If I got a bill like that 4 years later and I don’t know where it came from, I’d just toss it in the garbage and not give it a second thought. Any follow-up letters toss in the garbage too. If a collection agency calls you, just say you don’t speak English. They go away eventually.
I’d be tempted to do same. But… the worry would be impact on credit rating (?)
Not by much, I still have perfect credit.
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Regardless.
You did have that insurance at the time of the billable event - there’s no reason to politely but firmly research that matter through them to first establish what the facts are.
If there is a letter of determination what charges were correct under you plan, and what your own portion was - then you respond to the collection agency with a registered letter, return receipt, that you dispute the open amount, and then attach a copy of the documents backing up the underlying facts.
This way, you keep a copy of your response, backup, and return receipt on file in case you ever need to prove to anyone, that you “closed” this matter in light of the facts.
So, that’s something we wondered. Dh doesn’t want to give the collection agency anything extra, even the letter from insurance four years ago that says it was double-billed.
We found a template of an insurance dispute letter and customized it to us. it asks for all kind of things that would cause me to give up. lol Was going to send that registered mail. Do you think we should send the letter from the insurance company?
Send registered if you want, but I’d also send it the way the collection agency requested (fax, email, regular mail). Often registered letters don’t get there promptly, or there is no one to sign for them so they get sent back.
When I worked for the government, we’d get mail a lot faster if it was just sent regular mail than if it was fedEX or otherwise required a signature. If it did, it would sit in the mail room after someone finally signed for it, then it had to be delivered to MY desk and I had to sign for it, etc. Often an email with proof of opening is the easiest way to make sure the docs are actually received by the right person.
I think you need to explain to the collection agency that the dentist was paid, and that seems to be with the letter from the insurance agency. Why would you not want to provide that?
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I would provide anything that puts them in the definite “know” that they are barking up the wrong tree. Should they then choose to pursue this knowingly, in plain disregard of the facts, they later won’t be able to claim they were just acting in good faith when harassing you.
Sure, perfectly fine to send a copy by fax/email etc. - but the above is exact the reason why you want the USPS to certify the outcome. For one, you only need to mail it timely - and will have the post office receipt to document that. And if it gets returned, that’s wonderful too. Because if they don’t accept their U.S. Mail then whatever outcome is officially “federally” documented as their own lack of proper/diligent business conduct!
It’s not your job to manage their mail room - that’s on them.
This! I couldn’t settle anything without knowing what I was actually responsible for and what the insurance company was responsible for when services were rendered. You should have a bill from the doctor with itemized charges. And then you should have an EOB from the insurance company showing each charge and what the allowable charge is, what portion of that allowable charge they pay and what portion you pay. And in some cases, some charges aren’t covered under your plan or if you exceeded your yearly allotment (we have that with our dental). So it should be pretty easy to figure out what went wrong and who really should pay? I wouldn’t accept a letter from the insurance company as gospel without the EOB.
I would have to know all of that before I tried to negotiate anything.
Thought I would update.
Today, I spoke to the dental office and the insurer. The insurer emailed me the EOB they sent the dental office back in the day saying they need more info to pay the claim. I forwarded to the dental office, telling them to submit an appeal with the info that the insurer requested. We are sending a letter to the debt collection agency, which is working with the dental office (as opposed to being someone who bought the debt), to slow their roll, saying the bill is in dispute.
We shall see how it goes from here. The good news is that the insurer gave me the amount they will pay on the claim, which is more than $500. If the dental office agrees to get rid of the interest, I will happily pay the balance.
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That is your negotiation, right there. Confirm with the insurance company when they will send a check and confirm.
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UPDATE
I settled for something in between what they asked for – more than $1k – and what I would’ve owed if things had been handled properly four years ago – $313. I paid closer to my number, not theirs. It’s all fine. Continuing to fight was not worth my loss of sleep and stress.
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