What steps must medical company take before suing you for non payment?

Can a medical company sue you before they send your case to collections for non-payment? My last payment on my medical bill was August 2011. About a two weeks ago I received a summons for court. I am due to appear first week in January 2012. I live in the state of Mississippi.

Reply from DebtCollectionAnswers.com:

Wow, that sounds unusually aggressive. We aren't aware of any requirements that they first send the account to collections before they sue you, but we're not attorneys so we can't say for certain that there aren't any state laws that may apply.

We would be interested in knowing a little more about the circumstances around this debt? Is it particularly large? What kind of medical debt is it - a hospital bill? If so, public or private hospital? We aren't sure we can offer much help, but there may be other readers who are dealing with a similar situation.

Assuming you can't pay it, have you considered talking with a
bankruptcy attorney about your options?

Comments for What steps must medical company take before suing you for non payment?

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Apr 18, 2012
 Update needed please???
by: Sharks indeed!!

My husband and I are in the same position with a money hungry dentist! Please let us know what you find out because we are considering bankruptcy over just medical bills also. This is terrible. I feel the working people struggling to make it are paying for everyone who get free medical and playing video games all day long.

And I don't mean the well deserved disabled community or single parent families either or people trying to find work out there...you know who YOU are!
Feb 07, 2012
 Baptist Medical Center - Jackson, MS
by: Anonymous

I am also in MS and I was served papers today (Feb. 6, 2012) for a hospital debt (hospital stay was the last week of April 2011). I received only one bill from Baptist Hospital. The original amount was around $2,400 but they are suing me for over $9,500. How can they add so much for attorney fees??

Is this who your debt is with? I am shocked that they moved so quickly and without any notice from a collection agency first.

I would gladly pay the entire amount of the bill, but to nearly triple the amount makes no sense - I am considering filing for bankruptcy instead. I am meeting with my attorney tomorrow to get more advice.

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