Medical Collection Help!

[Anonymous]

Hello all, so today I received an Voicemail from "Emergency Medical Physicians" asking me to call in and gave a reference number. My spidey senses made me think that it was a collection agency as nothing showed up on google, I believe I am right. I recorded the call and did inform them I was recording even though I am located in a one party consent state (AZ). I have not received any medical care recently that I have not already paid for. When I called back they said "we are a medical billing service" they did not provide any information as to what account they were attempting to collect on, and I refused to provide any identifying information beyond the reference number that was stated in the voicemail. Supposedly they mailed a letter on December 3rd but I have yet to receive it. I have made a record of the woman that left the voicemail as well as the woman I spoke with. 

Has anyone heard of these people?

Is there anything I should do in the meantime?

Was there something I should have done different?

Thanks

-tydawg

[IOBA]

The name sounds familiar... they could be a medical billing company.

Have you been to the ER recently?  Has an ambulance made your acquaintance recently?  Gone to a group practice to see a doc?  Anything in the last six to nine months?

If I remember correctly, I received statements from a company with that name (or something similar) collecting on behalf of the hospital or the staff.  They demanded my full name, date of birth, social security number, street address, phone number, employer name, employer address, and employer phone number before they would consider talking to me.  Having a reference/account number was not good enough.  I refused to provide the personal information.  Period.  It is not necessary to accept a credit card payment.  They informed it WAS necessary to accept ANY payment because HIPPA laws DEMAND that they verify ALL that information.  B.S.  (They didn't have the information to begin with so there was no way they could "verify" it.  I never give all of that information to the doc/hospital.  I paid my bill online and didn't have to provide all that personal information.)

That is not what HIPPA is about.  Anyone can make a payment with the account number, the amount due, and a form of payment.  The company is trolling for personal information. 

Are you on your parent's health insurance?  Is your billing address the same as your parent's?  It's very possible that there was a copay or a deductible that was part of the formulas that you need to pay.  Check with your health care insurance company.  Get a copy of the recent EOB (explanations of benefit) statements from your health care insurance company.  Check with your folks - did they receive any statements or bills for your health care?  Is all your mail being forwarded from your last mailing address?

Do you and your dad or brothers have the same name or very similar names?  It's possible that the bill should be theirs and not yours.

I think you did the right thing in refusing to give your personal information.  You should check into this...they do send out bills. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response IOBA, I did get it worked out. My parents had received the letter and just never told me. I raised the alarm for nothing haha. I agree, that it is BS that they demanded all of the identifying information which is what put me on alert to begin with.