Can Medical Bills Be Sent To Collections If You Are Making Payments? (2022)
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If you have been regularly making payments towards your medical debt, you might be surprised to see your medical debt listed under collections on your credit report. This may cause concerns due to the negative impact it will have on your credit score.
Here we consider why a collections agency would send a debt to collections and what you can do about it if you have been making the necessary payments.
Will Medical Bills Be Sent To Collections If You Are Making Payments?
If a healthcare provider charges off a debt and transfers it to a debt collector without notifying you. It won't violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), or the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
This applies to debts of any kind, medical or otherwise. If the bill is unpaid it can be sent to collections without warning.
When Are Medical Bills Sent To Collections?
It is unlikely for unpaid medical debts to be sent to collections immediately. Healthcare providers tend to send bills to debt collectors once the bill has been outstanding for 60 -120 days.
Even if you are trying to pay your medical debt off it can still be sent to a debt collection agency, if you have made several late payments, or you are only making partial payments.
Collection agencies can send your medical bills to collections even if you're making payments. However, Collection agencies must wait 180 days (6 months) after acquiring your debt, before reporting the debt to the credit bureaus.
What Can You Do About Surprise Medical Bills In Collections?
Surprise medical bills appearing on credit reports are incredibly common. This can occur because of:
- Mixups between health care providers, or insurance companies.
- Clerical mistakes, or
- Fraud.
It remains important to review your credit report regularly to identify errors and avoid any surprises on your report. The sooner you are able to identify the errors the more likely you are to reduce any potential negative impact.
Bottom Line
If you have medical debt it can be sent to collections without notice, this would not breach any federal laws. You have recourse options available to reverse, or limit the damage of the collections. Consult credit repair specialist Credit Sage today to help resolve your credit report discrepancies.
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