does anyone know?

[absolutabby]

Pennsylvania


I recently had surgery and just got the bill, when I tried to start a payment arrangment they told me I had 12 months and every time I called another month would be knocked off.
They also informed me that even though I was making payments I could still be sent to collections which to me defeats the purpose of payment arrangments. Does anyone know if this is illegal and where I can find proof of it?

[racer72]

Unless you have a contract that specifies a specific monthly payment, it is perfectly legal for the hospital to demand payment in full and send the account to collections if you don't pay. Hospitals rarely have payment plans due to things like insurance and customers that have a habit of dying before the bill is paid in full. Your choice at this time would be to borrow the money to pay the bill (and you will get your monthly payments) or risk having a collection agency coming after you for the money.

[Some Random Guy]

You are required to pay your bills on time. In the case of your surgery this will depend on your agreeement with the provider, but generally it will be within 30 days of when you get the bill.

They do not need to offer payment plans unless you made those arrangements BEFORE the surgery. If you want to pay this over 1-2 years, find somebody or some bank to loan you the money.

Continue making monthly payments on this bill and try to get it paid off in 9-12 months. If the provider sees that they will get their money soon and without a lot of effort, they will be less likely to sue you for the debt or send it to an outside collector (which would cost the hospital money).