| Is My Medical Debt Covered Under The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? |
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| Written by Don Wilson |
| Monday, 11 October 2010 18:38 |
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I receive email quite often asking me about medical bills and whether they are covered by the FDCPA or at what times the FDCPA applies? Will the FDCPA apply? Yes it will, but it also wont. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act third-party debt is the only type that is covered. To elaborate, I will go through the typical process of a medical bill and where your rights begin and end.
I receive email quite often asking me about medical bills and whether they are covered by the FDCPA or at what times the FDCPA applies? Will the FDCPA apply? Yes it will, but it also wont. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act third-party debt is the only type that is covered. To elaborate, I will go through the typical process of a medical bill and where your rights begin and end. Starting at the beginning, you get medical service at the doctor's office. You leave the office without paying off your bill. When it comes to medical bills, technically your balance is due in full the day that you get your service. This means that you have a debt and you are delinquent on it already. When you have a medical debt then you will probably get about three months for insurance to pay it given to you. Sometimes you don't get any time other times you get a lot. Three months is about the guideline for your grace period. If you haven't already given your doctor your insurance information then you need to do that. If you already gave them your policy information then give it to them again. Your better safe than sorry. The next step is in-house collections. Sometimes this step is skipped and the bills is turned straight to third-party collections. This is usually where you want to make a payment arrangement if you need one. This is also a good time to put in a request for a settlement if you can afford it. The ending step before the collection attorney comes is the collection agency. Sometimes it goes straight to the lawyer though. Whether it goes to an attorney or an agency doesn't matter when it comes to rights. Right now, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the FDCPA come in to the picture. Now, credit reports and debt collectors are a factor. Fortunately, this step gets regulated by federal laws. When a bill is in collections it doesn't go to your credit report for another 30 days. If your credit is an issue, if you get the bill paid before that time is up, it wont go on your credit report. You want to try to do this because it is important. The last part is the attorney. You want to keep out of the attorney step if you can. The FCRA and the FDCPA are still in effect. You will get documentation from the attorney that gives your 30 days to get on an arrangement with the attorney or go to court and possible fees and judgment. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Learn more about Fair Debt Collection Practices. Stop by Don Wilson's site where you can find out all about Debt Secrets and how to get out of debt extremely fast. |