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Collections Law/Medical Bill after 3 years?!

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Expert: - 3/27/2011


Question
My father-in-law received medical services on 1/23/2008 and received a bill with statement date 3/15/2011!  The payment due date is 4/05/2011, 20 days after the statement date.  At the time of the medical services, the doctor confirmed that the expenses were covered by the insurance.  Can a hospital collect on a bill 3 years afterwards without proving that the insurance did not cover the expense?

Answer
Yes they can.  It could be that they have been billing your insurance company.  If I were you, I would call the insurance company and ask for an EOB and ask them what took so long.  It could be possible that they are still responsible for the bill.  I hope you have found this helpful and good luck with this situation.

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Volunteer

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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