Hospital bill
 

Hey guys, I have a question and wondering if anyone can answer. I broke my arm a few years ago and I went to the ER. I gave them my name, phone # and address. I did not give them a SS# because I didn't have one at the time. They sent me bills but I ignored them and they sent it over to a collection agency. I just got a call from the collection agency today asking me to settle and clear it on my "credit report". I got my SS# last week and I no longer live in that old address (if it matters).

So my question is: Will that debt mess up my "credit" or hurt me even though they don't have any information on me besides my name and phone number? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Re: Hospital bill
 

Just over two years ago, I broke my left forearm and required surgery to fix it. LUCKILY, I was in school at that time so I did have at least some type of insurance that paid for the doctors fees. Like you, I had given them all my info. I thought everything was cleared up. But about a year ago, I started receiving hospital bills. But I think all that has been cleared up because my dad made a few calls and demanded they stop sending us any further collection bills because my university was responsible for everything. This was a while ago like I told you. Just a week ago, I received my credit report from experian and guess what...none of those hospital bills are on it! And my surgery was done in New York and I live in CT. I really don't think this will go on your credit report. You're starting off with a fresh SSN and you said you moved as well. Don't stress over this.

Re: Hospital bill
 

If you didn't provide a ssn it will not. However you should compensate the physician that fixed you. There's ton of options to do so.

Re: Hospital bill
 

Hey thanks for the info! I thought I had cleared the debt but the lady from the collection agency said I cleared it with the hospital but this was from the physicians so I'm like WTF?? They should take it with the hospital, not me! She was being a bitch over the phone so I just hung up on her LOL. I live in NY but I went to the ER in NJ. Well I'm relieved to know it won't affect me. Thanks a lot!

Re: Hospital bill
 

Like Tommy said..u sure its not the other way around? How did you clear it? You had some sort of insurance? The hospitals will usually write off their bills. You should arrange some sort of payment with the physician.

Re: Hospital bill
 

The hospital had some sort of plan where if you don't have income then you can apply for it and they'll take care of the bill for you and I signed up for the plan. All they wanted was that I sent them an affidavit saying that I live with my parents and I don't have a job or any income. That's why I thought everything was taken care of and the lady said these aren't from the hospital, they are from the physician. The bill is over $1000 so there's no way I'm paying for that because I can't afford to.

Re: Hospital bill
 

Without SSN they can't mess your credit. If it somehow shows up on your credit report you can dispute it with the credit reporting agency. If you want to make payment to the hospital, try dealing with the hospital directly. As a rule of thumb never deal with collection agencies, they are all slimeballs that can't be trusted with anything. You can't be sure that a collection agency is going to mark your debt paid even if you pay them in full, and they also have the habit of ballooning your debt unjustifiably.

You can send them a letter by certified mail requesting them to cease calling you. You can legally do that, and they are legally required to honor it. They can't contact you anymore except one time to tell you what they're going to do next.
http://credit.about.com/od/debtcolle...eanddesist.htm

If the debt is 7 years old, it can't go on your credit report. Even if it's on the report, it will automatically be removed after 7 years.

Re: Hospital bill
 

Facility and physician are two different billing methodologies. However, if you settled with the hospital it should cover both as charity care. In the future don't go out side of NYC billing gets a lot more complex.

Re: Hospital bill
 

I read the first part and it's horrible advice. What your saying constitutes fraud, on an open forum, in the future think before you post.

Re: Hospital bill
 

Thanks for the info! I might just do that if they continue to call me..