Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Illinois

Last May, I visited the a doctor under a new health care plan, that I had not previously used. A few weeks later, I received a bill in the mail that did not take my health care into account. when i called the doctor's office and questioned them, they told me it was due to missing information and that I needed to contact my Insurance provider. I did, and they told me that I needed to obtain proof of previous coverage (being a veteran that was active duty military, i neeed to obtain a letter of creditable coverage). i notified the Doctor's office about this and told them that I was taking care of the problem and that it may take a little while. The Doctor's office kept mailing me the bill and each time they did, it was gaining more and more time as being past due. Everytime i received one of these bills, I would call and remind them of the situation and that it was being handled. Eventually, everything was cleared up with my insurance company and I was just waiting for the bill from the doctor's office (of a much smaller amount). I never received this bill but did receive a letter in the mail from them saying that I had an outstanding balance of 40 dollars and if I did not pay the amount within 14 days, that it would be handed over to a collection agency. The money is not the issue here....it is the way things were handled and the fact that I never received a bill for the remaining amount. Am I wrong to feel like the doctor's office is at fault or that it was handled wrongly?


Asked on 11/02/10, 7:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

This will wind up on your credit report. Pay $40 and tell them you expect it back if you straighten it out. SOUNDS like you may not have waited long enough after being hired for the new plan to kick into effect -- normally it's at least 30 days. And if so that may be the problem -- your OLD plan may have still been in effect. So can't really tell from your facts but that's typically the way they dovetail.

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Answered on 11/07/10, 8:34 pm


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