Slow Paying Insurance

by chicagotoots
(florida)

Retiree insured by State of Illinois. State is taking 9 months to pay medical bills for covered services that have been already approved by Cigna. I have paid the co-pay listed on the EOBs. Doctors office threatening to send to collections unless we pay first and they will reimburse us when the State pays them. They will get their $ but they don't want to wait. What effect will these have on our credit if they go to collections?

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Jun 06, 2011
 insurance, medical bills and credit reports
by: DebtCollectionAnswers.com

Unfortunately, if the account is sent to collections it may be reported as a collection account right away and this can hurt your credit reports.

If you are able to pay this bill and get reimbursed by your insurance company, that might be your safest bet. But if you can't afford to do that, we would encourage you to stay in close touch with the medical provider. You may want to send them a polite letter restating what's going on, and letting them know you are happy to work with them if the insurance company denies the claim, but that you are waiting for the insurer to pay the bill. (Send your letter via delivery confirmation.) They can still send the bill to collections if it becomes too old, but hopefully it will help for them to see that you are trying to work with them.

We wish we had an easier answer for you. You may be interested in the Medical Debt Responsibility Act of 2011, proposed legislation that would require credit reporting agencies to remove medical debts from credit reports 45 days after they have been paid or settled. , proposed legislation that would require credit reporting agencies to remove medical debts from credit reports thirty days after they have been paid.

Also read: How to Dispute Credit Report errors

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