ScubaHogg wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 10:47 pm
mhalley wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 10:08 pm My understanding is that you have no ability to file the claim after the time limit has passed. I would negotiate with the debt collector, and insure you have in writing you will have no fico consequences. Start out with say 20 cents on the dollar, with a goal of no more than 50 cents.
Does the provider have any legal obligation to send the patient a bill in any kind of timely fashion? Is there a statute of limitations on bills, so to speak?
They said they sent me the bill but I never received it and don't know how they'd prove that. As I said, I received a second bill from them the following year and paid that in a timely fashion.
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celia
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:32 am
Location: SoCal

Re: Collections

Post by celia »

ScubaHogg wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 10:47 pm Does the provider have any legal obligation to send the patient a bill in any kind of timely fashion? Is there a statute of limitations on bills, so to speak?
Yes and yes.


You have no obligation to pay any medical bill (or negotiate it) when the time limit for submitting it has passed! I think the time limit is about a year or 18 months and might be state dependant. (Call your insurance to confirm this and ask the other questions you are bringing up.). The ambulance company should have submitted it to your insurance soon after the cost was incurred. If they had mailed it to you, you should have forwarded it to your insurance company. (You can do that now with the newly received 2-year old bill, but your insurance will just say it’s past the filing deadline.)

What kind of company is this who, if they really submitted a timely bill to someone, would wait over a year to follow up? This happened to us once and the doctor’s billing team said to forget about the bill when we called. Then, a year later, the exact same thing happened again and this time we asked them to send a written acknowledgement that we no longer owe anything for the original date of service. (That forces them to “do” something besides just answering the phone, which leaves no record of a call. And we can then send a copy of their acknowledgement to the collections company should we be contacted again.)

OP, You should never pay a medical bill until you find out what your insurance paid on it. The insurance Explanation Of Benefits (EOB) will always say how much of the remaining bill you need to pay. It is quite often that the insurance can knock down the price to a contracted price they have with some providers. What will you do if you pay, then the insurance says you don’t have to pay anything further? Do you really want to spend time getting money back for something you didn’t need to pay for?
MrJones
Posts: 775
Joined: Sat Mar 18, 2017 2:23 am

Re: Collections

Post by MrJones »

I would also ask the experts at:

https://creditboards.com/forums/index.p ... llections/

I posted there recently (non-medical) and received great advice.
Topic Author
matthew46
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat May 27, 2023 5:15 pm

Re: Collections

Post by matthew46 »

celia wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 12:25 am
ScubaHogg wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 10:47 pm Does the provider have any legal obligation to send the patient a bill in any kind of timely fashion? Is there a statute of limitations on bills, so to speak?
Yes and yes.


You have no obligation to pay any medical bill (or negotiate it) when the time limit for submitting it has passed! I think the time limit is about a year or 18 months and might be state dependant. (Call your insurance to confirm this and ask the other questions you are bringing up.). The ambulance company should have submitted it to your insurance soon after the cost was incurred. If they had mailed it to you, you should have forwarded it to your insurance company. (You can do that now with the newly received 2-year old bill, but your insurance will just say it’s past the filing deadline.)

What kind of company is this who, if they really submitted a timely bill to someone, would wait over a year to follow up? This happened to us once and the doctor’s billing team said to forget about the bill when we called. Then, a year later, the exact same thing happened again and this time we asked them to send a written acknowledgement that we no longer owe anything for the original date of service. (That forces them to “do” something besides just answering the phone, which leaves no record of a call. And we can then send a copy of their acknowledgement to the collections company should we be contacted again.)

OP, You should never pay a medical bill until you find out what your insurance paid on it. The insurance Explanation Of Benefits (EOB) will always say how much of the remaining bill you need to pay. It is quite often that the insurance can knock down the price to a contracted price they have with some providers. What will you do if you pay, then the insurance says you don’t have to pay anything further? Do you really want to spend time getting money back for something you didn’t need to pay for?
The ambulance company said we didn't provide them with the information information, which is a lie. My wife gave them all the info on the ride with my son to the ER.
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