Medical Debt: Dealing With Original Creditor

[Anonymous]

I have a $412 medical debt that is listed as a collection om my Equifax report. Here is what happened so far:

(9/2014) Scheduled medical procedure. Was told that anesthesiologist would not be covered by insurance

(9/2014) Anesthesiologist's billing rep contacted insurance company. Anesthesiologist's rep informed me that procedure was covered. I called insurance. I was informed it was covered in full

(9/2014) Had procedure

(9/2014-102016) Two years. I am never sent a bill.

(10/2016) Over two years later, the collection appears on my credit report. I immediately dispute to Equifax.

(11/2016) The dispute is not in my favor.

Now, I'm wondering what my next step should be.

I believe that the collector does not own the account and that they are merely acting on behalf of the anesthesiologist. Can I contact the anesthesiologist and ask them to remove the bill from collections? If so, can I dispute the collection again, since the collection agency no longer handles the account?

What other options do I have? What tactics should I use?

[azguy13]

If it is a legitamite debt then there may be very little you can do. However, you can try to work it out with the OC and have them recall the debt and go on a payment plan or try a PFD (pay for delete) if able. 

If they do not want to work with you, I would suggest you google "Why Chat HIPPA Process." It is not something we can really discuss on this forum but if you follow it perfectly, you will be able to have the collection account removed. 

[RobertEG]

The issue is one of whether the insuror was obligated to have paid the debt.

A statement received by a rep prior to the medical service that it was going to be covered is not conclusive as to actual obligation of the insuror to have covered.

I would first contact the insuror to obtain their reason why the medical service was not covered, and then consult either your attorney or governmental regulators to determine if their interpretation of non-coverage is correct.

You have the statement of the debt collector that they have verified non-coverage as a part of their investigation of your dispute.

If you reach a determination that it was, in fact, covered service, then I would consider bringing civil action to obtain a judgment confirming that the insuror was obligated.

If you ultimately get the debt paid by the insuror, then the new CRA policy resulting from the recent agreement between the office of the AGs of several states and the CRAs would mandate deletion of the medical collection from your credit report.

[surferchris]

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@RobertEG wrote:

The issue is one of whether the insuror was obligated to have paid the debt.

A statement received by a rep prior to the medical service that it was going to be covered is not conclusive as to actual obligation of the insuror to have covered.

I would first contact the insuror to obtain their reason why the medical service was not covered, and then consult either your attorney or governmental regulators to determine if their interpretation of non-coverage is correct.

You have the statement of the debt collector that they have verified non-coverage as a part of their investigation of your dispute.

If you reach a determination that it was, in fact, covered service, then I would consider bringing civil action to obtain a judgment confirming that the insuror was obligated.

If you ultimately get the debt paid by the insuror, then the new CRA policy resulting from the recent agreement between the office of the AGs of several states and the CRAs would mandate deletion of the medical collection from your credit report.

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Very good advice...