What happens if I choose not to pay a $600 bill?

[Anonymous]

This could become a barrier in housing, employments, and of course financial.
Contact the medical office patient relations to mediate before due date to see if you can negotiate….but I’d pay it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe that a medical facility is engaging in fraudulent charges but after many phone calls, I owe them $600. I can “afford” to pay them but don’t want considering they already got thousands from insurance for a service received. I already have a mortgage and excellent credit. I don’t want my credit to tank because of this but I’m 45 and have decades of great credit in my portfolio. If I let this bill linger and never pay, how much could this affect my finances?

If you suspect fraud, you can report the facility.

But if you are just pissed off that they're getting so much money from all corners, not paying $600 and ruining your credit to prove a point is pretty much the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Well, I mean, it depends whether or not they need credit and how old they are. If they are 86 like my mother with buckets of money in the bank, ruin away.

[Anonymous]

My credit was ruined by a $30 bill. I would pay it. It cost me a mortgage 15 years after the fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe that a medical facility is engaging in fraudulent charges but after many phone calls, I owe them $600. I can “afford” to pay them but don’t want considering they already got thousands from insurance for a service received. I already have a mortgage and excellent credit. I don’t want my credit to tank because of this but I’m 45 and have decades of great credit in my portfolio. If I let this bill linger and never pay, how much could this affect my finances?

Can you explain in more detail? For example, I just received a bill from a large hospital organization for 130 except my insurance already paid the contracted amount of 250. In addition, we paid a copay that needs to be refunded because the service was applied to our deductible and our deductible comes from an employer-sponsored reimbursement account. We do not owe cost-sharing- like copays- until the deductible is met. They are trying to charge me the remaining balance AFTER insurance paid the contracted rate- this is ILLEGAL. And I will be calling them AND reporting them to MD AG.

If the amount owed is part of your deductible or coinsurance then you owe it. If it is an amount after insurance paid the fully contracted rate then you do not owe it and they are illegally billing you.

[Anonymous]

Sorry but I would just pay it. Anything could happen such that you would need the best credit score you can have and I think $600 is over the amount that they can take you to collections for. Peace of mind is worth a lot, to not have to continue to deal with the issue, if you’ve tried calling and fixing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe that a medical facility is engaging in fraudulent charges but after many phone calls, I owe them $600. I can “afford” to pay them but don’t want considering they already got thousands from insurance for a service received. I already have a mortgage and excellent credit. I don’t want my credit to tank because of this but I’m 45 and have decades of great credit in my portfolio. If I let this bill linger and never pay, how much could this affect my finances?

Can you explain in more detail? For example, I just received a bill from a large hospital organization for 130 except my insurance already paid the contracted amount of 250. In addition, we paid a copay that needs to be refunded because the service was applied to our deductible and our deductible comes from an employer-sponsored reimbursement account. We do not owe cost-sharing- like copays- until the deductible is met. They are trying to charge me the remaining balance AFTER insurance paid the contracted rate- this is ILLEGAL. And I will be calling them AND reporting them to MD AG.

If the amount owed is part of your deductible or coinsurance then you owe it. If it is an amount after insurance paid the fully contracted rate then you do not owe it and they are illegally billing you.

All of the above! Thank goodness for people like the PP. And the OP if it's the same situation.
They are counting on double billing insurance and patients because people have insurance and EOB fatigue. And then they run their numbers through some consultant three years later and send bills for more fees "leftover" after they supposedly billed insurance. And people just pay. I love that PP is on top of her deductable. I know I haven't met my deductable and I pay copays everywhere because that is what is added up for me to meet the deductable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you're 45 and not a toddler, why risk your credit for a measley $600?

+1
If you’re a bazillionaire and don’t need the money - sure do it as an f-u but seriously the company won’t care and the only person who gets dinged is you .

[Anonymous]

I refused to pay a $600 dermatology bill in full. I paid $200 and then it went to collections and I pretended I was chaotic and crazy every time they called. My credit score is 830.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe that a medical facility is engaging in fraudulent charges but after many phone calls, I owe them $600. I can “afford” to pay them but don’t want considering they already got thousands from insurance for a service received. I already have a mortgage and excellent credit. I don’t want my credit to tank because of this but I’m 45 and have decades of great credit in my portfolio. If I let this bill linger and never pay, how much could this affect my finances?

Can you explain in more detail? For example, I just received a bill from a large hospital organization for 130 except my insurance already paid the contracted amount of 250. In addition, we paid a copay that needs to be refunded because the service was applied to our deductible and our deductible comes from an employer-sponsored reimbursement account. We do not owe cost-sharing- like copays- until the deductible is met. They are trying to charge me the remaining balance AFTER insurance paid the contracted rate- this is ILLEGAL. And I will be calling them AND reporting them to MD AG.

If the amount owed is part of your deductible or coinsurance then you owe it. If it is an amount after insurance paid the fully contracted rate then you do not owe it and they are illegally billing you.

All of the above! Thank goodness for people like the PP. And the OP if it's the same situation.
They are counting on double billing insurance and patients because people have insurance and EOB fatigue. And then they run their numbers through some consultant three years later and send bills for more fees "leftover" after they supposedly billed insurance. And people just pay. I love that PP is on top of her deductable. I know I haven't met my deductable and I pay copays everywhere because that is what is added up for me to meet the deductable.

I only know this because I worked in benefits for a few years while in college at a MH clinic so learned insurance, self-pay rules, how they set prices, how claims were submitted, how offices run their collections, etc. We also have significant health issues that require actually using insurance regularly.

I also get annoyed because in truth, offices are not supposed to bill you until after they submit their claims to insurance. LabCorp is a great example where they "estimate" the amount owed. Prior to our current coverage, our previous insurance covered all labs at 100%. So, I would decline to pay and had to BEG my husband to stop doing it because then I had to chase after the facility to get a refund. Somehow their billing systems seem to skip over refunds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My credit was ruined by a $30 bill. I would pay it. It cost me a mortgage 15 years after the fact.

How did this happen?

A negative on your credit report stays on inly for 7 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe that a medical facility is engaging in fraudulent charges but after many phone calls, I owe them $600. I can “afford” to pay them but don’t want considering they already got thousands from insurance for a service received. I already have a mortgage and excellent credit. I don’t want my credit to tank because of this but I’m 45 and have decades of great credit in my portfolio. If I let this bill linger and never pay, how much could this affect my finances?

If you suspect fraud, you can report the facility.

But if you are just pissed off that they're getting so much money from all corners, not paying $600 and ruining your credit to prove a point is pretty much the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

If they get a court judgement about the debt, then they can seize some of your assets - with the sheriff assisting them.

I'll take Things That Rarely Happen for $100, Alex.

[Anonymous]

Insurance companies use your credit score as part of their formula for setting rates. You may, over a few years, end up paying a decent amount more than you otherwise would with a good credit score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe that a medical facility is engaging in fraudulent charges but after many phone calls, I owe them $600. I can “afford” to pay them but don’t want considering they already got thousands from insurance for a service received. I already have a mortgage and excellent credit. I don’t want my credit to tank because of this but I’m 45 and have decades of great credit in my portfolio. If I let this bill linger and never pay, how much could this affect my finances?

If you suspect fraud, you can report the facility.

But if you are just pissed off that they're getting so much money from all corners, not paying $600 and ruining your credit to prove a point is pretty much the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

If they get a court judgement about the debt, then they can seize some of your assets - with the sheriff assisting them.

I'll take Things That Rarely Happen for $100, Alex.

You would be surprised; I had a real estate deal get held up for weeks when a title company discovered an old lien for a few hundred bucks of medical bills on a property that the seller's title company missed when they bought.

[Anonymous]

Is there a State Insurance Board in your state? Do you have all the previous paperwork,, EOBs etc? Prove them wrong. I understand it's time consuming, but I would fight them on this.

If you ignore the $600 bill, it might climb into the thousands down the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe that a medical facility is engaging in fraudulent charges but after many phone calls, I owe them $600. I can “afford” to pay them but don’t want considering they already got thousands from insurance for a service received. I already have a mortgage and excellent credit. I don’t want my credit to tank because of this but I’m 45 and have decades of great credit in my portfolio. If I let this bill linger and never pay, how much could this affect my finances?

Can you explain in more detail? For example, I just received a bill from a large hospital organization for 130 except my insurance already paid the contracted amount of 250. In addition, we paid a copay that needs to be refunded because the service was applied to our deductible and our deductible comes from an employer-sponsored reimbursement account. We do not owe cost-sharing- like copays- until the deductible is met. They are trying to charge me the remaining balance AFTER insurance paid the contracted rate- this is ILLEGAL. And I will be calling them AND reporting them to MD AG.

If the amount owed is part of your deductible or coinsurance then you owe it. If it is an amount after insurance paid the fully contracted rate then you do not owe it and they are illegally billing you.

I called my insurance company when this happened to me. They contacted the medical practice and they sorted it out. Worth a try.