Medical Debt In Collections

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I just got a letter from a collections agency trying to collect $1068 for medical debt.  This is a valid debt, I gave birth to my son on 30 Jul 08 and this debt stems from my hospital procedure. They were supposed to add my son to my boyfriend's insurance the day he was born, instead they added him the day after and now I owe $1068 as this is part of the $2000 HSA deductible I have to pay. (So we will both end up paying $4000 instead of just $3000, gotta love insurance companies).  I didn't find this out until November or December sometime because I was under the impression the whole time that United Healthcare would pay it. Unfortunately, they finally came back and said that they refuse to budge on the date that they added my son to my boyfriend's insurance and that I have to pay this debt.

So I have 30 days to pay this before it ends up in collections. I had planned on paying it all off with my paycheck at the end of the month, but I just got laid off on the 15th, so now that is out the window. Paying it off totally will cause a hardship for me, but I'm also worried about how much my score would drop if I don't pay it within 30 days. My credit score is 663. Anyone have any ideas as to how much it would drop if I don't pay it within 30 days? Are collection agencies able to schedule payments and not report to the collection to the credit bureau? Or is that not an option? Sorry this is so long.

Thank you,

Fanaafi

[Junejer]

Hello Fanaafi, and welcome to the forums. Please read Credit Scoring 101, if you haven't already.

First, I am going to move this to General Credit Issues, as it's more that than understanding FICO scoring. GCI has more traffic too, so you may get more responses than you would here.

Secondly, I would call the hospital and see if they will accept a payment plan, in lieu of sending it to collections. If it does wind up in collections, you will need to follow the HIPAA Process to get it removed. Please take the time to read both of the hyperlinks, they will give you a bunch of information that you will need.

[Anonymous]

I really appreciate your replying back to me. Perhaps this is the incorrect forum for me. I guess I'm really trying to find out if I can go after UHC to put my son under my insurance so that we pay $3000 in total instead of $4000 because, instead of informing us of what they would do, they would do it anyway. Or is HIPAA process my only route?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

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Fanaafi wrote:

I really appreciate your replying back to me. Perhaps this is the incorrect forum for me. I guess I'm really trying to find out if I can go after UHC to put my son under my insurance so that we pay $3000 in total instead of $4000 because, instead of informing us of what they would do, they would do it anyway. Or is HIPAA process my only route?

Thank you.

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As for making the insurance company put your son on your insurance, I don't know. You'd need to contact them. Most insurance companies are set up to where newborns are automatically covered from birth. That is how mine was, then I had 30 days to submit his information to get his own card, but was covered under mine/spouse's insurance card until then.

Is the debt still with the hospital or has it been turned over to a CA?

If still with the hospital, ask them about programs to help pay. Most hospitals have programs where you fill out papers and if they determine you can't afford, then they may write off part/all of the amount owed. I think you usually have to provide some tax returns and other financial information.