Rebuilding credit after being hit by medical bill

[Anonymous]

Hi, new to this forum.

Let me explain my situation: I am an international student studying in local Utah. Last November I had to get an ultrasound, for which I received bill of 333$. Since our insurance claims are managed by my scholarship, I sent the bill to their office. Since then I received couple of letters from hospital but the scholarship people said that it is OK and they are submitting the claims once every month. On my last latter from hospital, it was stated that the last day I can pay is 4/15/12, so I assumed everything is OK. I stopped receiving letters, but yesterday I checked my credit score and discovered that it has doped to 560 and that it shows a charge of from IC systems for 333$.

Can I do anything about this situation? I was never contacted by that agency nor I had any idea that my bill was not paid. Would it be worth contacting the hospital and asking to deal with them directly? They are local folk who are always very nice. Can they get the claim back from CA? One strange thing is that on 2/3 credit agencies, it shows that the charge was placed on 4/1, I had till 4/15 to pay the bill. Can that be a ground for dispute? Also, the charge-off's status is showing as "closed",  can you explain that part? I read somewhere that it means that the debt was returned to my hospital.

I have no problem with paying the bill, but my priority is cleaning by score. 

Sorry for my long post, I am really confused and quite sad about this situation. 

Thanks in advance! 

[angeltimes3]

Yuo first need to contact the scholarship people to get a copy of the EOB that they received on your claim.  YOu should have received it, not them, as it shows what the insurance company pays, what your responsibility is, and lastly if the health care provider is allowed to balance bill. You also have to insure that the scholarship group made sure to get that claim in or else it could be rejected for timely filing.  Once you have the EOB - if it shows they were paid, your portion, and whether they balance bill or not - then you can proceed.  If scholarship group did not file in a timely manner - then they should be repsonsible for the payment of the bill.  I would get tough with them, myself.

In anycase, once you can show that they were paid and when, then you can pay your portion after contacting the hospital.  They need to pull back from CA so you can pay and have the CA remove their reporting.

HTH!

Crabby ole broan

[Anonymous]

Thanks,

I did some research and it looks like ic systems does not buy the debt,rather lets the companies to manage them online and annoys the people who own money.

If this is true, would the hospital have the power to deleted the record if I end up paying it?

[CC40]

Where did you read that IC Systems doesn't purchase the debt? I dealt with them and they are a pain.

[angeltimes3]

They would, if they reported it.- if they didn't and they have contracted IC Systems to do it - then you would need to contact hospital.  You can't do that without an EOB (Explanation of Benefits), if scholarship does not have a copy then you need to contact the insurer yourself.  You should contact the insurer anyway, because if the Health Care Provider is contracted with the insurer then they are usually prevented from balance billing (part of bill left after contracted rates and your portion) to the patient.  If the provider is prevented from balance billing (and it states it on the EOB) then the debt is not valid and you can't push through the insurer.  Remember y ou need to pay your portion of the bill, that won't change, but the provider will have to pull back the debt from the CA and then as the CA does not have a valid reason to report the debt, then it would be removed.  DO NOT DEAL WITH IC SYSTEMS FIRST, deal with the health care provider first.  

Now in the case that the scholarship did not file the claim and just sat on it - it may fall under timely filing.  IF IT DOES - and you must contact the insurer to find out, then you need to harp on the scholarship group to pay the bill in full and pay NOW.  

[Anonymous]

So I contacted the hospital: I can pay them the bill and they will mark the debt payed, but the guy I spoke with sait that it wont be removed from credit report. Was he lying or just trying to make the report stick?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Also, I checked with them, and they said that they transfered my bill to CA on 23rd of April and the last day for me to pay was 15th. But on my credit report, it was put on 1st of april. Is that a vialotion of hippa?

[Anonymous]

I composed this letter of goodwill to the hospital. Would you suggest me to change anything?

-----------------------------------

To:

Intermountain Healthcare




Re: Account charges

To Whom it might concern

Please allow me to explain my situation. For the past 2 years I lived in Logan, UT and, being a diabetic patient, I used to test my blood at your facilities every couple of month. But last November I started to have severe pains in my belly and had to get ultrasound at Logan Regional Hospital. All process was excellent and doctors diagnosis helped me to avoid a surgery, for which I am very thankful.  But due to the fact that I am an international student on Mr. Jon Huntsman’s scholarship, I did not have a direct contact with my insurance and it is managed by my schoolarship providers personal, which was supposed to pay for the expenses. Due to a human error, my bills were never delivered insurance and thus never paid, leaving me in false belief that everything is taken care of.

I discovered the error couple of days ago, when I tried to apply for financing for my insulin pump supplies and was declined due to low credit score. After checking the credit, I saw that my ultrasound bill was never paid and turned to CA. I would like to stress that in no way I am trying to dispute my debt($333.00), which was posted absolutely correctly and it was wrong not to follow up with the scholarship staff. I am just trying to pay my debt and repair my credit score, on which I never had a late payment. I know how your hospital is dedicated to helping all its patients and I ask you not to punish a diabetic international student for one time mistake.

Considering all above, I humbly ask the deletion of my debt from my credit score once I make a payment on my balance. Please respond to this letter and include the address or website I can use to submit the full payment plus any late fees.

Thank you for your time,