Should I pay medical debt ~$900?
I went to a doctor last year and he charged me facility fees (which insurance does not cover) + this year I had a procedure that was supposed to be covered by insurance (that's what I understood from my doctor), yet I was charged 500 dollars. Do I need to pay this? I think it is so unfair that I am charged for non-sense and that it is no straight forward.
I asked in the first hospital and they said it doesn't affect my credit score. I just got a notice that they placed it with a law office for collection. What would you do?
first thing's first, the hospital is wrong, this will affect your credit score. go to annualcreditreport.com so you can see what it says. pay it off as soon as possible to get your account current and then begin a dispute with the credit reporting bureaus
next, I would look on your insurance (you are obligated to receive a statement of benefits annually, your employer probably has this on your intranet) and see where you thought the charge should be covered. I would file a claim manually (to create a paper trail) citing this part of your statement of benefits as proof. alongside this, include proof of payment with the full hospital bill.
finally, pray. there's a good chance you got fucked here bub. the system ain't fair, docs and hospitals are not responsible for memorizing your insurance, they just push a button so they may have lied to you. I've seen this work out and people get reimbursed, I've seen people get fucked and stuck with the bill, and unfortunately, I've seen people have their credit destroyed for 7 years because they didn't pay the bill (not because they couldn't, but because they protested). if you value your credit, you MUST pay the bill ASAP and then dispute it. when you apply for a mortgage, "the insurance company fucked me over" is not a valid excuse for why you got approved at a higher APR.
so you are saying pay then dispute? did it work before? can I actually be reimbursed? very insightful comment. Thank you
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