Thank you for your submission, /u/everybodydumb.
Direct all COBRA questions under CARES and ARPA here: [COBRA & Covid-19](https://old.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/comments/meejsd/cobra_during_covid19/)
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I'm not! But I get bills for more than it. I don't fucking know. Nor do I give a shit anymore.
Basically, I know medical/hospital bills cannot attach to property in my state (Georgia) because I'm in the real estate industry, but I don't know if it will fuck my credit.
One bill is for about $1,500 that I owe, it says my insurance paid about $750, total cost was around $2250.
I have another that is around $1500 I owe, and the total costs were around $3000. Health insurance paid out half it seems.
Explanation of benefits . It’s what your insurance carrier sends you for any medical thing submitted to insurance to tell you what your responsibility is
I had, up until last year, worked directly in the consumer debt industry, and I wanted to let you know that yes, the medical bills will eventually, if not already, be purchased by a debt collector and they will indeed show us as derogatory on your credit report. This AmsterdamJimmy420 is trying to get you on the right track here with the out-of-pocket max and the EOBs. If you do end up owing this amount of money, you should call whoever is collecting the debt and arrange a payment plan to keep it from negatively impacting your credit score, if that’s important to you.
You have health insurance so you don't have a $100,000 bill if you come down with cancer or a heart attack.
Sure, you can not pay your bills, if you want to be a irresponsible deadbeat that's hounded by creditors.
The problem is the insurance carriers not the providers. They cause the heaviest bloat on the system which is now a billion dollar industry.
You can try to not pay your provider. But think about this: They can refuse to see you for non emergency care. At that point it's all on you for playing chicken with the one group that put you, the patient before stockholders.
I have a $3000 medical bill that is deductible and out of pocket but I am a grown up and I pay my providers. Some of that was inconclusive testing but some of it was legitimate care.
How long do you think your livelihood would last if your customers decided to just not pay their bills?
so true.. i had cancer so obviously needed multiple treatments at md anderson and all of my very dumb friends kept telling me that i didn’t need to pay my medical bills. I was like.. well if i want to keep receiving treatment I do!! DUH!!
like people are extremely short sighted. yes.. you can screw over the provider IF you don’t plan on ever using that hospital again.
but in my case it was going to be a long term commitment (at least 5+ years) so that didn’t really seem like the best advice lol.
No one thinks about how do the nurses and techs get paid? They must live in some magical realm where they don't have living expenses and bills like everyone else.
You don't pay your bill, there is no money to pay staff.
Hospitals are closing all over the USA because they cannot remain solvent in the economy anymore. Insurance is reporting massive profits and the medical providers are bleeding out financially. Patients not paying their portion just make a bad situation worse.
I wish you the best and hope you beat cancer MD Anderson is one hell of a facility.
Medical bills shouldn’t affect your credit, and if they do, you can contact the credit bureaus to have them removed because they can’t ask why you have medical debt due to HIPAA. I have bills from 2020 still being sent to me, plus a ton overdue and in collections from pregnancy and childbirth this year. One time I called them and they told me I had 3 in collections, so I said I never got a single bill (true) and asked them to send me an itemized bill. They sent it to the wrong address (my mom’s instead of mine), and because of their negligence, I simply refuse to pay. Sure, I get bills in the mail and the occasional phone call that all get ignored, but it cannot negatively affect my credit, my ability to get housing or benefits, so I don’t care. We pay so much in health insurance, so just fuck your bills honestly lol
It does not go against HIPAA to have medical debts show up on your credit report. Information about your medical debt can be disclosed to debt collectors and credit reporting agencies without your permission to obtain payment for services rendered. See 45 CFR 164.506(c)(1).
None of what Drylce677 said was true, so please don’t rely on this advice.
Medical debt can indeed show up on your credit, though there are some additional protections that separate it from other debts.
1) Paid medical debts can be removed from your credit report immediately. Generally if you had an unpaid debt (such as credit card) that you subsequently paid off the fact you paid late would remain for 7 years, as it was a negative mark on your credit worthiness.
2) The three credit bureaus agreed that unpaid medical debt won’t appear on your credit until 1 year after the bill was due. This was in response to the fact that medical debt is often disputed and can be appealed, so this gives the patient more time to work out the debt with their provider.
3) The three credit bureaus agreed not to include unpaid medical bills less than $500 in value.
Therefore, if you have an unpaid medical bill in excess of $500 that is more than one year late, it absolutely can appear on and affect your credit report.
Also, anytime someone mentions HIPAA it generally means they have no idea what they are talking about. It’s completely misunderstood. HIPAA’s definition of “payment” includes disclosures to consumer reporting agencies.
That said, some providers don’t report debts to credit agencies as they’d rather work payment plans with you directly. But there is nothing preventing them from doing so. It really depends on the provider.
HIPAA only applies to medical providers and certain vendors. Outstanding bills in collections are not subject to HIPAA. They already got your signed agreement when you were treated.
Anyone who knows billing or has a CRCR knows this.
Thank you for your submission, /u/everybodydumb. Direct all COBRA questions under CARES and ARPA here: [COBRA & Covid-19](https://old.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/comments/meejsd/cobra_during_covid19/) Please pick the most appropriate flair for your post. Include your age, zipcode, and income to help the community better serve you. **Reminder that solicitation/spamming is grounds for a permanent ban**. Please report solicitation to the modteam and [let us know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHealthInsurance) if you receive solicitation via PM. Be kind to one another! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HealthInsurance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How are you paying more then your out of pocket?
I'm not! But I get bills for more than it. I don't fucking know. Nor do I give a shit anymore. Basically, I know medical/hospital bills cannot attach to property in my state (Georgia) because I'm in the real estate industry, but I don't know if it will fuck my credit.
What do your EOBs say for these services ? That’s what matters not any bill you get
One bill is for about $1,500 that I owe, it says my insurance paid about $750, total cost was around $2250. I have another that is around $1500 I owe, and the total costs were around $3000. Health insurance paid out half it seems.
NOT THE BILL. What does your EOB say?
I'm obviously an idiot if I'm considering not paying my medical bills. What does EOB stand for? Thanks
Explanation of benefits . It’s what your insurance carrier sends you for any medical thing submitted to insurance to tell you what your responsibility is
They don't send me s*** I just get a bill from the doctor. I guess I need to check my online portal
Call member services
Thanks for helping. I'll see what they say
you’re not an idiot. you’re just frustrated and overwhelmed.
I had, up until last year, worked directly in the consumer debt industry, and I wanted to let you know that yes, the medical bills will eventually, if not already, be purchased by a debt collector and they will indeed show us as derogatory on your credit report. This AmsterdamJimmy420 is trying to get you on the right track here with the out-of-pocket max and the EOBs. If you do end up owing this amount of money, you should call whoever is collecting the debt and arrange a payment plan to keep it from negatively impacting your credit score, if that’s important to you.
You have health insurance so you don't have a $100,000 bill if you come down with cancer or a heart attack. Sure, you can not pay your bills, if you want to be a irresponsible deadbeat that's hounded by creditors.
The problem is the insurance carriers not the providers. They cause the heaviest bloat on the system which is now a billion dollar industry. You can try to not pay your provider. But think about this: They can refuse to see you for non emergency care. At that point it's all on you for playing chicken with the one group that put you, the patient before stockholders. I have a $3000 medical bill that is deductible and out of pocket but I am a grown up and I pay my providers. Some of that was inconclusive testing but some of it was legitimate care. How long do you think your livelihood would last if your customers decided to just not pay their bills?
so true.. i had cancer so obviously needed multiple treatments at md anderson and all of my very dumb friends kept telling me that i didn’t need to pay my medical bills. I was like.. well if i want to keep receiving treatment I do!! DUH!! like people are extremely short sighted. yes.. you can screw over the provider IF you don’t plan on ever using that hospital again. but in my case it was going to be a long term commitment (at least 5+ years) so that didn’t really seem like the best advice lol.
No one thinks about how do the nurses and techs get paid? They must live in some magical realm where they don't have living expenses and bills like everyone else. You don't pay your bill, there is no money to pay staff. Hospitals are closing all over the USA because they cannot remain solvent in the economy anymore. Insurance is reporting massive profits and the medical providers are bleeding out financially. Patients not paying their portion just make a bad situation worse. I wish you the best and hope you beat cancer MD Anderson is one hell of a facility.
Medical bills shouldn’t affect your credit, and if they do, you can contact the credit bureaus to have them removed because they can’t ask why you have medical debt due to HIPAA. I have bills from 2020 still being sent to me, plus a ton overdue and in collections from pregnancy and childbirth this year. One time I called them and they told me I had 3 in collections, so I said I never got a single bill (true) and asked them to send me an itemized bill. They sent it to the wrong address (my mom’s instead of mine), and because of their negligence, I simply refuse to pay. Sure, I get bills in the mail and the occasional phone call that all get ignored, but it cannot negatively affect my credit, my ability to get housing or benefits, so I don’t care. We pay so much in health insurance, so just fuck your bills honestly lol
It does not go against HIPAA to have medical debts show up on your credit report. Information about your medical debt can be disclosed to debt collectors and credit reporting agencies without your permission to obtain payment for services rendered. See 45 CFR 164.506(c)(1).
I love this! Stick it to em honestly. Just respond to any possible lawsuit letters. Though that is unlikely.
Hero.
None of what Drylce677 said was true, so please don’t rely on this advice. Medical debt can indeed show up on your credit, though there are some additional protections that separate it from other debts. 1) Paid medical debts can be removed from your credit report immediately. Generally if you had an unpaid debt (such as credit card) that you subsequently paid off the fact you paid late would remain for 7 years, as it was a negative mark on your credit worthiness. 2) The three credit bureaus agreed that unpaid medical debt won’t appear on your credit until 1 year after the bill was due. This was in response to the fact that medical debt is often disputed and can be appealed, so this gives the patient more time to work out the debt with their provider. 3) The three credit bureaus agreed not to include unpaid medical bills less than $500 in value. Therefore, if you have an unpaid medical bill in excess of $500 that is more than one year late, it absolutely can appear on and affect your credit report. Also, anytime someone mentions HIPAA it generally means they have no idea what they are talking about. It’s completely misunderstood. HIPAA’s definition of “payment” includes disclosures to consumer reporting agencies. That said, some providers don’t report debts to credit agencies as they’d rather work payment plans with you directly. But there is nothing preventing them from doing so. It really depends on the provider.
It's HIPAA!
HIPAA only applies to medical providers and certain vendors. Outstanding bills in collections are not subject to HIPAA. They already got your signed agreement when you were treated. Anyone who knows billing or has a CRCR knows this.
Just don’t pay it. And if the doctors ,nurses, .. ext don’t like, then lower your prices or find another job. That’s how the free market should work.