7 ms·

Off topic: I've ignored any medical bills I thought were unfair for 12+ years. It's probably over $10k in bills altogether. It's never shown up on my credit rep

by cm2012 3y ago

Off topic: I've ignored any medical bills I thought were unfair for 12+ years. It's probably over $10k in bills altogether. It's never shown up on my credit reports though (I check often and bought a house last year). So your results may vary. In the mean time I just throw out the debt collector bills as I get them.

toomuchtodo 3y ago
> A statute of limitations is the limited period of time creditors or debt collectors have to file a lawsuit to recover a debt. Most statutes of limitations fall in the three to six years range, although in some jurisdictions they may extend for longer. Statutes of limitation may vary depending on state laws, the type of debt you have, or the state law named in your credit agreement. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/debt-collection/answers/key-terms/#statute-of-limitations https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/debt-collecti... Someone in a similar situation to yours might consider researching your state's statute of limitations on debt, and if your debts are expired based on that statute, file a complaint with the CFPB, FTC, and your state's attorney general to report a debt collector's FDCPA violations. Not legal advice.
- cm2012 3y ago
  If it ever shows up on my credit report I'll do that hah. Otherwise it doesn't affect me at all.
  - abxytg 3y ago
    You are my hero
    - doubleg72 3y ago
      [flagged]
      - khuey 3y ago
        I can count on one hand the number of times in my entire life that I've agreed to a price for a healthcare service in advance and they actually billed me the agreed upon price and no more.
        kemayo 3y ago
        Dentists tend to work that way. Now, the price they'll charge for any given service is super-arbitrary, as is what they'll claim you need. But they will quote you up-front for what they'll be charging you.
        khuey 3y ago
        Yes, every time I can remember was a dentist.
      - Forgeties79 3y ago
        When they agreed to the service 12+ years ago, were they shown the costs? Would you say their purchase was fully informed? Hell for all we know it was an ER visit and they had absolutely no say in the matter.
        sschnei8 3y ago
        [flagged]
        thfuran 3y ago
        That reminds me of the time I went to my favorite local restaurant for my annual complimentary dinner and received a bill the following month for $150 then received another bill several weeks later for a further $175.
        jameshart 3y ago
        The second bill is from the chef. You thought the chef worked for the restaurant? No, that was a separately contracted service provider.
ars 3y ago
I've done the same, with the same results, because I've rarely come across a medical bill that is actually correct. I'll call the provider once and explain what's wrong with the bill. Either they fix it, or I ignore them completely after that. Their bills go straight to the trash unopened. Frequently as soon as you explain they need to fix something they just completely drop the bill for the same reasons as in this article: It's simply not worth their trouble to bill accurately, and they don't have the ability to do so. (And I'm talking about the provider here, not a debt collector.) I've never once had a provider actually fix the bill, the closest I've gotten (just once so far) is a "courtesy credit" to make the bill what I told them it should be, and I paid that one. All the others didn't fix the bill, so I didn't pay them.
- quickthrower2 3y ago
  If they fix the bill, maybe it causes trouble for them with insurance companies? Whereas sliding some money back is a quiet way to deal with it.
  - Aperocky 3y ago
    That aligns with incentives. It's the medical insurance company where the money's at, even in the US people are only so rich.
  - LorenPechtel 3y ago
    Yeah, to fix it would mean giving the insurance back the money on whatever was wrong. The whole system is a mess. I had a bill rejected by the insurance as a duplicate. No, but I could easily see why they thought it was--and they told me how it should be billed so it wouldn't be rejected. Call the lab, tell them what they did wrong in the billing. They resubmit unchanged. The insurance won't accept my statement that it's legit. Call the lab, simply offer to pay it at the negotiated rate (which is all I was after, the deductible wasn't met.) Round and round--finally the insurance rejects it as billed too late and the whole thing goes away.
    - quickthrower2 3y ago

by cm2012 3y ago

toomuchtodo 3y ago

> A statute of limitations is the limited period of time creditors or debt collectors have to file a lawsuit to recover a debt. Most statutes of limitations fall in the three to six years range, although in some jurisdictions they may extend for longer. Statutes of limitation may vary depending on state laws, the type of debt you have, or the state law named in your credit agreement. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/debt-collection/answers/key-terms/#statute-of-limitations https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/debt-collecti... Someone in a similar situation to yours might consider researching your state's statute of limitations on debt, and if your debts are expired based on that statute, file a complaint with the CFPB, FTC, and your state's attorney general to report a debt collector's FDCPA violations. Not legal advice.

cm2012 3y ago
If it ever shows up on my credit report I'll do that hah. Otherwise it doesn't affect me at all.
- abxytg 3y ago
  You are my hero
  - doubleg72 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - khuey 3y ago
      I can count on one hand the number of times in my entire life that I've agreed to a price for a healthcare service in advance and they actually billed me the agreed upon price and no more.
      - kemayo 3y ago
        Dentists tend to work that way. Now, the price they'll charge for any given service is super-arbitrary, as is what they'll claim you need. But they will quote you up-front for what they'll be charging you.
        khuey 3y ago
        Yes, every time I can remember was a dentist.
    - Forgeties79 3y ago
      When they agreed to the service 12+ years ago, were they shown the costs? Would you say their purchase was fully informed? Hell for all we know it was an ER visit and they had absolutely no say in the matter.
      - sschnei8 3y ago
        [flagged]
        thfuran 3y ago
        That reminds me of the time I went to my favorite local restaurant for my annual complimentary dinner and received a bill the following month for $150 then received another bill several weeks later for a further $175.
        jameshart 3y ago
        The second bill is from the chef. You thought the chef worked for the restaurant? No, that was a separately contracted service provider.

ars 3y ago

I've done the same, with the same results, because I've rarely come across a medical bill that is actually correct. I'll call the provider once and explain what's wrong with the bill. Either they fix it, or I ignore them completely after that. Their bills go straight to the trash unopened. Frequently as soon as you explain they need to fix something they just completely drop the bill for the same reasons as in this article: It's simply not worth their trouble to bill accurately, and they don't have the ability to do so. (And I'm talking about the provider here, not a debt collector.) I've never once had a provider actually fix the bill, the closest I've gotten (just once so far) is a "courtesy credit" to make the bill what I told them it should be, and I paid that one. All the others didn't fix the bill, so I didn't pay them.

quickthrower2 3y ago
If they fix the bill, maybe it causes trouble for them with insurance companies? Whereas sliding some money back is a quiet way to deal with it.
- Aperocky 3y ago
  That aligns with incentives. It's the medical insurance company where the money's at, even in the US people are only so rich.
- LorenPechtel 3y ago
  Yeah, to fix it would mean giving the insurance back the money on whatever was wrong. The whole system is a mess. I had a bill rejected by the insurance as a duplicate. No, but I could easily see why they thought it was--and they told me how it should be billed so it wouldn't be rejected. Call the lab, tell them what they did wrong in the billing. They resubmit unchanged. The insurance won't accept my statement that it's legit. Call the lab, simply offer to pay it at the negotiated rate (which is all I was after, the deductible wasn't met.) Round and round--finally the insurance rejects it as billed too late and the whole thing goes away.
  - quickthrower2 3y ago