Americans often "forced" to pay medical bills they don't owe, feds say

Just pretend you are illegal then you get medical for free

A simplistic solution from the simpleton @R1. Thanks so much for your invaluable input.

Ronnie's gift just keeps on giving .

One of my local TV channels is doing a special report on medical bills in collection. it said 13.9% of all Americans have medical debt in collections. Some local counties had as high as 21% of residents had medical bills in collection. If you are sick enough to be hospitalized you can't work and if you can't work many people can't pay.

The joy of not worrying about credit score - screw them. I just refuse to pay. It’s built into the system - just like they charge an individual $2,000 for a test but only charge insurance $200.

Then what happens when you go to buy a car or rent an apartment?

R3 And why didn't Clinton, Obama or Biden do anything to reverse it?

In regard to the OP, it's not just fake medical bills that these shady collection agencies are hounding (usually older) people with. It's also credit card debt. I have a family member who has some legit credit card debt but they're also claiming he has debt based on credit cards he never had but they're hoping these people are too frail (mentally and otherwise) to fight back and that they can just frighten them into paying fake bills. He's gone to court over this before and won but after a few years they just start their shit again with new fake bills to hound him over. It's disgusting that they have nothing better to do than harass the elderly.

R6 Then you're fucked. In regard to my family member, he had to take out a small loan to do repairs on his house. Because his otherwise great credit had been ruined by these cunts, I had to assure the lender in writing that I would pay off the loan for him because otherwise he wouldn't have gotten it and he'd still have a leaking roof.

One problem is when providers don’t file a claim properly and it gets denied and then the provider immediately goes after the patient to pay the bill. My mother had that happen several times.

Anyone who has medical insurance needs to make sure all bills go to your insurance company for review and payment, if covered, before just paying the bills.

For example, many people pay bills from the radiologist who read their scans. The problem is, the radiologists don't work for the hospital; they work for a contracted third party who never receives your insurance info. When you receive that bill, send it to the insurance company first. Once they review it, you'll know what you're responsible for.

like insurance companies don't deny or underpay claims in the hopes that people don't familiarize themselves with the intricacies of their coverage...

Unpaid medical bills don’t hit your credit score for a long time - if ever. I have dozens/hundreds of $ of unpaid medical bills. Still 800+

The problem is there is not a universal claim method for healthcare providers. The doctor, the hospital, the anesthesiologists, all bills separately. I had a physical therapy bill for 600 dollars. I have never had physical therapy.. I fought it for six months. My insurance company was telling me to just pay it and fight it after. I told them no let it go to collections, they have zero proof I had physical therapy and I had proof I did not. The date they said I was there for it, I was in Florida lol. I had to fax copies of my plane tickets, hotel bill etc to the Therpists' office to prove it. Turned out my doctor had prescribed it but decided I didn't need it. The PT place got the prescription, created a bill for it, and billed me. Had I not been eyes on every bill I could have paid for it. They are cooked as fuck.

R11 True. In about 2003 I had a complete physical w/EKG, etc., and my crappy insurance wouldn’t pay for it. The bill was about $1200. I worked with the practice billing office to pay it off over 3 months and then 14 months later I get a call from the same billing office saying I owe them $300.00. The previous administrator was no longer there. Sadly, I had thrown out my $0 balance statement because I never imagined I would need it over a year later. The bill was in collection for about a year and then I received a court notice which I ignored.

In 2006 I leased a vehicle and the finance guy at the dealership said I had a judgment on my credit report but it was not a big deal. Allegedly the judgment was supposed to be on my report for 15 years but it dropped off after 5 and never caused me any trouble because even underwriters don’t take medical debt seriously.

[quote]Unpaid medical bills don’t hit your credit score for a long time - if ever

This is absolutely untrue. It gets repeated on DL constantly but it is 100% wrong.

After surgery I had a bill from Radiology for $56.23 after insurance had paid their part, and I paid it quickly. Two months later I got collection agency bills from two separate agencies, asking for $56.23. I sent them copies of the payment. They came back with copies of bills allegedly sent to me -- they weren't -- from other departments, but I don't think they were. One was IV meds I believe, the other was oxygen. Both exactly $56.23. The insurance company never got a bill for those extra $56.23 either.

I paid them because I was just out of surgery and not up to fighting it, but it's been 6 years and those two bills are still on my credit report, lowering my rating. I doubt I ever owed them and it hadn't even been 90 days since the surgery when they went to collections.

On top of that, my parents went through bankruptcy because of surgical bills insurance wouldn't pay.

I don't know why people on DL say medical bills won't hurt your credit rating. I don't know where people come up with this stuff.

R15 Just like the shady collection agency, DLers love to make shit up.

[quote] And why didn't Clinton, Obama or Biden do anything to reverse it?

You're kidding right?

They're are the only presidents that actually tried.

Tried and failed because they didn't actually care. Better to kick the can up the road so it can be used election after election as an issue that needs to be fixed.

Apparently now the doctor charges extra if you cry.

r18 uhh you know how government works right? You can try but if the republicans are all voting your efforts down..

I went to the ER for a kidney stone.

Instead of getting one bill for everything--I got bills from the ER, from the ER doctor who took care of me, from the GI doctor who consulted, from the radiology dept, from the radiologist who read my scan, and on and on.

Each had my insurance info already but I had to keep sending it. Until insurance paid, the bills kept coming, threatening my credit rating if they weren't paid.

In the end, I got 27 bills!!

WTF??! And people defend this medical system?

r23 yep we need a single-payer system. FYI if your bill goes to collection paying it does nothing. It is already a mark on your credit report. The collection agency bought the debt so any money they collect goes to them, not to the hospital. They already wrote it off.

R1, R18, trumptards.

[quote] Tried and failed because they didn't actually care. Better to kick the can up the road so it can be used election after election as an issue that needs to be fixed.

Clinton tried hard but the GOP stopped him.

Obama was very successful with Obamacare, which did bring down medical debt alot. The problem is prices are still high because we're still relying on a private, for profit medical system.

Biden has continues to strengthen Obamacare.

The ONLY way you're going to stop medical debt is to move to single payer medicine. THAT's IT.

Unless you can get the population and politicians on board (and it will take a catastrophe to do it--and it will come), we will continue to have debt.

Just scream at the person on the phone. I had a urine test that cost $800 and I screamed my way out of that.

As R21 points out, just because a person is in a hospital doesn't necessarily mean he's an employee of the hospital.

Hospital services are so balkanized today that just about the only employees actually employed by the hospital are the nurses and aides on patient floors. Dietary, housekeeping, medical records, ER, anesthetists, radiologists, PT and OR personnel are most likely employed by a third party.

And if ANY of those people are not in your insurer's network, you will be fully liable for all charges incurred.

R23 is limited.

Good lord r19, there's a medical code for it and everything. Other examples in that thread. Insane.

[quote]The collection agency bought the debt so any money they collect goes to them, not to the hospital. They already wrote it off.

In my case at r15, I paid the clinics directly. I had copies of the bills finally (they never sent them to me, but the collection agencies sent copies to "validate" the debt) so I made a copy and sent them a check with it. Both places took the payment. I then sent copies of the payment to the collection agencies.

I also sent copies of the payments to Experien just to see if I could get them removed from my credit report, but no dice. They're listed as "30 days past due" and will be there until they hit the 7-year mark.

[quote] And if ANY of those people are not in your insurer's network, you will be fully liable for all charges incurred.

Not anymore.

Biden signed the No Surprises Act that prevent over billing by non-network providers in a hospital

Isn't it amazing that every other Western developed country has eliminated billing, co-pays, deductibles, co-insurance, etc.?

We hand on to this antiquated system because of the profits it generates for the industry.

I can't imagine how really sick people deal with these issues.

My mother has dealt with this multiple times and it’s obvious they’re scamming Medicare. One company admitted they screwed up and told my mother just to pay it anyway. lol

She was also being charged for something that kept bouncing back and forth from the hospital to insurance. No one could intervene and do anything. Luckily she has a family member who worked in accounting at the hospital and got it taken care of. This was after two years.

R32, I’ve been saying the same. What if you’re elderly and are trying to get this stuff taken care of? Frightening. It’s so easy to scam the ill and elderly.

Another scam the little shit doctors like to do that aren't even assigned to your case, is to pop their head in your hospital room to ask how you are and then bill you! I was in the hospital once and got a bill from an effin' psychiatrist. I never even actually saw the guy, either--it was a lie he had even come into my room. I called him up and went off on his ass. He didn't talk long before he hung up, claiming it was a billing department matter. Oh, yeah? YOU'RE the one claiming to have provided me with services, asshole!

[quote] it's been 6 years and those two bills are still on my credit report, lowering my rating.

You do know you can dispute those charges on your credit report, don't you?

As I said at r29, I tried, r36. They wouldn't remove them.

I think all patients for that day should split the bills equally.

My mother was in the hospital for two nights.

The hospital claimed that she was never officially "admitted" to the hospitals so Medicare would not pay what it normally would for admitted patients. Instead she would be responsible for much of the bill.

It took us two years of challenging it for the hospital to stop charging her

[quote]Unpaid medical bills don’t hit your credit score for a long time - if ever. I have dozens/hundreds of $ of unpaid medical bills. Still 800+

Starting July 1, 2022, medical debt that's been paid will no longer be included on credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—even if it's been on your report for several years.

Thank you r40!

If you are trying to get a mortgage and medical debt is the only aberration on your credit report, underwriters will usually overlook it because everyone knows insurance and healthcare costs are a scam in the U.S.

R38 orders lobster when dining out with people.