If a third party tries to send a patient a bill for a service they performed while in the hospital (ie: labwork or a radiologist reading an x-ray), and the post office loses the bill or the hospital provides incorrect patient information to the third party, law abiding citizens who want to pay their bills on time may have late fees or even be sent to collections! Hospitals won't even provide this information when asked! I just want to pay anyone I owe and on time, but if I do not know who they are,how can I pay them?
Why is this important?
I pay ALL of my bills on time, but I can't pay a bill to someone that I don't know I owe, for a service I may not know was performed, for a reason I am unaware of. Hospitals use third party services all of the time and should be required to inform the patient of such services so that we may pay our bills on time and avoid late fees or even collections! I have experienced this after a hospital stay and am having trouble seeing who all I owe. My insurance doesn't give me the information, but says I have bills that they have paid partially on, and I have still not received any bills. I called the hopsital and they told me they have no information to give me to help me out. I have never been late on any type of payment and I am scared I will have a late bill or possibly even collections. Hospitals should be required to state any third party service they use in your itemized bill or, at the very least, upon patient request.
