The Ryan
I agree with you. When medical accounts with your name on them get all messed up, its your responsibility to see that they are corrected. Why? Because no one else will. Before it becomes your responsibility to correct, others have to fail miserably in their resposibilities. The employer failed (to correct it), the hospital failed (to get it right in the first place), and the collection agency failed (to process only those resposible).
That said, your “buying meat from the grocery store” analogy was just plain fucking stupid.
I file workman’s comp claims and some commerical insurance at a hospital. It is not the billers job to file your claim, it is ultimately your responsibility. The billers file the claim as a courtesy to the patient. Also it would make it much easier on the biller to know your workman comp info when you come in to registration. You as a patient should get a claim number from your workman’s comp and find out who the adjustor is. Then you should call the billing company and tell them this. Make sure you have phone numbers, addresses, and fax numbers.
I didn’t see anything in the OP to that effect. The closest was “I called them, told them it was a WC issue, and they said ok.” I read that as meaning that the hospital said “Okay, file a WC claim”, not “Okay, saying that it’s a WC issue ends your obligation”. Racinchikki, I don’t know if you got a letter from the hospital agreeing that the debt has been taken care of, but if you didn’t, you should this time.
The Ryan, you’re correct, I did not spell out exactly what happened. What they did six months ago was say “ok, we’ll take care of it from here, that’s all we need to know - we’ll resubmit, sorry for wasting your time.” They said they would handle it from there. They did not ask me to do it, or say that it was my responsibility, or do or say anything at all that did not imply that I could go about my merry way. Which is why I was so pissed off when it turned out that they’d apparently done fuck-all.
Also, Killuminati, as I have previously stated, I no longer work for the company and they completely refuse to give me any information about the policy, insurer, or ANYTHING because I’m not an employee. They will not be reasoned with. Even know that it is apparently taken care of, they refused to tell ME anything at all.
And it’s a year late to tell me to go find out all the information before registering at the hospital. If I’d been coherently thinking, I’m sure I would have dragged my bleeding, thumb-less self across the store and up a flight of stairs to the break room they’d posted it in, and used my teeth to hold the pen while I copied it down. I’m not trying to argue with you on that point, it’s just that at the moment it’s rather moot for me personally. It certainly would have made it easier on everyone involved if I’d had the information to begin with.
Well. I got another letter. After they specifically told me that everything was going to be worked out. Luckily, I have the names and extension numbers of everyone I spoke to, and I will speak to their supervisors.
racinchikki, you poor dear. I am SO with you on this one. I had a similar incidient when my wallet was stolen and some woman went around writing checks with MY checkbook at as many different stores she could get to. I closed my bank account the next morning when I realized the checkbook was gone, but since the teller at my bank didnt actually close the account right then, some of those checks cleared and I lost nearly $2,000. When the mistake was caught, the bank couldnt just refund my money from those forged checks. No no, I had to jump through about 12 hoops, take time off of work, and even waste money getting stupid crap notarized before I could get my money back. Took 60 days and it’s a good thing I wasn’t living on my own, or I would’ve been homeless because of that tellers mistake.
NOT TO MENTION all the stores (40 checks in that checkbook) that wrote me about my check that had come back insufficient funds. I had to jump through 80 milion more hoops just to clear all THOSE up. It took a whole YEAR. And the woman who forged my name on all these checks? Oh yeah, she gets to walk around with $5,000 worth of items from Wal Mart, Burberry’s, Sprint, Babies R Us, CVS, grocery stores (getting cash back) and even Pizza Hut! You’d think stores would check ID on checks, especially checks for large amounts. None of these stores did.
It sucks that you have to be responsible for all the tedium and phone-calling, but like another poster here said, if not you, who? If you want to make sure you’re clear, then YOU have to make sure you’re clear. Not fair, but it’s the only way you’ll know it’s done properly.
Ex-Workers’ Comp. employee here. These things vary widely from state to state, but I would think there’s some kind of state Workers’ Compensation Dept. you could look up in the phone book or on-line. Like this maybe. If you still need the name of your ex-employer’s insurer, I’m sure someone there could look it up for you.
Also, maybe I just missed this, but have you filled out any forms yet? The hospital should have given you a form before they ever discharged you, or your doctor should have on a follow-up visit. That’s probaby where the ball was dropped. If you haven’t filled out any forms yet to file your claim, maybe someone at the TWCC (see above link) can help.