What Can And Cannot Be Done To Collect A Medical Debt – NBC 6 South Florida

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Calls from debt collectors can be annoying. The FTC says more people in Florida complain about debt collection than other problems.

Collection agencies have rules to follow when trying to collect debt.

“They are not allowed to come to you,” said April Lewis-Parks of Consolidated Credit Counseling. “They don’t have the right to threaten you. They are not allowed to talk to your neighbors and tell them you owe money. They have to deal directly with you.

Debt collectors can only call between certain hours as well. In Florida, they can only call between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.

You can also request that all communications from a collection agency be in writing.

Hospitals have other ways to collect medical debts.

They can file a lien in your name if you have been in an accident.

NBC 6 Responds found a privilege in the name of Eduardo Gandolfo of Miami and he was surprised.

“Totally surprised,” Gandolfo told us.

The lien stated that he owed the Baptist Hospital $ 7,302.18.

“For anyone, $ 7,000 is a lot of money,” Gandolfo said.

But Gandolfo told us he’s meticulous about keeping track of his money at home and for his business.

He said his son, Mateo, was in an accident about a month before the lien date. But he told us that he owed nothing because the insurance covered the visit to the emergency room.

Gandolfo called the Baptist hospital and so did we.

The hospital issued a statement:

“While we cannot comment on specific details due to patient privacy laws, for cases involving accidents it is standard practice to file a lien that attaches to the proceeds of any claims associated with the accident. According to Miami-Dade County Order 25C, hospitals can file liens when a third-party payer is involved, such as an auto insurer, as these third-party payments are often made directly to the patient.

Gandolfo told us that the hospital had confirmed that his bill had been paid and that the lien would be released.

“Thank you really,” he said. “I was not aware of this at all.”

Lawyer Michael Walrath explained that hospitals file a lien to ensure they get part of a settlement if an accident results in legal action. But if there is no trial and the debt is paid, he said, then the privilege does not make sense.

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