Expert: Ray A Miller - 12/24/2008

Question
A hospital in VA has been accepting monthly payments and today threatened collection (by the way the hospital owns the collection agency) if the 1,100.00 is not paid in 10 days. They also offer MedKey charge card (which they own) which allows them to charge interest. Is accepting payments "implied contract"? I CAN'T pay them off in 10 days, but can pay $150 per month. Help please?

Answer
Please understand that I am not an attorney, but if you have faithfully paid $150.00 per month, without being late or missing a payment, one would think that implied consent could be argued.  You may have already done this, but call them and plead your case.  I was the collection manager of a large hospital and for someone to voluntarily pay $150.00 per month on an $1,100.00 bill would have been Heaven.  Tell them you know the facts of their ownership of these other programs and for you to sign up would be just so they could make more money.  If they insist, try to pay them off and tell them the next time you go to the hospital, you will go to another one that will appreciate someone with insurance and has the ability and willingness to pay the balance after they pay.  You may even want to let the Better Business Bureau in on this information so others will not get caught in this situation.  De sure to let the hospital know you are thinking of this

If they do put this on your credit, dispute it every month until they get tired of answering the dispute.  I have never given this advice, but what they are trying to do to you is wrong.