My cardiologist's office told me that they were in networ...

[Anonymous]

Call the collection agency every single day, non stop.  Contact the hospital and request a face to face meeting with the head of Patient Affairs.  Don't stop pestering them until you have it removed.  The healthcare industry will continue to ruin our credit with their shabby billing processes and billing systems until we take a stand and start causing them grief back.

I would also send a dispute letter to all 3 agencies weekly.  At some point the hospital or the collection agency is going to screw up and not respond (within the guidelines) and the account will have to be removed.  In other words, make them work for it. 

[Anonymous]

You are correct - in some states, like Michigan, only one party has to know the call is being recorded - that would be you. What the heck.  When I get good and mad I tell them I'm recording the call.

I have no tolerance for collection agencies acting on behalf of health care.  The last time I received a call from a collection agency, I gave them this line:  "The FPC required me to advise you that you have called a billable number" (they ask what do I mean".  Then I explain to them that the number they dialed has been forwarded to a billable 800 number.  The first minute is 50.95, each additional minute is 10.95 and will be billed directly to their main number. Do you want to continue the call.  When one agency did - I let them talk and talk and talk.  Then I gave them their total verbally and mailed them an invoice the next day.  I mailed them a 30, 60 and 90 day past due invoice.  Once I reached 120 days past due, I sent them a letter advising them that the matter was being turned over to a collections agency.  The invoice that I sent them simply stated "for telecommunications services rendered".

[Anonymous]

Now - allow me to reiterate the recommendation that I stated earlier.  Call the hospital or the provider and request a meeting with patient affairs to review the case.  At minimum, you are burning their time.  They are getting away with this because we allow them to.

[Anonymous]

Patients need to reverse tactics.  One time, I stood at the Triage desk in the ER and demanded that they tell me what the patient portion of my bill was going to be in advance.  I had about $500 cash in my hand.  "Well, even if we could tell you, we can't accept payment here and the cashier's office is closed".  Well - long story short - I knew what the patient portion would be - I left the cash with the triage attendant and told her that my bill was paid in full and what she did with the money was her problem, not mine.  I never received a bill from that hospital for the ER visit.  but I can tell you this - they spent some resource time figuring out how to post my payment and lost some productive time in the receivables department talking about the crazy patient who insisted on paying cash in the ER.