Dear mods, if I've posted in the wrong section, please let me know where this post would be appropriate.
Thanks in advance to the community for your help, especially those of you reading this on a Friday night.
My mom recently had a blood test done (on 7/26/2014) as part of her annual physical exam. It was supposed to be free, but the doctor's office sent the wrong procedure codes with the lab order, so when the hospital submitted a claim with my mom's insurance company, the insurance company wouldn't pay, and the hospital billed my mother.
After my mom got the bill, she spoke with the hospital to find out why she was being asked to pay, and the hospital told her it was because of the procedure codes and that she would have to get the doctor that ordered the lab test to re-submit witht he correct codes. Then the hospital will bill insurance with the revised codes.
So my mom did that. We kept a copy of the fax cover letter and revised lab order that the doctor's office faxed to the hospital.
Well, the hospital billed us again, and we spoke to them again. They said they never received it. So we asked the doctor's office to re-fax. We kept a copy of that as well.
But because of all the back and forth correspondence (my mom even went to the hospital personally to deal with it when we got the second bill),
Today, my mom got a letter from a collection agency (Computer Collections, Inc.) that her debt had been referred to them. I pulled her Experian report tonight and saw that the collection hadn't made it onto her report yet.
My question is, what should I do at this point? The amount would not have been difficult to pay, but my mom did not pay it because it was a wrong charge. But now it is in collections.
Thanks for reading and I really appreciate any advice you can give.
Starting Score: 735 (EQ) / 777 (TU) — Oct. 2012