4 ms·

Disputing charges, small claims court or simply never paying bills is the better option because the good faith channels are rigged. Yes to the first two, but t

• JohnMakin 2y ago
  > Yes to the first two, but the latter is a good way to get your credit score destroyed for a few years Not necessarily or at all - in California there are a bunch of laws about what healthcare debt can even be reported on your credit score. I routinely let things fall into collections and maintain a very high credit score because I ironically gain more negotiation power occasionally with the debt collector than whatever service I was charged for - often this happens as a result of over-billing. Dispute it enough times and they can just disappear. The credit hit is/should be minor. They use "credit" as an intimidation tool to coerce people into paying bills they don't actually owe. Classic example - I get a procedure. Doctor submits a claim that is pre-authorized (I don't know the exact term). You receive procedure, insurer later denies claim. The doctor then passes the bill to you. Later, the doctor and insurer may come to an agreement, and the doctor is paid - but sometimes/often this is never communicated back to the patient, effectively "double billing." In these cases the only sane way to navigate it is by simply allowing it to fall to collections.