With the skyrocketing cost of medical care in our nation, it is no surprise that hospital debt is one of the most common forms of debt for consumers today. Unfortunately, inappropriate debt collection practices are just as likely with regard to hospital debt as they are with any other form of debt. In some cases, the aggressive debt collection tactics may even come from the same hospital that is supposed to be providing you with treatment.
4 Abusive Tactics for Collecting Unpaid Hospital Debt
What are some of the commonly-used abusive tactics by debt collectors with regard to unpaid hospital bills? The following are four examples:
- The debt collector may disguise him or herself as a hospital employee.
- The debt collector may demand that you pay outstanding medical bills before you can receive medical treatment.
- The debt collector may discourage you from going to the emergency room.
- The debt collector may gain unauthorized access to your medical information and use that information to obtain payments on medical bills.
When a debt collector uses abusive or harassing techniques to try and collect an unpaid debt, the collector may be violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In addition, the debt collector may also be violating the patient privacy rules under the federal Health Information Portability and Accountability Act. If you find yourself being contacted by a debt collector over unpaid hospital debt, we can help stop these debt collectors from continuing to harass you. The FDCPA applies to improper debt collection practices by debt collectors. It does not apply to creditors contacting you about unpaid debt. We encourage you to contact us today at 804-282-7900 for more information.
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