We got hit with quite a few medical bills after my daughter was born last year because our insurance only covered 80% of the high-risk pregnancy. We had about $2500 owed out-of-pocket to about 4 different places. 2 places have been happy with the payments we've been sending in. 1 place (the hospital) required $150 a month in payments. We told them we couldn't do that much right now, asked if they would settle for $75 and they didn't budge at all. Next thing we know we get a letter saying they turned it over to some collection agency.
The last place (another doctor that treated my wife in the hospital) immediately sent their bill to a collection agency, we never even got a normal bill from them.
What exactly can I do about this? I may have the cash to pay off the 2 that went to collection agencies, but does it matter at this point? If they've already ruined my credit by turning it in, does it benefit my credit at all to pay it all off right now?
And is there any action I can take against either the collection agencies themselves or the hospital?? Unforunately, I was told incorrectly that unpaid medical bills don't show up on credit reports, so I haven't worried about this much up till now. Now that I am finding out it does affect credit, I need help in figuring out what I should do now.
I'm hoping in the next 3 years to be able to buy a house, and I am very worried this is going to significantly hurt my credit score. Does anyone konw exactly how much (points) this can hurt a score, or is it all relative to amount owed?
aggie04ci said:1 place (the hospital) required $150 a month in payments. We told them we couldn't do that much right now, asked if they would settle for $75 and they didn't budge at all ... I may have the cash to pay off the 2 that went to collection agenciesYou have the cash to pay them off but couldnt afford to pay $150 a month ?
aggie04ci said:Does anyone konw exactly how much (points) this can hurt a score, or is it all relative to amount owed ?Cant say exactly, but possibly ~70 points. www.privacyguard.com has a free 60 day trial and would give you a reasonably accurate answer.
aggie04ci said:And is there any action I can take against either the collection agencies themselves or the hospital ?Yes. If the bills are not yours you can dispute them.
I can't see how the bills wouldn't be mine. I believe all our bills are the 20% my insurance didn't cover. It just seems insane they are so quick to ruin credit by turning them over to collection agencies.
aggie04ci said:It just seems insane they are so quick to ruin credit by turning them over to collection agencies.How long has it been since your daughter's birth ?
She was born last January. In March we got notified that one was already turned in to the collection agency, even though we never got a bill from the actual doctor first. On the hospital one, in April/May we were told we needed to pay the $150 a month. Thats when we told them we couldn't do that right now, and not long after that one went to an agency as well.
Stupidly I've probably waited way too long to do anything, since all this time I've been sending payments towards each as I've been able too.....but all the time under the assumption this wasn't affecting my credit.
aggie04ci said:inappropriate? This forum is for discussion of ways to use and leverage good credit. This is not a forum for discussion of credit problems. There are many such forums for that - creditnet.com being one. You'll find plently of bad credit people there to help you.
Whatever. You guys are unreal. We've never stopped making payments to any of our medical bills, and pay whatever we can afford each month. To say we are "deadbeats" is completely rude IMO. Get off your high horses with your "perfect credit". I would have paid all these bills in full at any time if I could have.
This board is populated with more than its share of douchebags and trolls. OP, really, you'd get a better answer from a more supportive audience at creditnet.
aggie04ci said: I'm hoping in the next 3 years to be able to buy a house, and I am very worried this is going to significantly hurt my credit score. Does anyone konw exactly how much (points) this can hurt a score, or is it all relative to amount owed?
I can give you an answer to this based on personal experience. About 6 months ago, I pulled my and my DH's credit in anticipation of applying for a mortgage. To my surprise, we found a collection account on DH's report for $100. It was apparently a copay from a hospital visit, but we never got a bill. I went to CreditBoards and got all kinds of advice on how to fight it. The stupid collection would not budge.
So, about 3 weeks ago, I took a risk and called the hospital. Their records showed that every bill they sent to us had been returned (we moved right after the date of service). They agreed to remove the bill from DH's credit if we paid it. So, we did. So far, it's come off of his Experian report, and we're told that it should come off the other 2 within the next week or so.
So, short story long, I can tell you that a $100 medical collection account that was less than 2 years old cost my DH about 50 points. His score the day before the collection was pulled off of his report was 656. The day the collection was pulled, his score went up to 700.
Well, I just checked both my wife's and my credit reports through experian. Neither report shows anything regarding collection debt or our medical bills. The one bill, in particular, was turned over to a collection agency months ago. Any clue why its not showing?
Guess I should pay for my FICO score to see if this is on there. Right now, both my wife and I show credit scores of 730 (and her report has a CC on there that she hasn't ever had, with a balance of $7000 on a limit of $7200). So I'm assuming getting that error corrected will only add to her score.
aggie04ci said:I'm hoping in the next 3 years to be able to buy a house, and I am very worried this is going to significantly hurt my credit scoreThis will raise the interest rate on your mortgage by 1% or more. On a 30 year loan for 400k, a 1% higher interest rate will cost you 161k over the life of the loan.
Of course, since I wasn't able to afford $150 monthly payments on one of my bills......I don't think I'll be getting a 400k loan anytime soon, even when I do finally get a house in a few years.
I'll be looking into the starter home price-range, aka 125-140k range. I live near Dallas, and believe it or not, there are some decent, new starter houses for that price range
Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.
