Please Help!

Anonymous — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:58:11 GMT

I have been reading and reading about HIPAA and I'm extremely confused as to when to use this process AND what the process involves. I have an account in collections that IS valid however it is unpaid. I am able to pay it, as it is extremely low (which frustrates me because I'm not sure as to why it was not ever paid!). As of next year, this will be the only collections account I have and I believe this is hurting my score greatly. Here is how it is listed:

Date Reported: 10/2007

Date Assigned: 08/2007

Creditor Name: MERCY HEALTH ANDERSON 2NDS

Accounts Number: 645XXXX

Account Owner: Individual Account

Original Amount Owned: $168

Date of 1 st Delinquency: 12/2005

Balance Date: 10/2007

Balance Owned: $168

Last Payment Date: N/A

Status Date: 10/2007

Status: D - Unpaid

Comments: Medical

What should I do in this situation to delete this from m

Re: Please Help!

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:29:04 GMT

As a general explanation, HIPAA applies to paid medical debts and collections and uses medical privacy as the basis for removal from credit.

Questions:

1. Is the debt medical? In your case, it appears the answer is yes.

2. Is the debt paid? If yes, then HIPAA can be used. If not, then HIPAA won't apply. In your case, it appears it is unpaid, so not applicable.

3. If unpaid, do you have the ability to PIF? If so, can you get the OC medical provider to accept payment?

4. If you can PIF, then it is possible to do HIPAA once paid, or possibly you might want to consider PFD which is better IMO on unpaid CA's.

5. When seeking PFD, it is important to do so carefully and it is important to have patience, because it most likely will not be accepted step 1. It is also possible to negotiate a PFD for a percentage of the debt amount.

NOTE: When attempting a PFD, it is best not to admit any liability nor to provide any new information to the CA, but to merely make a settlement to resolve the alleged debt in exchange for deletion from your CRA's. So read up carefully on PFD.

Message Edited by txjohn on 12-13-2009 07:29 AM

topic Re: Please Help! in Rebuilding Your Credit

Please Help!

Re: Please Help!