wife delivered baby, who is responsible for bill ? (credit report, debt, companies)

[heydade]

here is the story..my wife delivered our baby boy. She registered at the hospital, she is under my policy (Humana). Anyhow, my HR representative made a mistake and did not enter the correct "effective date of coverage" which was the day my son was born. At any rate, I contacted my HR dept and they fixed it. I then called Humana and they told me they would re-submit all the denied claims. This was one month ago. Today I got several more bills for about 2K dollars. I called Humana again and they told me that everything was paid and to call the companies that are billing me and provide them with a reference number from Humana and to call Humana directly.

This is fine with me, but while I wait, they may or may not pursue collections. I am not paying a dime. However, I have perfect credit and my wife has poor credit. If they do pursue collections, will they go after her credit or mine ? She registered under the hospital as herself with her social security number..but again, she is under my insurance.

Thanks for the insight..

[kodaka]

It is illegal for a collection agency to pursue a debt that has been paid. If you have written copies of the bills, write them a letter with the reference number Humana provided and mail it to the address on the bill. Keep a copy of the letter and your mailing of it (send via fedex or ups). Remind them of the obvious, that pursuing a debt that has been paid is a gross violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. § 1692).

It usually takes a long time before medical debt appears on a person's credit report, precisely because of this type of situation, so I wouldn't panic about it right away. It isn't uncommon that it takes time for records to be updated and make their way through the various offices of the insurance company, the hospital, and the collections agency. However if it does, you may dispute it with the credit bureau using the information Humana provided, informing the credit bureau that the debt has been paid. Since the debt is a result of the services provided by the hospital to your wife, the debt would be in your wife's name, not yours. Your insurance coverage is a relationship between you and your insurance carrier and is a separate agreement.

[heydade]

nice answer..thanks for the help kodaka

[chet everett]

kodaka is correct -- they only time I would really put any urgency into this is if you are on the verge of getting a mortgage of home equity loan when the lender will place extra emphasis on outstanding debts.

I think something like 30% of all medical bills take more than two submissions to the insurer before they are settled...

[heydade]

thanks chet