How to Battle Medical Collections?

[Flypilot]

A big part of my wifes and my problem on our reports are medical collections reported in the last year.

On my wifes report:

(2) collections totaling $7,000 from the birth of our duaghter that the lame "cobra" insurance did not pay. Yes we have fought with them...:mad:

On my report:
(4) collections totaling $32,000 from some trashed girl falling down some stairs in a bar and taking me with her breaking my leg. Yes, that really happened...:eek:... We are in a law suit with the bar but the first attorney I hired and fired failed to get the hospital to take a lien against the case and wait for settlement. Now, my credit is trashed...:mad:

How do I handle these collections?

Fly

[Trish]

Yikes!
If you had cobra, why didn't they pay? What is their excuse?

And double yikes on the drunken bar stairs episode. :eek:
So you are currently in a lawsuit with the bar? not with the girl?
And did you have any medical insurance at the time?

[Flypilot]

Originally Posted by Trish

Yikes!
If you had cobra, why didn't they pay? What is their excuse?

And double yikes on the drunken bar stairs episode. :eek:
So you are currently in a lawsuit with the bar? not with the girl?
And did you have any medical insurance at the time?

Cobra only paid a very SMALL portion. I think they paid like $1800 out of the $10,000 bill for her birth.

I am in a lawsuit with the bar because they let the girl in the bar completley trashed and then served her numerous drinks. Also, the stairs/transition step she fell down (rolled her ankle in her heels) was not marked or lit up. Our insurance kicked in 3 days after the break. Yep, three days.....

[Trish]

Well, you may not like my answer but you're going to have to try and work out payment arrangements.

If these were fairly recent.....you may be able qualify for some sort of state assistance. There are programs like Medicaid out there that can sometimes help even with past medical bills. It wouldn't hurt to look into it.

You need to contact the healthcare provider and see if you can work out something. Explain the pending lawsuit.....If they try to refer you to the collection agency, tell them you REFUSE to pay them and to please make an exception. Ask them to recall the debt from the CA - assuming it is an assigned debt (then the CA cannot report you to the CRAs) and you will make payments to them.

Then hopefully once the lawsuit is over, you will be compensated and get a settlement.

Sorry.......I know it's probably not what you wanted to hear but I don't see any way around these. And anything over 2K is definitely worth suing over (CAs have attempted to sue me over less than that). I would hate to see that happen.

[Flypilot]

Originally Posted by Trish

You need to contact the healthcare provider and see if you can work out something. Explain the pending lawsuit.....If they try to refer you to the collection agency, tell them you REFUSE to pay them and to please make an exception. Ask them to recall the debt from the CA - assuming it is an assigned debt (then the CA cannot report you to the CRAs) and you will make payments to them.

So if the debt is "assigned" the CA is NOT allowed to reort it on the reports to the CRA's?

Fly

[Trish]

Originally Posted by Flypilot

So if the debt is "assigned" the CA is NOT allowed to reort it on the reports to the CRA's?

Fly

Sorry.....I re-read my post and it does sound like that's what I was saying.
What I meant was.......if the debt is assigned and not sold, then the OC can recall the debt from the CA. Once they do that, then the CA has no right to report it.

Hope that makes more sense.