Got a bill from a lab

amother

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:24 pm

That I did bloodwork in in December of 2022. The bill is for 2000 dollars! The bloodwork was not necessary and I never would have elected to do it had I known I’d be billed for it!
Do I have any rights not to pay it?

amother

Purple

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:27 pm

I didnt pay a lab bill (less than 1000). They had it split as two bills for some reason and they ended up sending them to collections and then I was unable to refinance because my credit score was very low.

amother

Steel

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:30 pm

First step is find out if they even bothered to bill your insurance. Call them and make sure they have your insurance details. Call your insurance and see if they submitted a claim to them and if so what came of it (was it denied? Was it an out of network lab) and take it from there

amother

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:31 pm

It says on it that they are out of network and my insurance doesn’t cover that…

amother

Steel

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:34 pm

amother OP wrote:

It says on it that they are out of network and my insurance doesn’t cover that…

Do you remember the circumstances? Did you go to the lab yourself? Or did your doctor send the blood there without your knowledge ?

amother

Sage

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:35 pm

I don't pay most medical bills that come to my mailbox.
I pay a fortune in insurance. And my insurance pays them a lot. I cannot afford to pay it.

I know it's not right but it is a fact.
I pay tuition mortgage, utility and the grocery....
Maybe one day I'll be able to pay it all. Not likely. But as of now we get thousands if not millions of dollars worth of bills in our mailbox from the last 15 years.

amother

Steel

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:37 pm

amother Sage wrote:

No one has you to collections?

amother

Forsythia

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:37 pm

amother Sage wrote:

It's not about ethics
Medical debt can screw up your credit score and come back to bite you

Highstrung

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:42 pm

I thought medical collections no longer affects your credit . Unless things changed again

amother

Azalea

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:42 pm

amother Forsythia wrote:

It's not about ethics
Medical debt can screw up your credit score and come back to bite you

It does not go on your credit score

amother

Azalea

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:43 pm

Don't pay it. Nothing happens. They can feel free to fight insurance for the money which is what happens if you ignore it.

amother

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:44 pm

amother Steel wrote:

Do you remember the circumstances? Did you go to the lab yourself? Or did your doctor send the blood there without your knowledge ?

The dr was out of network and I paid out of pocket. The blood was taken in his office. No one said a word about it being billed separately. I wasn’t either told what the price would be before hand…

amother

Snow

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:45 pm

It most definitely can affect your credit score if the amount due is over $500 and it has been over a year since it was accrued. I pay all medical debt down to under $500 before a year passes to avoid this.

Source - https://www.cnbc.com/amp/selec.....core/

amother

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:46 pm

amother Snow wrote:

The whole bill is from a year ago and this is the first I’m hearing of it!

amother

Snow

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:48 pm

amother OP wrote:

The whole bill is from a year ago and this is the first I’m hearing of it!

You can check your credit report to see if it has been reported yet. Was the bill passed on to collections yet? You may be able to call and pay only part of it if you say it’s all you can afford.

tweety1

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:50 pm

My insurance company told me that if one has insurance they're legally not allowed to send you bills. When I was having issues at one point, I told whoever it was (don't remember who it was) that what they're doing is illegal and if they don't stop sending me bills I'll report them. Never got another bill.

amother

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:50 pm

How does it work? It’s on my parents insurance - whose credit score is it going on?
The bill says it’s due 3-20

amother

Acacia

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 8:58 pm

tweety1 wrote:

If you use an in network provider they’re not allowed to balance bill you but if you knowingly use an out of network provider that doesn’t apply.

amother

Azure

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 9:01 pm

amother Acacia wrote:

If you use an in network provider they’re not allowed to balance bill you but if you knowingly use an out of network provider that doesn’t apply.

Not necessarily true since she saw the dr and not the lab.
The office sent it out to a third party, and most labs accept all insurances