Breast Cancer Survivor Jailed over accidental $280 medical bill - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

HuskyMan · #1 05-07-2012, 10:11 AM

Breast Cancer Survivor Jailed Over Accidental Medical Bill

The system is working.

aklim · #2 05-07-2012, 10:16 AM

Typical drama hype. Mistakes happen. We are still waiting on you to create the perfect system where nothing can or will fall thru the cracks.

Quote:

Typically, this occurs after a person is sued for an outstanding debt and then fails to attend a court date or make judge-ordered payments.

and you have a chance or several to fix it. but didn't bother.

HuskyMan · #3 05-07-2012, 10:40 AM

in the instant case, the victim didn't owe the bill. The problem began when the stupid incompetent billing department turned it over to an even more stupid incompetent collection agency. It all went downhill from there.

It seems that more than a few medical facilities specialize in hiring incompetent out-of-control billers.

In this case, the billing department may have some liability as a result of creating this chaos (credit problems, false imprisonment, etc etc.).

Also, sending false financial statements through the US mails might also be an issue............

aklim · #4 05-07-2012, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

in the instant case, the victim didn't owe the bill.

The problem began when the stupid incompetent billing department turned it over to an even more stupid incompetent collection agency. It all went downhill from there.

It seems that more than a few medical facilities specialize in hiring incompetent out-of-control billers.

In this case, the billing department may have some liability as a result of creating this chaos (credit problems, false imprisonment, etc etc.).

Also, sending false financial statements through the US mails might also be an issue............

Well, we can't all be as competent as you are and make ZERO mistakes.

I don't know about where you are but over here, when your bill gets sent to a collection agency, you have 30 days, IIRC and it might be longer, to dispute the charge. When you don't dispute the charge, it is assumed to be correct. Remember, the collection agency is NOT an auditing company so they cannot go tearing into each and every record of yours. After several attempts, they will send you to court. You should be served first.

Over here, if you wrote me a bad check, I make attempts to contact you. If I choose to sue you, I can. However, I can't sue you just because you were 1 day over your contract. I have to give you your "right to cure" notice. After which time I can sue you for whatever. So now I have to take the papers to court and send them to a service agency or a sheriff of your county of residence or workplace. You get served and you know when your date of court is. If the sheriff cannot get you, they will leave you notice to call. After which time, if they still cannot serve you, I get an "Affidavit of NON-Service". With that, I can "serve by publication". On the date of court, you can show up or answer by mail and if you do, there is mediation or pre-trial. After which, a judgment is given. There are AMPLE opportunities to deal with the matter so before you go blaming the corp or collection agency, it might do you some good to take a look at yourself and see why you failed to stop the escalation.

HuskyMan · #5 05-07-2012, 05:25 PM

this has nothing to do with bad checks. it has everything to do with a medical billing department trying to collect a debt that wasn't owed. happens all the time and before you know it, the collection attorneys are moving at full speed ahead. three years down the road it is discovered that the patient was pursued erroneously. Reverse the judgement, let them out of jail, because we've MADE A MISTAKE (the patient died while serving time, oh well, tough luck).

I've noticed some hospitals are more aggressive than others in this regard. There appears to be a correlation between aggressive bill collection and those providing seriously incompetent medical care.

After we screw your health up while you're in our hospital, we'll bill you at twice the going rate and if you don't pay us for the bad medical care you received, we'll sick our pit bull collection attorneys on you.

thanks, but no thanks. My advice? stay out of hospitals if at all possible.

aklim · #6 05-07-2012, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

this has nothing to do with bad checks.

it has everything to do with a medical billing department trying to collect a debt that wasn't owed. happens all the time and before you know it, the collection attorneys are moving at full speed ahead.

three years down the road it is discovered that the patient was pursued erroneously. Reverse the judgement, let them out of jail, because we've MADE A MISTAKE (the patient died while serving time, oh well, tough luck).

I've noticed some hospitals are more aggressive than others in this regard. There appears to be a correlation between aggressive bill collection and those providing seriously incompetent medical care.

After we screw your health up while you're in our hospital, we'll bill you at twice the going rate and if you don't pay us for the bad medical care you received, we'll sick our pit bull collection attorneys on you.

thanks, but no thanks. My advice? stay out of hospitals if at all possible.

Bad checks was just an example. It can be pretty much anything. I think you understand that and are simply trying to split hairs.

Again, mistakes happen. What is it you expect? 100% accuracy? Are YOU that good?

Point was, there was plenty of opportunity for her to stop it at any point just as you could stop a collection effort that ended up in a courtroom.

Is that a study or just your SWAG?

Where is that violin when you need it for wild exaggeration?

Better advice. Why don't YOU avoid them regardless? After all, you never know but when you are under, they might simply harvest all your organs, fake a death declaration and sell the organs under the table for cash.

aklim · #7 05-07-2012, 07:31 PM

If I had to guess and she was in WI, I'd say she failed to answer the court. Over here, if a judgment is rendered against you in small claims, you have to submit a financial statement or I can do some more paperwork and then, next time you get pulled over or something, they can arrest you. Seems to me like she agreed with the charges since she failed to show up in court or answer the charges. Next she refused a legal court order for financial disclosure which led to this mess.

lorainfurniture · #8 05-07-2012, 08:46 PM

I was late on a $400 medical bill. It was sent to collections, then sold. I ended up paying the hospital, but two years later when I went to buy a house, I had to pay that same $400 two more times. There is no arguing with these people. I couldnt even prove the $400 was the same debt.

This dumb broad probably got all the notices in the mail and threw them out by she knew she did not owe it.

mgburg · #9 05-07-2012, 08:55 PM

My X had a workers comp claim.

After MANY YEARS, it finally came down to the judge telling everyone to get their bills together and come on in for a final judgment.

The judgment came, everyone signed off on it and it was filed and that was the end of it...or was it?

Nope...about two years after everything was settled, I get a "bill" that was "apparently overlooked" and not stuck in with the rest of the settlement paperwork.

I explained, "T.S.. You, along with my wife, had to have all this crap before the judge. Shove it and have a nice life."

A few months later, the hospital's Credit-creeps start in.

Told them I was recording the matter and they can take their papers and have a rectal-oragami bleeding-out party with it all.

Then the summons before a small-claims court.

Everyone was instructed to mediate or it's coming back in for a final knock-out.

I choose the knock-out. (It's that damn "principle" thing).

Come the day of...I showed up with all the paperwork from the first and supposedly final order.

The hospital's collection attorney shows up.

Judge asks the attorney what's up.

All he says is since I'm the deep pockets, I'm suppose to pay the bill and since I won't/didn't, then he's entitled to a mulitple award.

Judge asks me what's the deal.

I show him all the paperwork, point out that it was all WC-related and it dealt with the wife only, my insurance NEVER was involved, former judge signed off on it, all parties were pleased/pissed/whatever, but the WC case had finally been closed.

I said that if the hospital can't keep track of their own billing and records, how is ANYTHING ever to be resolved? Furthermore, if they're allowed to re-open and collect on a case that was already resolved, then my wife should be allowed to re-file and seek further treatment should anything else come up that might be related to her original injury.

Judge thought about it for about 1.5 seconds and said something like "Case dismissed, with prejudice in favor of the defendant. Goodbye."

He wacked the gavel and was out of there in 10 seconds (light calendar that day).

The look on the hospital's collection agency attorney's face was priceless.

Me? I was operating on pure andrenaline for the next 20 minutes...I didn't know whether to chit, shave, explode or kick the chit out of that attorney for being so much of an @55hole...

I got over it.

Hospital billing departments and collection agencies are the scourges of the earth.

aklim · #10 05-07-2012, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorainfurniture

This dumb broad probably got all the notices in the mail and threw them out by she knew she did not owe it.

Obviously she also threw out the court orders to dispute the case and probably the order to disclose her financial status. Sure, you might make a case that she threw out the MD's letter but what about the court orders?

aklim · #11 05-07-2012, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgburg

Judge thought about it for about 1.5 seconds and said something like "Case dismissed, with prejudice in favor of the defendant. Goodbye."

So you are saying you exercised your right to dispute it in court and appeared in court, etc, etc. However, by NOT appearing, what you are not disputing the case. Why didn't you just thumb your nose at the court? Why didn't you mouth off to the judge and cite your first amendment rights? Why? Because you had some sense about you which is why things went better than that moron.

JiveTurkey · #12 05-07-2012, 10:29 PM

Hospitals hire increasingly ferocious collection companies because plenty of people skip out on the (insane) bills. People choose not to pay these bills because they are frustrated by their enormously confusing health insurance. The insurance companies profit, the hospitals profits shrink, and everyday citizens are caught in the middle.

A while back hospitals, schools (public and private), and governments decided in order to survive they needed to operate as a for-profit endeavor instead of as public services.

HuskyMan · #13 05-07-2012, 11:11 PM

if you want to see how your health insurance company can really screw you over when you need them most watch the movie, "Sicko". They'll pay the small claims like a slot machine but when that $250,000 brain tumor treatment plan comes in, out comes a big fat REJECT stamp. then, you have to go through the appeals process while you are dying. there is one guy in the movie who actually dies while waiting for his insurance company to come through which they never do. again, watch the movie, you'll come to the scary realization that your health is in the hands of people whose primary motivation is making MONEY. they don't give a rat's behind about your health.

in one scene then president Richard Nixon is talking with a friend about a friend of his who is starting a new health insurance company. "They are going to make money by DENYING claims". priceless.

aklim · #14 05-07-2012, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JiveTurkey

Hospitals hire increasingly ferocious collection companies because plenty of people skip out on the (insane) bills. People choose not to pay these bills because they are frustrated by their enormously confusing health insurance. The insurance companies profit, the hospitals profits shrink, and everyday citizens are caught in the middle.

A while back hospitals, schools (public and private), and governments decided in order to survive they needed to operate as a for-profit endeavor instead of as public services.

Well, now that you made it clear, we can all understand that it is a comprehension problem and not an "I would rather skip paying problem". There are tons of legit bills that people skip out on whether they understand it or not. IF there weren't, life would be much better.

You work for profit, do you not?

aklim · #15 05-07-2012, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

if you want to see how your health insurance company can really screw you over when you need them most watch the movie, "Sicko". They'll pay the small claims like a slot machine but when that $250,000 brain tumor treatment plan comes in, out comes a big fat REJECT stamp. then, you have to go through the appeals process while you are dying. there is one guy in the movie who actually dies while waiting for his insurance company to come through which they never do.

they don't give a rat's behind about your health.

Never watched any of the MM "documentaries". Don't want to watch Rush L and Co and such productions.

Sorry, do you believe you health should be the concern of anyone besides yourself?