QUESTION
Sent to collections by hospital who didn't even try to collect first
Asked on Aug 14th, 2015 on Collections - Florida
More details to this question:
Went to the hospital. Received 2 bills and paid in full immediately. Found out that a 3rd bill that I never received was sent to collections 30 days after my visit. The Hospital never submitted the claim through my insurance company. Obviously they had my address. The Collection Agency stated that most people who were submitted by this hospital never got a bill and aren't aware they owe money. How can this hospital be held accountable? They immediately send bills to collections without even trying to collect. 30 days after a visit isn't enough time to send a statement and ask for payment.
1 ANSWER
Consumer Debt Collector Harassment & Abuse Attorney serving Tampa, FL
Partner at
Tischhauser Law Group
2 Awards
This will revolve around whether the bill is a covered charge or out of network. If it was covered and they just failed to submit it, this should be addressed by your insurance carrier and the collection effort may be an illicit "balance billing" case. You may want to contact a lawyer such as our office that handles FCCPA/FDCPA collections cases if that is the case. Otherwise, it is not required that any entity provide you mailed bills for services prior to sending the bills to a collection agency or a billing/collections department for collections.
Answered on Aug 17th, 2015 at 8:28 AM
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