Collections Law/Medical Debt

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Expert: - 12/8/2008


Question
Hello. I have outstanding medical bills in the state of Ohio. Is there a statute of limitations for collection of these bills? I have found statutes for credit cards but not medical. Thanks for your time.

Answer
Sam:

XII. Statute of Limitations for Civil Actions
An action upon a contract not in writing, express or implied, or upon a liability created by statute
other than a forfeiture or penalty, shall be brought within 6 years after the cause thereof accrued.
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2305.07 (West, WESTLAW through 124th GA, Files 1 to 83, apv.
1/4/02).
An action upon a specialty or an agreement, contract or promise in writing shall be brought within
15 years after the cause thereof accrued. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2305.06 (West, WESTLAW
through 124th GA, Files 1 to 83, apv. 1/4/02).

This law states without a signed contract the limit is 6 years and with a contract the limit is 15 years.  To make sure this is right (and I verified it in two places) you may want to call the Attorney General's office.  There website is:  http://www.ag.state.oh.us/

I hope you have found this helpful.

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Ray A Miller

Expertise

I am qualified to answer questions on the following subjects: FDCPA, FCRA and HIPAA as well as medical collections, general collections and collection agency related issues. I trained these subjects at a nationwide collection agency and customer service call center and audited around 150 representatives for compliance to the laws. I have been in the Collections Industry for over 30 years. I feel that everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with compassion and that is the way I trained collectors. Even though I worked for a Collection Agency, I get great satisfaction in helping those who have been mistreated or in need of help with these confusing issues.

Experience

I was the Compliance Administrator with a nationwide collection agency and customer service call center-I have trained hundreds of collectors on the above referenced topics. I have been in the medical collections industry for over twenty years and research these topics on a daily basis.

Organizations
ACA International

Education/Credentials
Some college ACA Certified Collection Specialist

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