The truth about medical bill collections

[Anonymous]

Hi!

I have an unpaid medical bill due to finacial hardship. The bill has been sent to collections and they are telling me to pay within 30 ays or it will be reported to credit bureaus.

My question is this. If the collection is on my credit report, will it be removed once it's paid? In other words, if I get the money togeter to pay it after they report it, will it be removed at such time the balance becomes zero.

Thanks a lot!

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

No, once it goes to a collection agency it won't be removed if you pay it. Many people have been successful in getting the hospital to recall the debt and then paying it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much fr your reply!

So when you say the hospital will recall the debt, they will actually "undo" sending to collections and allow me to pay them?

Thanks again!

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

With things like credit cards the debt is sold to a collection agency. You end up with the original debt charged off and a new collections account. Paying off the collections won't change the original and you can't pay the original because it's been sold. Medical debts are different in that they usually hire a collection agency to collect for them. If that's the case, you can go to the hospital and try to get them to recall the debt. If they do it, the collection disappears from your report and you pay the hospital.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the follow up and clarification! I will call the hospital and give it a shot!

[RobertEG]

If you pay a medical collection prior to 180 days from the date of initial delinquency, it wont appear in your credit report even if the debt collector does report to a CRA.

That is current CRA policy resulting from a civil settlement agreement between the CRAs and the offices of the AG of several states.

It provides a period for resolution of payment of medical debts before a CRA will include a collection on the debt in a consumer's credit report, and is not based on any statute, but is enforceable based on their settlement agreement.

Once a debt reaches 180 days and is reported to a CRA, it will remain unless it is ultimately paid via medical insurance.

The same aforementioned settlement agreement also included provisions that if the consumer shows that the debt was ultimately paid via insurance, the CRA will remove the associated collection.

Paying a debt, regardless of whether you pay the creditor/medical provider or a debt collector, will not require deletion of a reported collection.  To the contrary, current CRA policy clearly instructs debt collectors not to delete based on payment of the debt.

The exception is if the collection authority of the debt collector is terminated PRIOR to payment of the debt.  In such cases, the CRA reporting manual instructs deletion of the reported collection in order to thereafter preclude the simultaneous showng of plural collections on the same debt.  "Recalling" as a basis for deletion means that the owner terminates assigned collection authority prior to accepting payment.  Collection authority cannot be "recalled" after the debt is paid, and paying thus does not impose the CRA policy of deletion of the collection.

[gdale6]

Welcome to the board OP

If a medical reports these are the steps and as Robert says if is not past 180 days from initial delinquency its not going to report

1. Call the OC and see if insurance can be billed, (or-rebilled), collections ultimately paid by insurance get removed per new rules that came from CRAs settlement with 22 state AGs. If not then
2. see if you qualify for Charity Care, if not then
3.  ask that they recall the collection in exchange for full payment
4. Send the reporting CA a PFD offer
5. Google the HIPAA Process and contact its creator for help, this process cannot be discussed in any forum of myFico.