Have Any Of You Ever Received A Medical Bill Years After The Fact?

Sounds like someone dropped the ball on billing you earlier.

Is this a Louisiana debt? Did you make any payments on this debt after services were rendered? If more than 3 years had passed from services rendered and/or 3 years from last payment then it may be you lucky day.

Prescription on open account is 3 years. La CC ART 3494(4). The debt can be re-inscribed if you acknowledge the debt, by payment or agreeing to pay.

It's absolutely an "error"

Either they erred by sending you a bill you already paid, or they erred in not sending you a bill four years ago.

Where does insurance play in all of this? Did they try billing your insurance company?

Pretty easy to see whether you have already paid this or not...

This happened to my wife and I a few years ago with an emergency room visit for my son. We received and paid the first bill they sent us and then they sent us a bill 2 years later claiming we still owed them another $400.

They couldn't provide an itemized bill despite our requests for one so we could confirm we weren't paying for charges we had already paid. We basically kept arguing with them over it until they told us it was a billing mistake. It probably was a mistake but I honestly think they just got tired of dealing with us.

It's my understanding there is a statute of limitations in each state for how long a bill can be sent to you. I would check what your state's is.

It looks like this may still be good.

Florida open accounts

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I just spoke with them and they said they've been trying to send it to me for 4 years but I hadn't responded

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Translation-"We had poor demographic information entered and have just now found your correct contact info."

Your response - "I need you to provide me the number of invoices sent, the date on which they were sent, and the address it was sent to."

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I said wait I've never gotten this notice and why wouldn't you have sent it to collections then. The girl on the phone replied I don't know.

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B/c transfer to collections requires at least 3 attempts to collect, which they have not fulfilled, and are attempting to do now.

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I asked her if I could settle it right now for $500 and she offered back $1425 and that's the lowest she can do.

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Tell her you'll call back after the second notice with the same offer. Then again after the third. Then you'll make the same offer to the collection agency they hire for all the accounts the hospital mismanaged back in 2013 (which is probably alot).

The expected recoup of medical debt older than 2 years old is a fraction of the original billed amount, and her management knows this. Even if you did receive, and not pay, for all the services on the bill you'll have some wiggle room to negotiate b/c of their poor billing office policies. Also, you don't get a "ding" on your credit from medical debt being reported to collections, you get the ding when the collection agency reports you to credit impairment after multiple attempts to collect. The collection agency also knows its unlikely they will collect 100% of charges after this period of time, and they only get paid when they are able to collect SOMETHING (usually 35% of what they collect).

Just stay firm on your "offer" until the collection agency receives it, you have more negotiating leverage, and a creditor that would prefer to collect something over nothing.

ETA: One more thing, if by chance you still have the same insurance, it would be really easy to contact them and request an EOB for the date of service on the hospital bill. See the billed charges. See what insurance paid. And see exactly what was patient responsibility. Hell, see if the shitty billing office even filed the claim in the required 90 day period.

I highly doubt they have been trying to bill you for four years, but if they don't say that, then they look insanely incompetent which gives you even more reason to fight it.

Was the bill itemized?

Did they originally send it to your insurance? Even if you have a high deductible plan, they still usually send it to your insurance so you can get "credit" towards the deductible.

If your insurance company has no proof, then likely they never billed you. If they have the old claim, then you can start working on looking for payment.

Happened to me after an ER visit. Swore I paid, but got a bill 3 years later that I still owed.