Medical collections - Differences?

[torero34]

Are there really any differences when it comes to medical accounts on the credit report? Some say there are distinctions as to how you can be sued, the verification(HIPPA) and the dispute process...The chances of being sued for medical collection accounts are thought to be less than other types of collections...

Do we deal with the medical collections that are under or over $1000 in the same manner we deal with other types of accounts?? If they were given to collections long time ago, Isn't it possible to approach the Original Creditor(Health care provider) and negotiate with them instead of the CAs?

[Hal Jordan]

This is kind of an interesting question and unfortunately I don't think you're going to get one answer that is more than theory or personal speculation. I personally belive there is a distinction between the two as to which ones will sue you as.

I read these boards a lot and often read about people being sued. Out of the hundreds of threads I've read online I have almost never seen a suit brought for medical collections (I have seen a few though).

I think a big part of this is because (now this is based on nothing more than my observations so take it for what that's worth) most medical collection companies are not JDB's. They are usually contracted by the Medical Source to go after this money owed and are not typically the owners of the debt.

I have been working hard at cleaning up my credit and the overwhelming majority of the collections I had on my report were from medical bills. I worked out pay for deletes on the ones that didn't go away with the 1-2 punch and everyone of them I dealt directly with OC not the collection agency.

The other thing I observed is almost all of the medical collections could call up the OC and have them fax a full accounting of services, dates and my personal identifiers on hospital letter head within a couple of days of requests.

So in short, yes.. I believe you are less likely to be sued by a CA for medical debts but certainly not immune and I have seen more than one instance of it happening. Second if you do get sued the CA appears to be much more likely to have the full cooperation of the OC with statements, explanations and signed consent for service forms from you.

Lastly, they are also the most likely to do a PFD with you if you can pay the balance in full.

[torero34]

Originally Posted by Hal Jordan

I think a big part of this is because (now this is based on nothing more than my observations so take it for what that's worth) most medical collection companies are not JDB's. l.

I was actually under the same impression.There are huge differences when dealing with the accounts that are assigned to a CA or bought by a JDB.

Noone is really sure about why the Medical Accounts are supposed to be treated differently.I guess it could be the fact that the regulations might be on the consumer side a bit more since it is related to medical issues rather than a commercial debt.

Maybe someone who has experience with medical collections and knowledgeable about medical accounts on the CAs could shed some light on this issue.....