Just because a hospital has sent you a bill, does not mean it is correct. Many times hospitals over charge, miscode procedures and supplies, which result in over billing to patients. Most patients and insurance companies do not even realize that they have been over billed for the care and treatment they received at a hospital. It is not until a patient is having trouble paying a hospital bill that they really start looking at what they have been charged.

If you do not have insurance, than you are typically forced to pay a higher rate for the care and treatment you receive at a hospital. All  health insurance carriers have negotiated prices for services with hospitals, meaning that what an insured patient pays is usually less than what an uninsured patient pays. If you are not insured or covered by Medicare or Medicaid you pay the most for  medical care and treatment at a hospital. You do not get charged the negotiated rates, you are charged the hospitals "full rate."

However, even being covered by insurance does not protect you from being overcharged by a hospital. Many times, hospitals will not even take the time to properly submit a claim with a patient's health insurance carrier before they send them to collections. Then it is up to the patient to make the claim for hospital and get them paid. If the patient does not pay their hospital bill, they usually end up in collections or with a judgment against them and negative entries on their credit report.

Often times a patient ends up in collection or with a judgment against them for an unpaid hospital bill because they avoid the confrontation with the Hospital Billing Department, Hospital Collection Agency and/or the Hospital Collection Attorney. By ignoring the issue, the issue becomes worse than it ever would be if it was confronted immediately.

It is a mistake to hide from or ignore a hospital bill. It is an even bigger mistake to hide or ignore a lawsuit filed by a hospital on an unpaid bill. Often times, people do not believe that they can fight a hospital over its bill. The truth is that you can.

There are many viable defenses to a hospital's bill and a hospital's lawsuit to collect that bill. It is a mistake to just assume that because you received care and treatment at a hospital that you have to pay their bill as presented to you. You have the right to defend yourself against the hospital's collection attempts.

With the assistance of an attorney from our firm, we can help defend your rights. Contact us today for a free consultation to find out more about our firm's Hospital Bill Collection Defense services and what we can do for you.