Hospital Bills

[miss-mary]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? NY

I would like to know when a hospital can send your account to collections? My son had a test done at a local hospital on May 26, 2004. I recieved a bill on June 21, 2004. I paid $200 toward the bill on July 5th. I recieved another bill on July 21st stating they recieved my payment but it didnt meet the minimum payment amount required. I paid another $100 on Aug 24th. I recieved a letter and a call from a collection agency at the beginning of Sept. stating my account was sent to collections. How can they send it to a collection agency when I was making a payment each month? And how can they make a minimum requirement on a medical bill? Please help.

Mary M.

 

[Ladynred]

Most medical facilities and providers will send an account to collections if its not paid IN FULL within 90 days. Most of them will NOT retain an unpaid account any longer than that, its a common policy (I work for a large healthcare company, I know how it works). It doesn't matter if you're making payments, if its not enough to pay it in full within 90 days, they will send it to collections. If you'd gotten something in writing for payment arrangements, you might have avoided collections, but it sounds like you didn't.

Call the hospital and find out if you can work something out with them directly to get the bill paid off in a reasonable amount of time.

Did insurance cover any of it ??