statute of limitations in ca

Please HELP!!!!!In 1999 I went to a chiropractor. Before the appointment, I made sure that he accepted my insurance. He tols me they did. At the end of the appointment he asked me for a donation for the exray. I asked him how much and he explained that if I gave him 50 bucks, it would be a deductable for my insurance. I had never used my insurance for this tupe of doctor so I was a little confused but wrote him a check. When I got home, I was thinking that something did'nt sound right. It turned out that I was suposed to have a copay of 10 dollars. I cancled the check thinking that they would discover this when he billed my insurance company and they would bill me . I did not hear another thing about it for over a year. It has been almost two years now and recently am being harassed by collection agancies for an amount close to 400 dollars. Is there a statute of limitations on something like this in california? What can I do?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by madalyne
Please HELP!!!!!In 1999 I went to a chiropractor. Before the appointment, I made sure that he accepted my insurance. He tols me they did. At the end of the appointment he asked me for a donation for the exray. I asked him how much and he explained that if I gave him 50 bucks, it would be a deductable for my insurance. I had never used my insurance for this tupe of doctor so I was a little confused but wrote him a check. When I got home, I was thinking that something did'nt sound right. It turned out that I was suposed to have a copay of 10 dollars. I cancled the check thinking that they would discover this when he billed my insurance company and they would bill me . I did not hear another thing about it for over a year. It has been almost two years now and recently am being harassed by collection agancies for an amount close to 400 dollars. Is there a statute of limitations on something like this in california? What can I do?

My response:

California has a 4 year Statute of Limitations on written contracts and debts - - i.e., when you went in for your first appointment, you signed certain papers. The rest of your post concerning your dealings with the Chiro and your insurance makes no sense to me, so I can't answer you. Perhaps, someone else will take a stab at it.

IAAL

I understand as I was in the insurance field for many years. Your insurance (for going to this Chiro) had a $10.00 co-payment. That is the maximum you should have paid him. He had no authorization to ask for a "donation" for the xray -- I am sure he submitted that to the insurance company. You paid him $50.00 and then realized you should have only paid him $10.00. (You probably should have called his office right away, told them to hold the check and you would be back in to give them the $10.00 -- If he was a participating Dr with your insurance, which it sounds like he was, he was under "contract" to accept that $10.00 as payment in full -- he was gettng reimbursed from the insurance company anyhow.) I would write a detailed letter to your insurance company (even if you no longer deal with them) and explain the situation to them. I would carbon copy the letter to the Dr and the collection agency. Make sure you outline in the letter that you are "disputing" the amount of amount owed. Hope this helps.

That helps me more than you know! Thanks!!!

What if the doctor was never under contract with the insurance in the first place and just said he was?

Then it's your word against his -- but that's also a crime and I am sure the insurance company and the board that certifies him/recognizes him would want to know this. That is called deception. Chances are you can find someone else in the same boat but you'll have to do your homework....Good luck!