How to Deal With Collection Agencies on a Nursing Home Bill for My Brother

Medical bills can mount quickly during an illness. If a medical provider -- such as a nursing home -- is not satisfied that it is being paid quickly enough, the bill may be turned over to a collection agency. "The New York Times" reported in 2006 that complaints had risen against debt collectors for "aggressive and sometimes unscrupulous tactics." By the end of that year, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act had been signed into law, outlining what debt collectors can and cannot do.

Instructions

1

Contact the nursing home about the medical bill before discussing it with the collection agency. Make sure it has any pertinent insurance information on your brother, and that the insurance company has been forwarded the bill for review. Inquire about a payment plan to bring the bill up to date; most providers would prefer any payment arrangement from the patient or his family, rather than no guarantee of payment while the collection agency tries to collect. Follow up with the insurance company to make sure any payment it can handle is applied to the bill.

2

Call the collection agency and notify it that it must stop making any calls to your brother or other family members on this bill. Advise the company that a copy of what it is attempting to collect on the nursing home bill must be provided to your brother or you. This should be an itemized bill, rather than a simple total, so that it can be reviewed for mistakes. Be polite but firm. Do not give any information. If the collector asks for personal financial information or guarantees, repeat that the company must send the information in writing, and end the call.

3

Send the collection agency a "cease and desist" letter in addition to your call. This should state firmly that all calls on the matter are to stop, and that the agency must send you or your brother written notification of the amount it is trying to collect. Ask for an itemized bill.

4

Review the itemized bill carefully after it is received from the collection agency. Review it with the insurance company and the nursing home to make sure it is complete and charges are accurate. Now is the time to contact the collection agency and set up a payment plan for your brother's bill; negotiate a lower amount for a lump sum payment, if possible. If he can't afford this, find out what payment plans the collection agency is willing to offer.

5

Refuse to make any payment until the collection agency sends the agreed payment plan to you or your brother. This should include written notice that the collection agency will not add adverse information to your brother's credit reports. Review the document carefully to make sure that the agreed amounts are noted and that nothing has been added or taken away from the verbal agreement over the phone. Read all fine print on the agreement; if you cannot understand it, have a lawyer review the document to make sure you understand what you are signing.

6

Make payments on your brother's medical bill by check only, which leaves a paper trail if you need to show proof of payments at a later date. Do not authorize automated payments of any kind, as this will require you to give the collection agency private banking information, such as a checking account number.

7

Obtain a written notice when the debt is paid in full. Follow up with the credit reporting bureaus to make sure your brother's credit was not affected by information from the collection agency, and that the debt is showing as paid in full.