Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

HI,

I underwent a surgical procedure in November 2009. I paid my copay and hospital Deductibles

for the surgery.

Later on I got a bill from the clinic that I have to pay another deductible.

I work in a hospital so the clinic kept on sending me the bills. Then they started calling me.

I explained to them that according to my health policy I do not owe them. They should talk to

my health insurance. But they said your policy has been changed. I said the procedure was

done in 2009. The policy is being change in 2010.

In short, they sent the matter to the collection agency. The collection agency called me whcih

I did not answer. Then I took the matter to Human resources. They helped me and the matter

was resolved.

Now my question is can I filed law suit against against my Insurance company and Clinic

for ruining my credit and sending the matter to the collection agency even though I explained

to them that I do not owe them. If I can whom should I contact?

Thanks


Asked on 4/20/10, 7:31 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

A mistake that was fixed is not a lottery win. If there is damage to your credit it is YOUR negligence that it is there.

According to you, eveyone fixed things. If there are errors in your credit report, you have to challenge those in writing. They should then be removed. If they refuse to correct things, THEN you may have a case. But according to you, you have yet to ask.

And you were wrong at the time also. Hospitals are not responsible for solving billing problems with your insurer. That is your responsibility as you owe the bill. The fact they fixed it means they did more than they were required.

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Answered on 4/25/10, 7:41 am
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

No one here has the documents, and more facts are necessary, but I will point out two issues you probably have. One, your insurance is probably between you and the insurer, and not the hospital/provider. Most providers bill insurers as a courtesy only, and the patient is almost always going to be responsible for the bill. The documents will usually say that very clearly. Rarely will the correct answer to be to leave a bill outstanding and say "talk to my insurance company" and if the patient does that they face the very risk you discuss. It is the patients bill, not the patient's insurance company's bill so the patient who says "I don't owe them" is usually going to be very wrong. Second, what did the insurance company send to the credit bureau to ruin your credit and what did they send to the collection agency? The correct way to resolve this is for the patient to make sure all bills are paid, and then fight with the insurer about reimbursement. Again, we do not have the documents and facts, but this covers about 98% of the situations you discuss.

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Answered on 4/25/10, 7:49 am


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