Billed for service over 2yrs ago

[AskingSome?]

What is the name of your state? Ohio where services took place

I just received a letter from a collection agency stating I owe money for a service over two years ago (Nov. 2002). I received a bill from the service provider in Dec. 2002, and they then filed the claim with my insurance company. I never heard again from the service provider. In Dec. 2003 we moved out of state, and I now have a different insurance provider.

The collection agency sent me the nasty gram on Nov. 30, 2004 stating I owe for this service, and they do not mention if they ever got paid by the insurance company (but I'm assuming not) or if it was even filed and/or denied. As I no longer even have this insurance provider, I am at a loss as how I should follow up this claim.

Do I owe this service provider if they didn't provide me timely notice that my insurance company denied the claim? How do I get my former insurance company to review the claim? What is the statue on how far companies can go back and bill you?

Thanks in advance for any advice or direction provided!

[purple2]

Patients are always ultimately responsible for payment of bills.

When you (or a healthcare provider on your behalf) submit a claim to your insurance company, the insurance company should send you an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) form telling you the disposition of the claim. It's your responsibility to review and follow up on it. If you don't receive an EOB after you expected a healthcare provider to submit a claim for you, it's your responsibility to follow up to ensure the claim is submitted.

Did you receive an EOB in this case?

[AskingSome?]

Ohio service:

As far as I recall, I did not ever receive anything (EOB or otherwise) from my insurance company or this service provider, and now the service provider more than two years later is billing me. Since it is nearly impossible to get the insurance company that covered me then (no longer same company) to pay, how can the service provider expect me to pay the bill over two years later? I have to believe there is a statute of limitations that states a company must bill you within XX months to receive payment, but I can't find that information for Ohio.

Of course now that they have sent it to a collection agency they are threatening lawsuit, bad credit reports, etc. The point is not the money (this is only a $130 claim) but the real issue is my insurance would have paid the claim if the provider had filed it like they should have. Instead, apparently the billing department figured out they hadn't got reimbursed just recently, and over two years later they billed me. Now I will have difficulty ever getting this covered with my insurance company from back then.

Thanks for any help.

[MellowCat]

Originally Posted by AskingSome?

Ohio service:

As far as I recall, I did not ever receive anything (EOB or otherwise) from my insurance company or this service provider, and now the service provider more than two years later is billing me. Since it is nearly impossible to get the insurance company that covered me then (no longer same company) to pay, how can the service provider expect me to pay the bill over two years later? I have to believe there is a statute of limitations that states a company must bill you within XX months to receive payment, but I can't find that information for Ohio.

Of course now that they have sent it to a collection agency they are threatening lawsuit, bad credit reports, etc. The point is not the money (this is only a $130 claim) but the real issue is my insurance would have paid the claim if the provider had filed it like they should have. Instead, apparently the billing department figured out they hadn't got reimbursed just recently, and over two years later they billed me. Now I will have difficulty ever getting this covered with my insurance company from back then.

Thanks for any help.

Are you sure the provider didn't file the claim with your carrier? Could it be that the provider took 2 years exhausting all efforts to get payment from your insurance carrier and wasn't successful? You may not like getting billed 2 years later for services you received, but I have a hunch the provider isn't too thrilled with having to wait 2 years to get paid.

[Beth3]

You need to start by contacting the prior insurance carrier or their successor and seeing what you can find out about this medical bill and whether they have a record of receiving it or paying it. IF the claims payment information from that period of time is still intact and the bill was never processed, it may still be possible to submit it for payment.

Don't delay as insurance companies do purge their claims records periodically.