In the case of medical debt, the statement should inform the consumer of the date and location of the service provided, including the name of the doctor who was in charge of the case (rather than a consultant or firm that never contacted the consumer) or the commonly used name of the location (such as a hospital or clinic) where the service was performed. In my experience, cost-conscious consumers who are wary of scams have declined to pay legitimate medical debt because they did not recognize the debt and could not get an answer to the basic question, "Why do I owe this money?" When the debt is unexplained, it is prudent to refuse to send money, yet when the debt is in fact legitimate, the consumer may suffer severe penalties for failure to pay.
A validation notice for medical debt should not simply repeat numerical codes or obscure abbreviations. It should state, "You were billed on (DATE) when you went to (PLACE)." If other debts related to the same visit have been paid, the letter should say so, e.g., "You already paid for other services during this visit, but you still owe..." Or, "Your insurance paid for some of the costs of this visit, but you still owe...."
This issue is related to the absurd complexities of medical billing, but those complexities should not be used to conceal the origin of a debt from a consumer.
Information about the source of the debt (such as the date of the service) can be provided without infringing on the patient's privacy. No one should be asked to pay a debt without first being told why they owe the money. This is esp. true of medical debts, which are notoriously complex and apparently redundant, with many charges occurring on the same occasion.
As medical records become more digitized, I see no significant cost increase to debt collectors in passing on substantive info to debtors, although debt collectors are bound to say otherwise. My concern is that the cost to consumers of inadequate information is routinely underestimated or dismissed as trivial. Here is an example: When I worked with a non-profit in Alabama, I took part in an informational meeting on a program of federal assistance (Farmers Home Admin, IIRC) in securing access to home loans on affordable terms for low-income workers. One woman who was at the meeting spoke of having been denied access to the program because of a single blot on her credit record, namely an unpaid medical bill. She said she had not paid it because she could not determine what the charges were for, was unaware of any medical treatment she had not paid for, and could not get a straight answer from the debt collector. She decided the debt might be illegitimate and refused to pay. As a result she was excluded from access to a home loan. This is an example of a consumer on a limited income who was consistently disciplined about her finances and who should have had access to credit. I find it significant that it was a medical bill that tripped her up, placing her in a category in which even the FHA would not work with her. From this point, credit was only available to her at high cost if at all. I am confident that the rule I am suggesting would have led her to either pay the debt or dispute it formally on the basis of valid information. What it would not have done is to leave her to conclude that she was being scammed and refuse to pay at all. This anecdote (and I admit I only have anecdotal evidence) does suggest that legitimate credit agencies also stand to benefit by disclosing information that will persuade skeptical consumers that they do actually owe the debt.
My only concern about this excellent comment is that consumers not be subjected to a flood of confusing or potentially intimidating information. The most useful information is the what, when, who, and why of the original transaction that incurred the unpaid debt. The original creditor should be identified by a name known to the consumer, e.g. DR. JOHN SMITH, RHEUMATOLOGIST not DYNAMIC HEALTHCARE OF GREATER ANYTOWN d/b/a ASSOCIATED SPECIALISTS P.C. You get the idea.
muscogulus
1
In the case of medical debt, the statement should inform the consumer of the date and location of the service provided, including the name of the doctor who was in charge of the case (rather than a consultant or firm that never contacted the consumer) or the commonly used name of the location (such as a hospital or clinic) where the service was performed. In my experience, cost-conscious consumers who are wary of scams have declined to pay legitimate medical debt because they did not recognize the debt and could not get an answer to the basic question, "Why do I owe this money?" When the debt is unexplained, it is prudent to refuse to send money, yet when the debt is in fact legitimate, the consumer may suffer severe penalties for failure to pay. A validation notice for medical debt should not simply repeat numerical codes or obscure abbreviations. It should state, "You were billed on (DATE) when you went to (PLACE)." If other debts related to the same visit have been paid, the letter should say so, e.g., "You already paid for other services during this visit, but you still owe..." Or, "Your insurance paid for some of the costs of this visit, but you still owe...." This issue is related to the absurd complexities of medical billing, but those complexities should not be used to conceal the origin of a debt from a consumer.
View this comment in the discussion thread
muscogulus
2
Information about the source of the debt (such as the date of the service) can be provided without infringing on the patient's privacy. No one should be asked to pay a debt without first being told why they owe the money. This is esp. true of medical debts, which are notoriously complex and apparently redundant, with many charges occurring on the same occasion.
View this comment in the discussion thread
muscogulus
3
As medical records become more digitized, I see no significant cost increase to debt collectors in passing on substantive info to debtors, although debt collectors are bound to say otherwise. My concern is that the cost to consumers of inadequate information is routinely underestimated or dismissed as trivial. Here is an example: When I worked with a non-profit in Alabama, I took part in an informational meeting on a program of federal assistance (Farmers Home Admin, IIRC) in securing access to home loans on affordable terms for low-income workers. One woman who was at the meeting spoke of having been denied access to the program because of a single blot on her credit record, namely an unpaid medical bill. She said she had not paid it because she could not determine what the charges were for, was unaware of any medical treatment she had not paid for, and could not get a straight answer from the debt collector. She decided the debt might be illegitimate and refused to pay. As a result she was excluded from access to a home loan. This is an example of a consumer on a limited income who was consistently disciplined about her finances and who should have had access to credit. I find it significant that it was a medical bill that tripped her up, placing her in a category in which even the FHA would not work with her. From this point, credit was only available to her at high cost if at all. I am confident that the rule I am suggesting would have led her to either pay the debt or dispute it formally on the basis of valid information. What it would not have done is to leave her to conclude that she was being scammed and refuse to pay at all. This anecdote (and I admit I only have anecdotal evidence) does suggest that legitimate credit agencies also stand to benefit by disclosing information that will persuade skeptical consumers that they do actually owe the debt.
View this comment in the discussion thread
muscogulus
4
My only concern about this excellent comment is that consumers not be subjected to a flood of confusing or potentially intimidating information. The most useful information is the what, when, who, and why of the original transaction that incurred the unpaid debt. The original creditor should be identified by a name known to the consumer, e.g. DR. JOHN SMITH, RHEUMATOLOGIST not DYNAMIC HEALTHCARE OF GREATER ANYTOWN d/b/a ASSOCIATED SPECIALISTS P.C. You get the idea.
View this comment in the discussion thread