insurance

kal21

 Does anyone know how long of time Drs or hospitals etc have to send you a bill?

Are you legally obligated to pay after a year the treatment was done and than first bill comes a year later?

Thanks

Medigal

bar630:  That is a very good question.  I tried to google up info on it and it seems a lot of people have that same question.  I could not find any answers except to ask an attorney if you know one.  It seems they are given a "lot" of time to bill us and we are legally obligated to pay the bill as long as they can prove they gave us the service.  I have had bills arrive many months after a service but never an entire year.  I usually call them after a few months if I don't get a bill just to make sure they have already billed my insurance company.  I only pay bills "after" I check the EOB from my medical plan and "they" tell me what I owe.

If you have not received an EOB from your insurance, it could be that they never filed with them because they never got the info from you.  Make sure they have billed your insurance first, so you can find out what you "really" owe them before just paying their bill.  Best of luck to you.

jacee

I think it depends on the reason for the delay. I have received an EOB for a charge that was submitted by my PCP and the EOB said something to the effect of "the statute of limitations" (my words) had passed and I was obligated fo pay nothing. It had been over a year. In that case, I think his office just didn't file it, or lost it, or something....then found it during an audit, so tried submitting it.

If the providers and ins. co are trying to negotiate pricing, this can go on for months. I just had one bill from Sep 2010, that didn't get paid till Apr 2011 by insurance. I never rcvd a bill during that time.

I would call your insurance company for clarity.

kal21

 Thanks for the info