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Need help with DH med bill, making Pymt but still send to CA

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momof2
Frequent Contributor

Need help with DH med bill, making Pymt but still send to CA

Here's the problem, In Feb. this year my DH went to the hospital. March the med ins made there pymt and in April the hospital sent us a bill for the remaining balance. Since receiving that in may, June, July we have made btwn $10 and $15 pymt each of those months. At the Start of Aug we get a CA letter demanding full pymt, so for Aug (last month) I sent them a $10. Yesterday we receive a letter stating that they have been honest in attempting to contact us, via mail (no phone calls have been made to us). And that we have 10 days to respond and make full pymt. Here's my questions,

 

1. we've made pymt to the hospital each month an invoice was coming in, can they send it to a CA even it isn't the full amount due?

 

2. We made a pymt to last month to the CA, (yes the CA DID cash the ck) can they report it to the 3 CRA's and put it on his CR's even though pymt are being made?

 

Do I send them a request for validity even though we know its his bill?

 

I dont understand why the hospital still sent it to the CA even though we were making pymts. This letter we just got yesterday says we have 10 days to respond so please send me any and all help you can give me, were already dealing with another CA from calif and sending them a PFD.

 

Thank you

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Message 1 of 7
6 REPLIES 6
Booner72
Senior Contributor

Re: Need help with DH med bill, making Pymt but still send to CA

Hi - yes I've had this happen.  If the payments aren't big enough, they send you to collections.  I had a hospital bill I was paying 50 bucks a month on - I missed one month.  Got the dunning letter from the CA and I had to pay it all right then ($500.00) to prevent it from going on my reports.  The CA usually gives 30 days to do this before they report.  This was just in May of this year, had that account hit my reports, there is no way I would have gotten this house bc I need 12 months of 'clean credit' - plus I couldn't have gotten my scores up in time.

 

how much is the total due?  My advice is to beg borrow and not steal to get the full amount to the CA so that they don't report it to your credit reports.

STARTING: 11/24/10 EQ-584 EXP-648 TU04-595
CLOSED FIRST HOME 8/19/11 EQ-630 EXP-691 TU04-653
CURRENT: EQ-701 EXP-??? TU08-720
Message 2 of 7
Peach8321
Frequent Contributor

Re: Need help with DH med bill, making Pymt but still send to CA

What does the bill say for a payment amount?  Is $10 the minmum payment or did YOU decide on that number?  If you aren't paying the minimum or if the bill was 6 months and then pay in full, you have done something wrong.  If you aren't paying the amount on the bill and are paying less, then yes, they can send you to collections as you are not paying your bill.

 

I would do a few things:

 

1. call the hospital, figure out if they will still accept payment or if you should only deal with the CA

 

2. call the CA and ask for the full amount - figure out if you can pay it off right away...if you can't, try and work out a payment plan with them.

 

I realize that it's hard to pay medical bills, but if you aren't paying the amount you are supposed to, then you are deliquent and they will deal with that as the law allows...if your minimum was $10 each month then you might have a case, otherwise try and deal with where you are now, rather than going back.

 

If the CA wants, they CAN put it on your DH's report, but it shouldn't go on yours so keep that in mind.

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Message 3 of 7
momof2
Frequent Contributor

Re: Need help with DH med bill, making Pymt but still send to CA

When we got the bill there was nothing that said minimum payment due. The bill said full payment is due now. The total is $555. I have always been told that as long as your paying them something they cant legally report it to the cras.
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FICO2/10=6012/10-FACO TU 578;3/10=643
Message 4 of 7
Booner72
Senior Contributor

Re: Need help with DH med bill, making Pymt but still send to CA


@momof2 wrote:
When we got the bill there was nothing that said minimum payment due. The bill said full payment is due now. The total is $555. I have always been told that as long as your paying them something they cant legally report it to the cras.

I think that might have been the case in the olden days - but these days not so much.  I owed over 800 for a recent surgery and a trip to the ER for DH.  The hospital gave me six months and not a day more to pay this off.  They were definitely within their legal rights to send you to collections if you were only sending in 10 bucks and that was not an agreed upon payment plan.  Good Luck!

STARTING: 11/24/10 EQ-584 EXP-648 TU04-595
CLOSED FIRST HOME 8/19/11 EQ-630 EXP-691 TU04-653
CURRENT: EQ-701 EXP-??? TU08-720
Message 5 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Need help with DH med bill, making Pymt but still send to CA

Perhaps you could find a way to pay the CA with a credit card?

 

If I were in this situation, and didn't have the cash to pif, I would do this (hopefully it's not illegal):

 

A few days ago I signed up for OD protection with US Bank (I have a checking account and a CC with them).  If I OD my checking, they automatically pull the OD amount from my credit card, charge me $10 (or nothing, if I call and transfer the funds myself), and from that point it's as if I bought something (for the OD amount) with my credit card and I have until my next billing date to pay the minimum.  

 

SO, I would just OD my checking account, call US Bank and ask to have funds from my credit card transfered, then go back to paying what I can every month.  Now the CA is off my back, I can pay at my own pace (plus interest), and everything is hunky dory!

Message 6 of 7
IOBA
Senior Contributor

Re: Need help with DH med bill, making Pymt but still send to CA

Lately,  the hospitals have been very tough to work with, if not impossible.

 

Keep sending in your $10 to the hospital every month.   If you can pay it online, do it online.   They won't turn down your payment.

 

Call the hospital and ask them to pull the account back from collections.   Inform them that you are being responsible and paying on it every month versus who refuses to pay the bill.   Ten dollars or whatever is the maximum amount you can afford to pay.   I add, it was true in our case, that I refuse to take food from my kids bellies so the hospital could be happier.    I said I was on a tight food budget, so we weren't enjoying meals like we had been before the medical bill.   But hey, I acknowledged we created the debt and I had tightened the belt elsewhere to afford them the monthly payment.   Ten dollars a month is much more than they would get if it goes to collections.   I also mention that bullying me is not going to increase the payment.   What I have, I give.

 

Sometimes I do several rounds....with different collection agencies.   But in the end, the hospital always takes the monthly payment, regardless of collection status.   And in the end, the CA's stop bugging me.

 

Stick to your guns.   Be polite.  Make the pymt every month regardless of what they say.

Message 7 of 7
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