civil suit for medical debt?

[treschic]

hi all, i'm not sure if this is the right forum to post this in.  but, i just received a voicemail msg from i can only assume a collection agency about a medical debt form a doctors office i saw > 5 years ago.  they said they were about to file a civil lawsuit against me.  i'm not even sure for what, given that the last time i saw this physician i had insurance that did not have a co-pay. i missed an appointment once b/c i moved away, not sure if its for a charge for that.  this is the first time i've heard of this debt, and its not on my credit reports. its after hours now, and i'm going to call the doctors office in the morning, but i'm not sure if this is legal or if its a scare tactic.  the doctors office is in virginia, but i no longer live in that state anymore.  any suggestions?

[chasmith]

It's all relative, but no ethical CA would leave such a voicemail on first contact.  They left a message regarding debt collection where a third party might hear it, not much different from sending a collection notice on a post card.

If they stated they will sue, and now don't, you have a possible FDCPA violation on them (stronger than the one noted above).  It's a violation to say (threaten) an action they cannot or will not take.

With all the financial turmoil in the medical field (practice consolidations, reduced payment rates, etc) the Dr. may have sold the practice or sold old accouts receivable.  This sounds like a JDB.

[Anonymous]

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@chasmith wrote:

It's all relative, but no ethical CA would leave such a voicemail on first contact.  They left a message regarding debt collection where a third party might hear it, not much different from sending a collection notice on a post card.

If they stated they will sue, and now don't, you have a possible FDCPA violation on them (stronger than the one noted above).  It's a violation to say (threaten) an action they cannot or will not take.

With all the financial turmoil in the medical field (practice consolidations, reduced payment rates, etc) the Dr. may have sold the practice or sold old accouts receivable.  This sounds like a JDB.

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+1

It does sound like a JDB -- and a particularly bad one at that.

You might want to check your state's statute of limitations since if over 5 years then they may well find they cannot sue you.  If the SOL has expired, you have a slam-dunk on a $1,000 FDCPA violation.  Depending on the voicemail they left, you might have $2,000.  That's a nice chunk of change. 

That's $2,000 worth of leverage you can use if the SOL has not expired and they really do intend to sue you.     

[treschic]

just an update, i contacted the doctors office and the billing office and they have no idea what this is for.  their records indicate my insurance paid for everything and no remaining balance since i was last seen jan 2006.  i looked up sol for va it says 3 years for open acounts and 5 years for written contracts.  well, its been 5 years now even if i did owe something.  what would medical debt fall under?  they said they've had a huge staff turnover and not sure whats going on, and they have to look into it, b/c it sounds suspicious.  i didn't call the number back from the person who left the msg b/c all they said was they were looking for me the last 4 digits of the insurance holders ss#, and that they would be suing me and the responsible party in civil court this week.  im just waiting for the doctors office to call me back now.

[treschic]

i just spoke with the doctors office again, and they said there was a balance left that my insurance didnt pay of $100. so, i just paid the $100 to the doctors office.  i'm not sure why a collection agency would want to sue for a $100 5 years after the fact. but, whatever.... i didnt want to chance it, given that i would like to buy a house in 2 years, and don't want to have to deal with vacating a judgement, and trying to prove that its wrong over $100.