Insurance never paid old claim

[BLBSMILLER]

What is the name of your state? California

When my daughter was born (July 2000) a doctor came in to check her before we could take her home, as is for everyone.

I started receiving a bill from the doctor, but ignored it as I usually do. Insurance companies often take a while to pay. I did not receive any more bills and had asummed it was paid.
Now, just recently we had our credit done and everything was fine, we purchased a car, then I just checked again in January and here appeared an entry from this doctor, I called they said it was never paid. In Feb. I called the insurance company that we had at that time, they said they just needed some additional info, and sent it to be paid, I called again in march and The person said they didn't know what was taking so long and sent it back through marked asap. I called again at the beginning of this month and was told they didn't see a problem and would find out and call me back. I did not receive a call so yesturday I called and now I am being told It can't be paid because no one can open the claim because there are no more funds in our account and it has been to long. We have a different insurance company now, and they told me we could try to have them pay it. Mean while the doctor has been charging interest on this. Is it legal to charge interest on medical bills, in California??? And what can I do about this bill???
Thanks for your time
L. Miller

 

[Beth3]

Is your health insurance through an employer? If so, go see the person at work who handles benefits and ask for their assistance to get this sorted out. After nearly three years however, it's debatable whether the carrier actually is liable to pay the bill.

P.S. Don't ignore the medical bills that arrive at home. (In fact, its important that you receive original copies of all those to make sure you're being charged correctly.) You are responsible for payment of the bill and if you don't see an explanation of benefits (EOB) come from the insurance carrier in a reasonable period of time, you need to follow up and ensure they received the bill from the provider. Ultimately, you are responsible for ensuring your medical bills reach the insurance carrier and that things are paid properly.

 

[BLBSMILLER]

Insurance didn't pay old claim

Thanks for your input, I do realize I am responseable for all medical bills, is there a limitation on how long a bill can be paid
we do not have the same employer or the same insurance company.

The other part of my question was can medical bills have interest fees added on? I have been told by a few people they can not, so when I pay this old debt they have a large amount of interest added, can I tell them I will only pay the original amount.
Is it a law in California?

Thanks again

L Miller

 

[cbg]

I don't know the answer to your questions for the state of CA; however, in general, any statute of limitations that may be in place in any given state applies to bills that you have never seen before. It does NOT apply to bills that you received but ignored, assuming that the insurance company would pay it although you never followed up to be sure they had received it also. I will be very surprised if the law requires a provider to write off a bill after a certain length of time; if that were the case, anyone could avoid paying any bill by simply avoiding making payment until the SOL had expired.