I got a medical bill recently. I can afford it, and am going to pay shortly. The bill provided a statement date (that is, the date the bill was issued) of several days ago, my current balance, the amount past due 30 days ($0), and the amount past due 60 days ($0). What does NOT appear to be included is the date that this bill is due. How, generally, does this work? Is it considered due immediately and every payment is late? Do I have 30 days before I am considered to be late? More specifically, how many days can I put off paying before I am officially or legally considered delinquent on the bill? Saying that paying after the statement date constitutes being late is absurd because the letter takes time to go through the postal service after it has been issued, and payments take time to get back, meaning that every payment would be “late”.
I am in Virginia. I can afford to, and am, going to pay this promptly and I don’t actually need legal advice, and am asking what the law generally says about these sort of things for curiosity’s sake.
They want you to pay it now but the actual late part doesn’t start for 30 days so you can say day 31 is the first ‘late date’. They will charge you more if you pay more than 30 days late. I am not sure why you are concerned about the way it is presented. It won’t affect your credit score either. No bills effect your credit score until they are more than 30 days late. The credit reporting agencies don’t even have a bucket for late payments less than that. Medical bills usually have to go to a collection agency before they affect your credit score and that takes a whole lot longer than 30 days.
Doctor’s offices often have signs saying that payment is due when services are rendered. Clinics and hospitals usually don’t expect you to pay when wheeled out as the billing process is complicated by insurances co-pays and deductibles that may not be clear at that time. When a bill is received in the mail, the common “reasonable” expectation is 30 days. Sometimes patients are billed with no expectation of payment. They need to go through the motion of billing and non-payment to be eligible for certain government payments.
If you intend to pay, pay withing 30 days to be safe. If you have a problem, call and negotiate a payment plan or price reduction. Check the bills very closely. Ask for explanations in writing. There can be duplicate billings within the same bill. Keep complete records. I have received bills for services paid over a year prior. You don’t want to pay for these “oversights.”