Back in Sept. I got into a motorcycle wreck which was not my fault. The responsible party's insurance company said they would take care of all my bills etc. I signed a consent stating the different places I went for treatment on my broken wrist, ER etc. I thougght I was done getting my bills in and I closed on the claim. A few weeks ago I got a letter from a collection agency stating I owed money for the physians at wake med. I never receieved a bill at all. I called the billing place and they said they sent a bill every month (I never got)

Is the insurance company still responsible for paying for the bill being that the bill was issued before i closed the claim? Your help would be greatly appreciated

2/7/2008 10:27:01 AM

probably

2/7/2008 10:31:13 AM

That sucks. I would think, though, that they're only liable for the bills, etc. that you reported having received. You can always file a dispute about the collection if it's showed up on your credit report. I think the first thing you should do is verify which address they sent the bill to and whether or not you were living there. If the number is wrong on the address or the name, then I think they'd have to reconsider some things. Either way, it sucks. I've been in a similar situation where a bill was issued to me when the services were already paid by insurance. It ended up hurting my credit for a while, because they never agreed on it.

2/7/2008 10:33:10 AM

I would think that the insurance company is still responsible. if a collection agency is involved, it's obvious the charges are old. if you could get a statement that shows the date of the services and show that to the insurance company, i would think that if it conincides with other dates, bills, and injuries that they would compensate you accordingly. that doesn't mean they will though. they'll probably just say "oh well, you closed the claim."

^ a similar thing happened with me with a bill and insurance, but blue cross handled it all for me and i avoided any negative impact on my credit.

2/7/2008 11:13:42 AM

Ok... I would think so too.. The date of serice is on the Collection notice.. I called the Collection place and they know the situation and said if anything they can reduce the amount (how thats gonna happen I dunno) if they wont do it. But I just wanted to know if bringing legal support is necessary...

I was thinking of using the free legal services here. They are pretty good.

2/7/2008 11:37:54 AM

i wouldn't know about the free legal services. i'd definitely give it a shot.

i would try and get a bill from the hospital/dr. who treated you that clarifies the details of the visit. this might be more compelling than a collection agency bill when shown to an insurance representative.

2/7/2008 11:46:08 AM

I have to ask the obligatory - 'what is a coundrum?'

sorry, don't mean to be an ass but it had to be asked.

2/7/2008 11:54:25 AM

ha ha ... well like I said... I dunno if I should be able to get the insurance comapny to pay for this or not when I received this notice after I closed my claim...

2/7/2008 1:14:19 PM

Did they say they would pay your bills or did they give you a check in the amount of your bills for you to pay?

Who was responsible for collecting the bills? Did the insurance company request the bills from providers or you just took what you received in the mail.

Wake Med Physicians bill separately and is a commonly missed bill. The medical record is part of the hospital chart.

While it is important to pay a medical bill, it is not a big deal that it has been sent to collections. They will work out payment plans and such. Hospitals turn over unpaid claims quickly because it is easier than trying to collect the debt themselves.

I think you have potential problems with getting this bill paid. It depends on your agreement with the insurance company. There are several factors that could change the outcome. Just call the company.

[Edited on February 7, 2008 at 1:29 PM. Reason : k]

2/7/2008 1:27:17 PM

Quote :

"Wake Med Physicians bill separately and is a commonly missed bill."

yep, that's why mine got missed too. forgot about that.

2/7/2008 2:40:00 PM

WHAT IS A COUNDRUM?? sound it out

2/7/2008 3:16:01 PM

wake med faculty physicians will turn you over to collections almost immediately and they aren't good about sending follow up bills or payment reminders. i've really had to stay on top of my bills from them.

the only way i can see the insurance company paying is if it was one of the bills they agreed to pay prior to you closing the claim and they somehow overlooked paying it or reimbursing you.

i hate to say it, but that was a VERY poor decision on your part to close the claim. at the least, you should have left it open the max amount of time (which is three years) just in case anything else came up. you also deserve a settlement in the event you need future medical attention related to your injuries. broken bones, etc. frequently cause other issues/annoyances later in life.

2/7/2008 7:31:18 PM