Medical Collections

[Anonymous]

I am currently in the beginning process of paying off old medical collections accounts on my credit report. I have yet to pay any collection agency due to googling the Hipaa process. My question is should I try to get a PFD through the collections agencies instead of going through the whole Hipaa process? I have six medical collections, but 2 are suppose to go off this year. Actually one is scheduled to go of 5/2015 but the other is not showing when it will go off but it is reported to be opened with the collection agency 11/2008. I would love to get them all  paid ASAP and Deleted.

[Imperfectfuture]

First off, consider letting them age off. Garden for 2015. Presume you have some credit cards, even secured?

Next, don't pay anything unless they delete. Be prepared to pay the full amount, including fees. I was successful in getting charity care backdated (if your medical debts were due to income under 23k for single person, you qualify for 100% write off! it's more for more people). Try calling the OC, see if you can settle or get write off, it can be tough, but if you do your research, IT CAN BE DONE. If you get things settled with the original medical facility, ask that they pull from collection agency.

Now, whether OC pulls from CA, or you get agreement to PFD, some will follow through pretty quick. EX removes within a few weeks, TU about a month, EQ updates the first day of the month. You might want to call the CA to make sure they are pulling the collection.

Some smaller agencies will not want to pay the bureau to delete, since it hurts their bottom line. They will state you should dispute, and they won't respond. Get names and dates (also for PFD agreements), and dispute. They are reluctant to spend more money on an account they make no money from.

Knowing hipaa is good, don't bring up hipaa in the phone conversation. Just know what it covers, and start with the original creditor, NOT disputing with the CRA.

[Anonymous]

I don't have any credit cards. I have a student loan that I will begin to start paying the 10th of may ( I have already signed up to pay directly from my checking to ensure no late payments). I have thought about getting a secured card by according to the simulator if I open a credit card it will decrease my score. I am planning to let the 2 age of that will be deleted this year. My income for myself only was under 23k at that time but was close to 34k adding in my husbands income. I'll have to do some research to see if I can get charity care backdated.

[Imperfectfuture]

Ignore the simulator. The Alaska USA card in my sig started as 500 secured card in 2013. With low scores from derogs, the only way you have to go is up.

You can get a secured installment loan with cu, 500, 4 year, 11 month, helps raise score. Take that check, and get secured card. After 6 months (or if your scores are over 620 now), apply for cap one quicksilver one. Wait another 6 months (or year from opening two cards) and apply for Barclays Apple or rewards card good credit. Barclays tends to ignore medical debt, but they need one year positive payment history.

Don't pay any collections falling off in 2015. With the secured card (check with local CU's, make sure it graduates, mine did) and cap one, build with that, and tackle the newest collections first. If a collection agency has multiple debts, dispute them under charity care with the collection agency, and pay the full amount of any you really owe, but only if they delete.

No delete, no pay. I was slowly going to pay my debts, till the agency broke the fdcpa by not allowing me to PFD one debt at time, they wanted payments on all. This forced me to go and prove backdating of charity care. The debts were to fall off from 2016 through 2019, and my reports are now all clean.

[gdale6]

You have been getting some good advice here OP, the only thing I will add is the process that one should go thru for removing medical CAs. As suggested ones dropping this year I would just let drop and work on your newer collections first.

For unpaid medical debt that is reporting on your CR:

1. Call the OC and ask that they recall the collection in exchange for full payment
2. Send the reporting CA a PFD offer
3. Google the HIPAA Process and contact its creator for help

[Anonymous]

There is one collection agency that has 4 of my medical accounts. Should I go to each CRA and dispute under charity care or I should call/write the collection agency and dispute through them?  I will check with local CU tomorrow and then look into getting a secured card. Do you have any recommendations on secured cards? My husband recently got a secured card through First Progress to help build his credit but we have not had it long enough to see if we really like it or not.

[Imperfectfuture]

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@gdale6 wrote:

You have been getting some good advice here OP, the only thing I will add is the process that one should go thru for removing medical CAs. As suggested ones dropping this year I would just let drop and work on your newer collections first.

For unpaid medical debt that is reporting on your CR:

1. Call the OC and ask that they recall the collection in exchange for full payment
2. Send the reporting CA a PFD offer
3. Google the HIPAA Process and contact its creator for help

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If OP was/is eligible for charity care, that should be pursued first.  Many of these will be agreements between third party biller's and collection agencies.  Though this will change, right now, they turn the debt over to collection within 60 to 90 days of billing,  it is a shared arrangement, they find this cheaper than actually billing the person for six months (which will soon become required).  As part of this shared agreement, the IC can't accept full payment, and it's up to the agency to accept PFD.  I actually paid some collections I didn't owe, but oh well.  Start with the newest.  If charity care is backdated, it will also cover the debts from 2015.  So if OP is eligible, this process (and charity care is a defense under hipaa) will clear those debts out for 2015, just about the time they are falling off.

Which is why not so much attention should be paid to them, until the newer debts are taken care of.

[Imperfectfuture]

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@Anonymous wrote:

There is one collection agency that has 4 of my medical accounts. Should I go to each CRA and dispute under charity care or I should call/write the collection agency and dispute through them?  I will check with local CU tomorrow and then look into getting a secured card. Do you have any recommendations on secured cards? My husband recently got a secured card through First Progress to help build his credit but we have not had it long enough to see if we really like it or not.

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DO NOT START WITH THE CRAs.  This is a no go.  You need more research,  I handled all this over the phone, I started with the OC's.  If you qualify for charity care backdating, the medical biller's, facilities is where you need to start.  Also, research charity care law for you state.  Take a week, and bookmark the important stuff, not the "I will fix it for ya" stuff.

[Anonymous]

Okay.... Thank you both for all the information. I will now begin to start my research on charity care backdating for Oklahoma and then start my journey in contacted the OC's. I will update when I find something out or have any questions.... Thanks so much!!!