top Ad Widget

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Medical Billing and Insurance Problems

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Medical Billing and Insurance Problems

    End of February, 2006, our daughter was rear ended by another driver. She was having neck and back pain. March 1, 2006, we went to the local Urgent Care to have her checked out.

    We paid the $15 co-pay for our insurance. X-Rays, exam, the whole 9 yards. They said she was fine. Gave DD scripts for muscle relaxants and pain meds and sent us on our way.

    Summer 2006, we finally had time to get the car in the shop for repairs. When the car was fixed, we thought every thing was done. We settled up with State Farm in August, 2006. Plenty of time for the Urgent Care Provider to have billed but we never received anything.

    Out of the blue last week, we get a bill for nearly $400 for that Urgent Care visit. The provider had had "billing issues" in 2006 when our incident occurred and they are just now getting things straightened out.

    Hubby took the bill to work and had Benefits check into whether our insurance would pay or not. Benefits says that the bill is too old. Evidently, Providers are supposed to bill in a timely manner and 18 months is not timely. Plus, we've had a change in insurance carriers. The carrier covering us at the time of Service is no longer the Company's Insurance Provider. So no coverage from our insurance.

    I'm sure State Farm has closed the Claim. I do intend to call and see if they will do anything. But I doubt we'll get any assistance from them. They were A$$holes to deal with during the Claim. No reason to expect they'll be any different now.

    I checked and our State has a rule of 6 years on Written Contracts. I'm sure the "Authorization to Treat" has a rider in the fine print that if insurance does not pay, we will be held responsible.

    I am really PO'd about this. The gal I spoke with last week in Billing for the Urgent Care said, "We had problems with our Billing Dept during the time of your Service. We recently assigned our billing to a new agency and they've been going back thru old accts straightening things out."

    If the stupid Urgent Care had done their job right to start with, we woulda had the bill to give to State Farm while the Claim was open and active for reimbursement.


    Anybody have any ideas??!!
    Filed Ch 7 - 09/06
    Discharged - 12/2006
    Officially Declared No Asset - 03/2007
    Closed - 04/2007

    I am not an attorney. My comments are based on personal experience and research. Always consult an attorney in your area to address concerns related to your particular situation.

    Another good thing about being poor is that when you are seventy your children will not have declared you legally insane in order to gain control of your estate. - Woody Allen...

    #2
    Originally posted by SinkingFast View Post
    Benefits says that the bill is too old.
    Most insurance claims must be filed within 90 days. Sometimes insurers will make exceptions, but under the circumstances you describe with the company no longer your insurer, I'm pretty sure you are going to get screwed here.

    First I would try sending a registered return receipt letter to the Urgent Care center billing dept explaining your insurer has declined to pay due to the age of the claim. Also make your case that their billing mistake should not be your responsibility since it would have been covered if they had sent the bill in a timely fashion. Then tell them you expect them to void what you owe since it was their error.

    If the Urgent Care center refuses (likely), then contact a NACA consumer rights attorney in your area - http://www.naca.net/ - to find out what your options are in this situation. It might be possible to go to small claims court over this or ask for a mediator from the insurance company to look at the situation.

    I really hate it when companies put you in the "WE made a mistake but YOU get to pay for it" bind

    Keep us posted on what happens, SF. Hope you can get this resolved without $400 leaving your pocket.
    Last edited by lrprn; 11-25-2007, 01:17 PM.
    I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice nor a statement of the law - only a lawyer can provide those.

    06/01/06 - Filed Ch 13
    06/28/06 - 341 Meeting
    07/18/06 - Confirmation Hearing - not confirmed, 3 objections
    10/05/06 - Hearing to resolve 2 trustee objections
    01/24/07 - Judge dismisses mortgage company objection
    09/27/07 - Confirmed at last!
    06/10/11 - Trustee confirms all payments made
    08/10/11 - DISCHARGED !

    10/02/11 - CASE CLOSED
    Countdown: 60 months paid, 0 months to go

    Comment

    bottom Ad Widget

    Collapse
    Working...
    X