What to do abouta medical bill thatI don’t owe but collections is insisting that I pay?
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What to do abouta medical bill thatI don’t owe but collections is insisting that I pay?
I am being taken to court for a past due bill for a hospital. From the beginning it was a mess. The hospital billed the wrong insurance from day one; finally they billed the right insurance. I got a bill for $883. I never heard from the hospital again. I thought the bill was a mistake. Then collections began calling saying I owed $1200 to the hospital. I contacted my insurer and they told me I owe nothing and not to pay. The insurance said we should owe nothing because they paid the hospital over $140,000 in medical bills for our child in the NICU. I spoke with the collections agency many times saying I don’t have a job and to contact my daughter’s father who holds the insurance. He began to call the collections agency and they wouldn’t talk to him nor would they call him for payments. I spoke with hospital and they said that they no longer have anything to do with this bill because it was sent to collections. I spoke with collections and they say no matter what we pay we will still be taken to court, so either make payment plans of $300 over 4 months or settle, so I offered $500 and they won’t take anything lower than $871. We cannot afford either of these payments, what is your advice? Should we just go to court?
Asked on August 10, 2011 Minnesota
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You are being taken to what seems to be a small claims court action for a $1,200 past due hopsital bill that your medical insurance company has told you that you are not obligated upon, yet the hospital insists that the $1,200 is owed nontheless and has turned the claimed amount owed over to a collection aganecy.
The collection agency refuses to compromise on this matter and intends to go to court with you.
If this is the case and your medical insurance company insists that you owe nothing for this medical bill due to its agreement with the hospital, you should then go to court and resolve this dispute one way or another.
You first need to have a subpoena issued by the court clerk to the "person most knowledgeable" with your medical insurance company to attend trial and produce all billing and contract information between the hospital that is making the claims against you and your account to give testimony that its $1,200 claim is not valid. Once the subpoena is issued by the court clerk, you need to have it served upon the the designated agent for service of process for your insurance company to attend trial on the set date, time, court room.
The clerk can assist you in general with what you need to do. If there is a small claims clinic in your community, it also can give you advice on the subpoena process.
Good luck.
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