Kudos to such an educational website -- some basic questions

[Anonymous]

I have been reading this board on and off for a while and have always found the website and forums to be extremely helpful.  Lately I've been reading almost daily.  So "kudos" to the regular contributors who respond regularly to sometimes the same old questions, albeit with patience.

So here is my situation:

I have only two real baddies ...

1. One unpaid MEDICAL collections for the amount of $301, due to drop-off around April 2010
2. One unpaid  collections for the amount of $304 for Sprint, due to drop off sometime around 2013
3. One 30-day late from a CC back in April 2006, which I'm disputing with the OC.

Otherwise, all accounts are current and I have a small utilization rate (6%).  Accounts include a mix of mortgage, revolving accounts, installments (auto), and student loans (paid off).

I have been perusing all the threads, including the archives, for the HIPAA process regarding medical debt, but all the links are outdated and no one has the HIPAA process in their signatures anymore. 

Question #1:  Is there a place here in this form where the HIPAA steps are outlined? I remember seeing them before.

I don't believe the medical collection is valid, but I don't want to wake a sleeping giant, first of all.  However, I may need to undergo a credit check in the very near future and would be willing to pay to get it deleted.

Question #2:  Does the HIPAA process apply for unpaid medical debts or just paid medical debts?

Question #3:  Does opting out prevent any new medical debts from appearing on the CR, whether it is paid or not, or does HIPAA prevent paid medical debts from appearing in the future?   I may be misinformed on the opt-out portion of the process.

The only debit I have are my mortgage and my auto loan.  I pay off my CC balance each month.  So I'm hoping fixing these two collection accounts will increase my score drastically.

TransUnion 06/21/09: 698

EquiFax 06/21/09: 709

Experian: UNKNOWN

Message Edited by luvthissite on 06-26-2009 08:41 AM

[Anonymous]

I'll take the time to answer some of your questions.

Answer #1: The HIPAA process letters are no longer listed on the forums.  They are still out there, but you will need to search farther out in the internet to get them as links or direct references to their location usually don't stick around too long.

Answer #2: The HIPAA process applies to both paid and unpaid medical listings.  There is an insert for the OC letter that is used for unpaid ones and payment is to be included.  Never start the HIPAA process on an unpaid med account if you can't or don't intend to pay (unless it's not your account and you have the necessary proof).

I don't have a clear answer to question #3 since I have no direct experience in that matter.  Hopefully somebody with a bit more experience in that area will help out with that one.