Geesh, BMH is hitting me up for money | Arthritis Information
I got a collection bill from the hospital in Indiana stating that I owed money from 2004......I have called and try to tell them over and over again that it was to be covered and they insist that no it was not covered and they tried to contact me when I had never ever received any paperwork or so much as a phone call.
Unbelievable. I am going to have to pay for these services that somebody screwed up on. I get so weary of other people's mistakes. I am nearly to the point that I do not want to have any medical services done because they always screw up the billing.Always.
I even had it checked before hand....but of course they do not have a record of that and I do not cause it was a phone call.
THis is not the first time this hospital has screwed me over on billing. THe last time I went through this, I walked into the financial aid office, paid the bill. A year later they said I never paid it. I did not have my cancel checks so I had to go back in there again. Paid it again!!!!!!!! About a year after that, once again they said I didn;t pay it so I told them that they must have a thief cause I had the proof then.
BMH cannot be trusted that is for certain, at least in their billing dept.
CA has a coinsumer protection dept. or contact a govt. rep. to help. I've also had medical billing mistakes.
Good luck
Jan
Did you hear directly from the Hospital?
IF not, and IF these people should call you again.. Ask for the "original debt" information in the mail to PROVE that you owe the hospital.
do NOT pay..
There are scams and there are companies who buy old debt that has been resolved or even paid and try to collect. Hoping upon hope that our memories do not serve us right and that we don't keep very accurate records.
Do not admit to anything!!!
If you have any questions and if I can assist you with this, please let me know..
Look here:
one more very very important bit of information.. DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING!!
If you reply to them in letter format... TYPE your name.. do NOT sign it.
good luck
Thank your for your advice!It's a hard lesson to learn but ALWAYS keep a paper trail. Always keep good records of what you've paid. If you have on line access to your bank account print copies of checks as their cashed and staple them with your original bills so when someone comes to you a year....even two years later you'll have proof that you've paid.
Babs is so right. Too many people try to scam people. You can only count on yourself to protect yourself against things like this.
Good Luck in getting a quick resolve in this matter.
Crazy!Its hard to keep track of medical billing cuz you never know what the reimbursement rate may be for various services. Then there was the deductible at the beginning of the year that you had to meet, before Medicare kicked in. My mother was on Medicare and also had a supplement plan to Medicare (Medigap). The medical providers would bill Medicare and the Medigap plan, and they would keep sending you a bill until Medicare or the Medigap plan paid. Sometimes Medicare and the Medigap plan would not pay the total bill, so a balance would remain. When I would call the medical provider, sometimes they would say ignore it as the doctor/provider accepted the reimbursement rates of Medicare and the secondary plan, sometimes they didn't, and months, once years later, I received a bill. Sometimes its less of a headache just to pay the bill then to invest the time trying to figure it out, and sometimes after all that, you still don't get anywhere.
My Mom had several chronic conditions, so lots of paperwork--bills and statements, and lots of stress for me trying to stay on top of it. I sympathize w/older folks that have to deal with these types of insurance issues and have no family to help or don't know where to go for assistance. A single payer plan seems to look better and better to me.
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com