Sent to collections prematurely
I’m located in NY and I’m uninsured. I had to have surgery a few months ago and my total bills exceeded $100,000. I was billed by the hospital, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and one more “specialist” for discharging me, all good there.
After a couple of months of navigating through financial assistance and waiting for a response, I decided I had to get these specialist bills paid since charity care won’t cover them anyway. No problems with the surgeon or the discharge bill, both worked with me on a cash price discount and even a “paid in full discount” and those are all set.
When I asked about the anesthesiologist bill I was told I’ve been sent to collections. After poking around a bit and getting some pushback, they revealed my account went delinquent 11 days after my final bill.
To my understanding, in NY there must be 30 days written notice prior to having a medical bill sent to collections.
Am I misinformed here? Has anyone else dealt with this?
Im waiting for a call back from the supervisor because every agent told me either the anesthesiologist billing system is down, or they just don’t have access to it.
Any input is appreciated.